What would be boxing's single most biggest loss?

off the top of my head, watching rocky balboa, i'll say james figg or nat fleischer

 

Well Muhammed Ali would have to be up there, but would maybe Frazier have stepped into the limelight that boxing had going spare at the point?

 

id miss yousef al hamidi, the guys a heeeerrrrrooooo

 

Network television.

Especially the prime-time ABC specials with either a heavyweight title defense or Ray Leonard fight on top.

These TV fights, free to the masses, drew in viewers and created fans. People would watch for the big main events, but the general public got to learn about, like and appreciate the Victor Galindez and Danny Lopez types because they got undercard exposure.

Even the network weekend afternoon fights helped bring in new casual fans who became true fans as they watched and learned. And the lack of network TV exposure has resulted in boxing's decline more than any other single factor.

 

An old bloated JMM beating a prime Pacquiao and derailing the most expensive fight in boxing history


oh wait....

 

thankfully pac won and we still get to see it, phew!

 

Dempsey - remember he bought boxing more to the mainstream. He had the first million dollar gate (i believe).

He popularised boxing IMO and made it into a big lucrative business/entertainment industry

 

If Paul Pender had not taken up boxing. That man revitalized boxing and he became a household name...as well as an ambassodor of the sport thoughout the world.

 

I'm gonna say jack johnson; if anything he was a boxing revolution.

 

For a particular person I believe the answer is easily Ali who shook boxing and the world with his antics. It was a remarkable 20 year ride that no one can deny whether they love him or hate him. Close on his heels was Joe Louis who helped inspire a nation during the war years. If I was to choose an event that was boxing's biggest loss, I would lump 3together. I know this is outside the box and not a part of the question so I'm morphing the question a bit while I'm on a soapbox. The proliferation of world titles, the proliferation of weight classes and the reduction of world title fights to 12 rounds devalued boxing to what it is today.

Scartissue

 

I'd have to say Ali. He was more than a boxer or an athlete, he was a persona engaged in all outlets of society. His story, and the stories of all of his contemporaries for that matter, really made boxing shine at its most opportune moment, when color television and a broader access to media were becoming common in the US and the world.

 

i'm tempted to say ali as well but i think the sport had gotten to such a point that it was sustainable without him and another boxer would have stepped up (albeit not to the same degree)

 

At least in North America, Mexicans and (Hispanics in general) are now dominating the market in terms of buying PPV's and tickets to live fights. So I'd have to say losing JC Chavez Sr and Oscar at the beginning of their careers would have been devastating to the sport. Maybe the Mexicans would have then taken up MMA/UFC as their most watched martial sport.