You have to consider the closed-circuit theatre broadcasts of the Ali-Frazier and Duran-Leonard fights .... would those be included in the figures ? Also, how many people even had the necessary cable that would give them the PPV option ? Also, were the fights being broadcast a day or so later on network TV ? Also, look at the worldwide coverage, not just USA.
Your post has led me to research this more. Apparently Boxrec has a lot more info on Leonard vs Duran. http://boxrec.com/media/index.php/Sugar_Ray_Leonard_vs._Roberto_Duran_(1st_meeting) While the fight was one of the first to be on PPV....it was only PPV in LA and Columbus Ohio! That explains the abysmal numbers. There were 310 other locations in America and Canada that had the more traditional closed circuit setups. Also the article does mention that the fight was shown on ABC's wide world of sports nine days later. So it's not that only 150k watched the fight. Several saw it in theaters, and others were content to watch it the following week. It looks like you were right and I was wrong on this one!
So, Duran-Leonard had 150,000 PPV buyers in LA and Columbus, Ohio alone ? It wouldn't really surprise me. Viewing figures for big-time boxing are possibly lower than ever these days, which would explain why no one knows who most of these boxers are. I don't know, but that's my perception of the situation.
In the USA, the Louis-Schmeling fight in 1938 garnered a rating of 63 on the radio. the rating for the highest Super Bowl is something like 48. Boxing used to be mainstream. It is not any more. pay-per-view is the process most entertainments go through as they slip out of the mainstream--a shrinking fan base and increasing ticket prices. Yeah, opera and ballet make money off their small fan bases, but how many folks can name a modern ballet dancer or opera singer? Is boxing in trouble? Is the tiger? Is the panda? All are becoming rare.
Ali was involved in the civil rights movement, refused to go to Vietnam, and had an amazing personality. Louis was involved in a pre WWII showdown with Germany. The war was coming and this fight was a preview to it. Louis was beaten up by Max before, but this time it felt different. Tyson had an insane life in and out of the ring. He seemed out of control, and he was. His life from 1989 till his retirement was a train wreck in slow motion. People who normally didn't watch the sport watched Tyson fight. Probably for the same reason that public executions always attracted a crowd. Why people watched the Christians be thrown to the lions. These were great boxers. But they were so popular because even non boxing fans wanted to see how their life would turn out. People didn't like Ali so they watched his fights hoping to see Frazier knock his block off (Frazier obliged them). People wanted to see if Tyson would eventually melt down in the ring (he did). People wanted too see if Joe could prove hitler wrong and win one for America (he did). That's why these men are remember as insanely popular. These are stories that people want to experience and hear. When Joe Louis knocks that German out, in a way, you're knocking him out too. America is knocking him out. When Frazier knocked down Ali and beat the arrogant fighter, he wasn't alone. Much of America felt a victory too. They wanted Ali put in his place by the humble Frazier and, by God, their man did it. When Tyson Ko'd Holmes at 21, he didn't do it alone. My entire generation felt it too. My dad's champion was gone. This was MY champion. He was young, unstoppable, and my generation took over the sport in brutal fashion. He represented everything we feel when we are young. He did not respect authority, he was invincible, he lived fast and lived for today. Like we all did at that age. Now as an adult with a wife and a job, I see Tyson sitting dejected against the ropes. I see Roy Jones Ko'd by Lebedev like an old man getting mugged in a dark alley. I see Oscar De La Hoya quit on his stool against a guy who jumped up two weight classes. So it seems like boxing is dying. Just like my dad thought it died with Holmes, and his dad before him thought it died when Marciano retired. Ali, Louis, and Tyson are remembered as extremely popular boxers, so of course everyone today pales in comparison. However, these men weren't just boxers. They were heroes who just happened to box.
Tyson was a massive star before there was any controversy. He was a massive star because he was a phenomenal young boxer, nothing more. Same could be said about Joe Louis. I think the "defeated Hitler" narrative is a little over-blown. He was a huge boxing star and household name before he even faced Schmeling. He was more of a folk hero to blacks in America, for obvious reasons, nothing to do with Nazis. Cassius Clay was always more than a boxer, granted. Because of his talk. And then when he won the title he became controversial as Muhammad Ali. But there were dozens of other "boxing heroes". Almost every heavyweight champion was given "heroic" godly status because the position had status, because the sport of boxing had status and was more popular than it is now. I'm not sure why anyone would doubt this.
Too many sports around today. People can´t watch everything. When Boxing was super-popular people really didn´t have so many options like today...
No internet in those days. Even cable was not what it is today, right ? ****, check out the sports channels today and see how many different sports you see there. Football/Soccer of all types from everywhere, NFL, MLB, Nascar, MMA, Cricket, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Formula One, Formula Indy, MotoGP, Voleyball, Beach Voleyball, NBA/Basketball, Track and Field, Kickboxing, Tennis, Hockey, Horse Racing, Skate, Surfing, I´m seeing a lot of Judo thse days in the cabvle channels.. and even Poker is showed often in ESPN, etc...... So, things changed a lot and the only sports going to be really super-popular are the team ones, because people have this cultural thing to support their teams, NFL or whatever in USA but Football/Soccer in the rest of the world..
I agree, boxing was really big when famous prizefighters had almost no competition from other professional sports stars, certainly individual sports ..... and actually not even as much competition from entertainers in general. They occupied a bigger position on the cultural stage. And people could relate to them because boxing was taught in schools everywhere, compulsory even, and boys were expected to fight with their fists. Boxing was promoted as a healthy pursuit. As they say, the world was a different place before Elvis and the Beatles. People can talk about Mayweather but how famous is he really ? In the USA ? I don't know, he's not a household name here in the UK. Is he as famous as the most famous female Tennis player ?
Or maybe he's just the smartest businessman. Professional boxers can make a lot of money because the way the sport is structured, ie. it's lack of structure. Carl Froch isn't famous in the sense that Mo Farah is famous, nowhere near. And doesn't have the same endorsements. I bet he's got more money though. It's certainly not representative of popular appeal.
Yes, there's no way Mayweather is as big a name as a Tyson or Leonard-he hasn't got the crossover appeal of Ray or the notoriety of Tyson, so, for example, my nine yeard old son, has little chance of knowing who he is in all honesty (I remember being his age talking about the Leonard-Hearns fight in the school yard, I'm not sure many in his class would've been chatting about Floyd's easy victory last Saturday) and he isn't front page news...over here, he isn't back page news either. My wife hadn't heard of Floyd until last week when I was watching the Access All Areas thing- she obviously instantly hated him. If I asked her his name later, she wouldn't remember it i don't think- and he isn't as widely recognised as Serena Williams, as Unforgiven mentioned. At least not here. But then again, tennis- at least Wimbledon- is a BBC sport, not a subscirption channel. I suppose a top modern fighters 'fame' is a bit like a top heavy metal band- not many people know what they look like and they've kinda heard of the name but they have a very loyal fan base and sell shitloads of records. Still, this is hardly representation of boxing dying, there's still loads of fans who gladly pay lots of money to watch big fights and to go and see them- reports of its demise are greatly exagerrated and they'll be saying the same thing in 50 years (it's just that as Vic says, there's so much competition, then they're less well-known by and large). It has fewer household names today than when I was young I'd say but then again, in reality, 30 years ago it was Leonard, Hagler and a few others, no one in the street was debating whether Sal Sanchez would have beaten Pedroza had he lived or what they thought of Livingstone Bramble pet snake: "dog". :yep
It's funny.My relatives and friends, non boxing fans all, know Mayweather and knew him before this past weekend. The money thing is important. You can not fabricate those numbers from non fans.
