Yeah the pompousness of the hardcore fan is amusing... I don’t get the argument though because all the hardcores must have been casuals at some point. I think the hardcores prefered boxing when it was a niche sport, now it’s gaining more interest they feel threatened. Very strange breed.
The only time other boxing "fans" ever annoy me in any sort of way is at Matchroom shows, its horrendous.
I'm not sure all hardcores were casuals at one time is a correct statement. Firstly we would have to determine what separates the idea, a casual from being a hard-core. Reading through this thread, it seems, most determine knowledge of the sport as the main criteria for the labels of casual or hard-core and if that is the case of how we determine the labels, then you are correct, at some point the hardcores were casuals as the accumulation of knowledge had a starting point and at that point the information accumulated was less and then started to grow as time went by. However, for me I think we have to seriously consider 'passion' for the sport as the main criteria which separates the casual from the hard-core. In that respect could we class Hearn as a casual? Of course he has a lot of knowledge about the sport. And as time goes by he accumulates more knowledge but is Hearn really passionate about boxing? Would he do everything in his power to keep his hand in the sport if sky or any big networks were to pull his contract. Probably not, hed move onto another sport, start accumulating knowledge in the new sport and probably forget all about boxing. Hearn is passionate about making money, I don't think he's passionate about boxing. I reckon Hearn is a casual.
That doesn't derail the argument at all really. I started out as a casual, realised quickly that I lacked any real knowledge and sought to change that. Started watching more than just Sky shows, read up and watched fighters who weren't Matchroom before realising how much of the game is BS. So I now feel I have a good understanding of when a fight is worthwhile or not, whereas I didn't used to. People who still don't and are blind to that are frustrating as Hell. The fact I was - and then amended it with edification - doesn't make their intransigence any different.
You get it with football, fans who have held season tickets for x amount of years feeling they are a superior fan to someone who picks and chooses their games based around family/financial/work/safety reasons. I've personally attended 30 plus shows, travelled to Germany, for Toegate, spent years getting up at silly hours, spent lunch breaks watching fighters train.. But now I have a moody android box, pick and choose my fights, and who I talk to about boxing, does this now make me any less of a fan than the man who takes a full Sky Sports /BT/BN DAZN packages, buys boxing news and attends local shows ?
Yeh, he definitely isn’t a casual fan lol. There’s certainly been a huge uptake in casual support for boxing post London 2012. With a competent governing body I’d be confident it could find itself placed along with the major sports in Britain. In regards to the casuals; It’s not hard to gain a sound knowledge either with Boxrec and YouTube available, Maybe hardcore don’t like the fact they’re niche knowledge can be readily challenged ?
I don’t hate casuals. I don’t even hate casual opinions, but I do hate when casuals give their dumbarse opinion as fact and refuse to admit they’re wrong
No. He absolutely did not. He pretends he did sometimes to make himself look tough which is even worse.
The Hearn “I used to box” story is hilarious. Basically he used to repeat that myth that he had amateur boxing fights in interviews until Frankie boy started disputing it and saying he checked and there was no evidence of Hearn ever having had a fight. Hearn then changed his story, insisted he did have one fight and claiming that Jim McDonnell can verify that he used to train as an amateur boxer.
I feel sorry for them - they get reeled in to buy PPVs for the biggest fights of all time then get hit with Mayweather v Conman McGregor, Bellew v Haye twice, Tony Dosh v Pudding Parker etc - yet they still fall for it time and again.
I was at a poker game a while back with a p.e teacher. He was telling me how boring Floyd Mayweather is but he loves Tyson Fury because he always 'brings it.' It was a long night.
