When, in your opinion, did the Heavyweight title lose it's glory?

Two belts was ideal because you got the potential for unification bouts, winner takes all type of situation while still having mostly quality champions and fairly equal honour in each belt. I personally think that's more interesting than just one champion. As soon as boxers started considering themselves an actual world champion if they won the IBF belt it was always going to go downhill from there.

 

How far has Heavyweight boxing fallen. Think about this, World wide, the average non fan of boxing probably could tell you who Ali, Frazier, or Foreman was. Ask the average non fan who is D.Wilder? A.Joshua? T.Fury ? Is.... Think about that in this era of beyond mass media coverage. EVERYONE who has a smart phone today has more information in their hands than ALL the media sources combined 40-50 yrs ago. Yet most couldn't tell you who the Heavyweight champs are today..... A sad commentary of today's game.

 

It lost its glory over decades of multiple “champions” and many multiple “contenders”. It now is a watered down hopeless mess.

 

'Perfect!!!"

 

All of the above, some great posts. Nothing to add , it's been gradual.
Taking any sport off free terrestrial tv will always see its wider popularity go backwards. Pay per view for moderate fights is now making it a farce. Watering down the already diluted numbers of viewers.

 

The Klitschko years. Not so much because of them specifically but the rise of MMA has greatly hurt the sport in my opinion. I'm 44 and still box but most of the guys at my gym are only boxing to enhance their striking for MMA. It seems like the younger fight fans that use to buy Tyson/Holyfield PPV's now spend their money on UFC PPV. All that said, the sport is still the best and will always have a following. At some point, their will be a guy that comes along and captivates people. It's just a matter of time.

 

I thought this too at one point.
Then I realized I was in a box.

MMA is nowhere near as lucrative as boxing. UFC fighters get paid a significantly smaller fraction than boxers.

And honestly, since the Mayweather McGreggor fight, I’ve felt an underlying shift of mainstream fans from UFC back to boxing.

Several of my friends and cousins who were more into UFC are becoming increasingly fans of boxing.

The modern era is also extremely exciting. We got Loma, Crawford, Spence, etc.
But the heavyweight division is on fire, and I think a good HW division is extremely healthy for the popularity of the sport. There’s amazing talent at the top, and there’s some very exciting and impressive HWs on the come up. Just wait till Ajogba gets more involved, whew.

 

And I agree, we are fresh off the heels of the Mayweather/Klitschko era. Fighters who are amazing to watch for the real fans, but not for the mainstream.

 

when PPV took over

 

This is the greatest of all possible worlds.

You people who long for breadline rejects, mobbed up contenders and the colour line should get your heads checked.

We have real athletes, true freaks, fighting for the title these days. Sorry if you're too pure to be along for the ride.

 

Started with the Norton split, lost a lot with Holmes ducking guys and refusing to unify, rebounded a great deal with Tyson-Lewis, and collapsed in the post Lewis era. Sadly, thanks to lack of interest, screwjobs, title proliferation, fat, drug addicted titlists, and the poor reputation of sanctioning bodies, the former richest prize in sports is not about as prestigious as the WWE wrestling belt. I would seriously bet that the casual sports fan does not even consider this a real sport anymore.

 

A lot of great mentions and i think it also dropped noticeably when America was no longer competitive for a long period.

 

When it became fractured into different alphabet versions,imo.

 

In terms of the title itself, the Norton/Spinks split set the decline in motion. From that point on, challengers could be avoided and titles could be won outside the ring. The titles became increasingly fragmented from that point, which confused casual fans. There would be more heavyweight titlists in the next 20 years, than there had been in close to a century.

The titles had been split before at times, but from 1978 it became the normal state of affairs, and unified champions were the exception.

The division itself continues to blow hot and cold like it always has done. While Ali and Louis transcended boxing, Marvin Hart and Jack Sharkey really didnt. Klitschko was a huge star in Germany and his homeland, Fury and Joshua are household names in the UK. There is still star power out there, and a major heavyweight fight is still a huge event in the right circumstances.

 

Seems when MMA is mentioned it's nearly always about America.

Internationally, Boxing is doing very well. For example, Japan is having a boxing boom like in the 90s, and they're a MMA hotbed. Boxing is also very popular in the UK at the moment, lots of competition at all levels.