Attendances at UK boxing shows

This is probably a big tangent and another thing we can blame on social media, but boxers to me have become a bit too accessible now. Back when I first got into boxing (early 2000s) social media was still in it's early stages and you didn't really know much about the fighters you liked apart from what you saw on TV or read about in magazines, and it really added to the intrigue. But now a quick follow on Instagram and you get a complete insight to their lives and training routines, even if most of them just post stupid photos of them looking candid in the gym with captions like "levelling up."
In a nutshell I think the advancements of social media has kind of ruined the "mystique" that fighters had in previous years.

 

The huge increase in cocaine use is a massive problem in society at the minute. Feels like half the adult population who drink are also on the pervert powder every weekend.

Football is ****ing terrible for it now at the higher levels especially. Affects the atmosphere too as people just stand there wired as **** staring at their phones or angrily into the distance.

Glad I support a non league club and only occasionally do a Prem match as doesn't seem as obvious an issue there.

 

It’s worth adding the fact that we spend our money and turn out In Force to watch our teams compared to Europe so the big sky packages weren’t much of a gamble. The top two leagues in Europe for attendances are premier league and English championship, with our second tier having higher total attendances than even Spain and Germany. Outside of the big two in Spain the attendances for the rest in that league are nothing special.

 

I’ve noticed on a normal night out there is probably less people not on gear than those on it. It’s everywhere might aswel legalise and tax it as the war is lost

 

Pretty sure the Bundesliga has higher attendances than the Prem.

 

Yeah it's everywhere mate and across so many more social circles it seems.

Went on a date with a posh-ish girl a couple of months back and she asked me within ten minutes whether I could sort any before we'd even offered food...

 

Atletico Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, Real Betis, Seville, Real Sociedad and Valencia all get a very good turnout with the latter capable of filling a huge stadium if team going well.

 

Hang the scum dealers and war will be won.

 

The championship teams play an extra 8 games though. That's an extra 96 games. It's still impressive how well it's attended for a 2nd tier, but it's a warped stat.

 

maybe at one point but this 108 page report issued from UEFA has England in top spot

https://cdn.vev.design/private/aTCx...ent-and-competition-landscape-2024-120924.pdf

 

Yeah sorry mate but there's no way I'm reading a 108 page report. Suppose it depends if you're looking at total numbers or average.

Not that bothered either way but I know Germany was the highest for a long time.

 

Hearn put a poll out recently about start times of main events. He needs to put more and better cards on before worrying about main event time.

saudi has killed uk fight cards. 2 brits shouldn’t be fighting each other on Saudi cards.

Back to the original question, poor cards. Expensive tickets, transport, Hotel and food and drink. When were the last cards that sold out MEN or the o2? It used to happen several times per year.

 

Everything is more expensive after Covid, you imbecile.

 

Not multiples more expensive though. A 10% rise in costs hasn't turned into a 10% drop in attendances, it's much more stark than that.

Matchroom used to be able to put on big shows with big names multiple times a year and make them a spectacle. There was a regional element to it too, with the biggest shows at the O2 or Wembley drawing massive casual cards; other fights in bigger more local arenas drawing out rivalries or local ticket sellers.

For me the whole Matchroom boom started with Froch-Bute in Nottingham - anyone watching that on TV, thanks to both the Froch performance and the wild crowd, would want to see a bit more. Brook, Crolla, Bellew all built themselves up in that sort of environment - the problem was, they were all pretty late in their careers when it all took off and the replenishment just wasn't there.

Now we're stuck with the likes of Dalton Smith as the "headliner" and nobody knows who he is. Hearn made Matchroom from mostly ready-made boxers, won a golden ticket with Joshua and the rest fell into place for a while. Not now.

 

100%. A lot of people can't drink without it now.

I was in a busy pub a few months ago and there was a massive queue for the cubical whilst every urinal was going spare. I can't do them places anymore. Happy sat in my local cricket club away from the sesh heads.