A true shame, along with college football's BCS system among the greatest travesties in organized (and I use that term loosely) sports!
I would agree how many of these 12 rd decisions that we have seen over the last 20 years or so, that might drastically have changed the history of boxing? Imagine some of the 12+ rd KO's and wars through the years that we would also be deprived of had this rule been in place years earlier..this would get my 2nd vote!
What about people's fantasy match-ups? The old classics: Hagler/Monzon, Sugar Ray/Sugar Ray, Duran/Whitaker etc.
Yeah, as great as the sport is in its essence, imagine how much better it could be with a little bit, make that a lot of justice thrown in. Fighters that have to fight the most worthy opponents, when matches are made because of a hierarchical system in place, and not because its the safest and biggest payday available to them. It's a testament to the sport itself that we still watch. If football or baseball or any other sport asked this much of us, even fewer of us would watch those sports than do boxing.
How do you do this? I can see how you could minimize them, but I don't know how you eliminate them altogether.
Well, I can't quite agree here, brother. Now, if you're talking about the violence, the possibility of big shots and blood and a fighter having to find the best of himself to come back when he's one punch away from losing consciousness, then I'd say, of course it is a fundamental part of the allure of the game. But the psychological factor, the ploys, the baiting, the fighting to the other guy's strength, the outmaneuvering that goes on especially when the styles match up right, that to me is when the game is at its best.
The fighters know what can happen every time they get in the ring. If they had headgear on i dont think we would have a sport left.
It didn't sound like in your OP that you were refering to head gear, but rather that the opportunity for a persons brutal demise added excitement???
No no no. Im talking about before even a bell is rung in any fight this could happen. This is the sport of boxing, look at the ring fights of the year, men are being pushed to the limit. Dont get me wrong i love watching boxing at its best but anything can happen. Thats why we watch.