Has boxing really regressed?

Boxing has absolutely regressed since the early 80's. Its an undeniable FACT!

 

Of course it has.

Hopefully--and I'm sure everyone here agree's---we are not looking at the 2020's as the "good old days" 15 years from now.

But we could.

 

Has it really though? Use a time machine and dump Dubois, Shakur, Boots, or Bam off in 1940. You think after a bit of time to get used to different gloves they walk in to a ring and get smoked? I don't.

 

Absolutely. When the biggest fight in boxing is between Inoue and Bam Rodriguez, a Bantam weight against a super bantamweight than you know it’s regressed. There are no super fights at WW, MW, LW, Or HW which were the glamour divisions with the biggest fights happening in thise particular divisions. The glory days of boxing are over.

 

The sport has regressed in the fact that nobody fights each other as often as they should. Hard to call someone great when they’ve beaten one or two guys of note. Everyone wants to keep that 0 in the loss column

 

No, it has progressed. End of thread.

 

As a new fan, I'm not educated enough in boxing atp to give a valuable answer.

With that being said, one aspect in which I believe the sport has regressed is with this ridiculous obsession of "protecting the 0". Though to be fair, the toxic fanbase that the sport has accumulated has probably played a role in this.

 

Depends who they fight. The average contender? They probably pitch shutouts or KOs; against the truly elite like Louis or Robi, Armstrong, Ortiz or Pep, they definitely lose imo.

 

How has it progressed specifically?

 

It has clearly regressed within the last 40-50 years.

Too many org’s.

Too many belts.

Inactivity.

There’s still great fighters, but it’s definitely regressed as a whole.

 

We have arrived at the best of all possible worlds. Only tomorrow will be better.

 

Better athletes, larger pool of talent, better medical/recovery treatment, better rested fighters on fight night not just compromised, injured combatants trying to cover for their weaknesses. More champions.

 

There’s zero proof that there’s better athletes within the sport.

More Champions isn’t an advantage.

There’s only more champions because there’s more belts and more Org’s.

We now live in a world where non world level guys can access belts.

That’s not an advantage to the sport.

Rest and recovery are an aid.

But the flip side is, they don’t fight as often.

 

We now live in a world where boxing accesses a talent pool spanning all continents, not just the poor and immigrants from the East Coast of the US with a sprinkling of southerners.

We produce the most champions in history, more than all other eras combined. We have achieved peak boxing.

 

To my earlier point, this is where I disagree. I'm positive that, in the US at least, natural-born athletes who might have gone into boxing decades ago aren't getting into boxing anymore but into other sports.

Globally, the sport has certainly expanded, especially in the East, but numerically the top boxers still seem to be mostly from the UK and the US.

Even in Mexico, I'm hearing most of the kids want to become footballers than boxers.

When a sport is or becomes niche, its pool of talent immediately shrinks.