The most inactive, inconsistent and risk averse generation of fighters in history? Bar a few fighters here or there obviously. This isn't rhetorical btw if anyone has memories of a worse scene in history id like to know
HW division very stagnant even before 2020 th. Low number of fights in top level. A lot of boxers who fights vs modern top boxers are from Klits era, relatively long list with them. Other divsions too had happened: boxers might sit on one belt long years.
Don't think we should tar all the boxers with the same brush. josh Taylor is going for the biggest fights available. Inoue is building an impressive resume. Pacquiao has nothing left to prove but continues to box at a high level. Most times it's promoters and politics that stop the big fights happening, not The boxers themselves. That said, probably also worth noting the pandemic has shifted the equation for a lot of boxers. There's been a lot of shock results, the rewards are fR less with no gate receipts. It's probably a bad point to fairly assess the scene, because we Re living in unprecedented times.
I'd say the 90's of the most recent ones. Bowe and Foreman were very loathe to taking big risks. Foreman was old, of course, but no such excuse for Bowe. And of course, Dempsey doing jack for three years straight instead of taking on Wills and Greb far surpasses anything happening, or not happening, today.
I totally agree this era has the least amount of ambition I’ve seen and had made me into a casual fan which is crazy because just a few years ago I was up on every fight nowadays it’s title holder vs bum in most divisions with maybe 1 guy every 3/4 weight classes actually trying to be great
"to make good $$$, you don't need to face the best, you just need a belt and a padded record" (ancient german proverb)
Probably because people are obsessed with undefeated records for cash and marketing purposes. Fans also write boxers off after a loss as bums and basically say they are finished.
Now this is not mandatory : you need just to have very well known people in the ring. Then you are able to make very good money with them in the ring even if they does not have pro boxing org belt. Some examples already had been showed up how to get attention and good sales with ppl without boxing orgs belts in the ring. Soon there will be more fights with YT and music stars, well known ppl etc alike, grapplers in boxing fight. This too, show me sport not called pro boxing where is such obsession with 0 in fight/ play record.
This is what I feel, I want to love and watch the sport but when most of the top level guys are scarcely ever fighting it honestly is difficult, I don't mind watching prospects and all that but I feel the big fights and most the top fighters are just not active enough at a high level. Maybe its just covid but I do feel it was getting this way slowly over the years, multiple top level fighters in their 30s without any defining fights to their names
Anybody else notice only ONE of the top 50 heavyweights on BoxRec is currently scheduled? Would the division be more interesting if some of these guys fought more often?