Boxing Fans opinions required

Is boxing on it's last legs?

No imo. The biggest problem is you have too many weight divisions and too many "world" title belts which then leads to confusion on who the true champion of the division is, hence the reason I'm of the opinion that the true champion must hold the Ring title or beat the universal recognised "man"

Is UFC a real threat?

I'm not a fan, and I don't view it much, but from what I gather it isn't proliferated with numerous world titles and divisions and the best seem to fight the best on a regular occurrence, that is what I'm lead to believe anyway (the part in bold).

what other things could harm the future of boxing?

more mismatches for a world title ala Haye-Harrison, the reincarnation of Don King, more organisations being recognised as having genuine world titles (recently Cotto won the WBB title), the WBC adding more pointless titles and the same goes for the WBA. The WBC cherry picking Mexican fighters for world titles.

is boxing actually doing well at the moment?

2011 has had a bright start imo than the whole of 2010 put together. the Super 4 & 6 I have fully supported and perhaps with a bit more planning it would running more smoothly. We moan that the best don't fight the best that often, at least those tourney's bring us that.

 

ufc is just a faze people are going through

just like kick boxing in the 80s...

 

Is boxing on it's last legs?

No, but it is in a general decline. What it's lacking is a forward thinking promoter and a genuine star attraction of a fighter. The internet is going to be the big difference in how we watch boxing in the next 20 years - if a major promoter uses its potential well, then we'll see a reverse in the sport's fortunes.

Is UFC a real threat?

No, but it is attracting a young, white audience. These guys have a lot of spending power and boxing could do with their cash.

what other things could harm the future of boxing?

Changes in health and safety legislation, inter-promoter squabbling, HBO/Sky opting out of screening boxing.

is boxing actually doing well at the moment?

It's doing very well in Japan, Germany, in Europe in general, and other countries outside of the English-speaking mainstream. The UK has a thriving small hall scene and the right fighter can still sell out venues.

 

In in terms of 'product' perhaps boxing is in decline. There is a abundance of 'product' in the line with the number of talented amateurs coming through, but with out proper promotion these will not be enough to sell boxing to the mainstream marketplace.

Thing is boxing is more than 'product' - it is ingrained in the culture of this country (popular - cultural references and mythology) as well as community life - mainly working class neighborhoods with established gyms.

UFC is product in a purer sense - it is a relevantly recent media creation. It is directly marketed at SKY babies who grew up on WWF and wrestling. It is too early to see if it will become part of the culture and communities yet, and so sustainable outside of the media.

 

You might want to watch next weeks Ringside if the deadline isn't before then. Ignore that, it's this weeks one.

 

use this as well

http://www.skysports.com/video/inline/0,26691,13273_6871735,00.html

 

I'm afraid you are very likely to be dissappointed if you re-read that post in 20 years time.

 

UFC isn't ****. It has no legacy, it has no class and it has no longevity

 

Well, you are talking about a sport with over a 100 years of history behind it. It's proved its endurance. The UFC will have to prove its own self, eventually other MMA organisations are going to come along and seriously challenge the UFC and dilute the sport, where there's money, there will be competition.

That's when we will see the strength of organisations like the UFC. Boxing doesn't have to be in decline but it requires fundamental changes in how things operate. Promoters in my opinion are destroying the sport, alongside these sanctioning bodies and corrupt judges.

But the actual art of boxing, the physical chess match of two fighters squaring off and trying to best each other with their own mix of agility, strength, endurance, power and heart ... well, that will always hold appeal to those that can see it and appreciate it.

More appeal to me than some brutal wrestling match type thing. I was talking to some dude in a pub the other week, studenty type, not into boxing in any way and I mentioned that boxing was my sport. I was surprised that he understood straight away my POV why I enjoyed the sweet science but didn't like UFC. Without prompting, he stated that there is an art to boxing that you cant see in UFC.

Whether that's true or not, I dunno but a lot of people do see it that way and those are the die hard boxing fans.

 

We live in an increasingly global economy, UFC appeals to young white americans, but the spending power of young white Americans is rapidly declining in global terms. Boxing has far more support in europe, asia and south america and those economies are much larger combined than the the US economy.

Consider also changing attitudes towards the sale of digital media, just as the music industry has to shift towards concerts and away from
selling cds so sport needs to shift away from earning its revunue from TV and back to it's roots of selling tickets to live shows. I think in this respect TV wrestling franchises such as WWF and UFC have a real disadvantage against boxing. If you could get your hands on total live gate receipts worldwide for UFC and boxing I would love to see them. I expect boxing would be at least 100x higher.

I obtain all my music, TV and movies illegally but the money I save I spend on going to shows.

Until TV came along pro-wrestling hardly existed, pro boxing on the otherhand has existed for 300 years.

 

Is boxing on it's last legs?
As long as there are marquee names around the sport will continue to do well. Its so accessable now via you tube you can see any fight you missed that was on PPV in another country or any number of back catelog fights.
yuo cannot beat the excitment of a big fight and nothing will change that.

Is UFC a real threat?
The 2 sports can co exist, the biggest threat to boxing comes from itself. Poor judging, home town decisions, too many titles, mismatches etc.


is boxing actually doing well at the moment?
Programs like 24/7 and fightclub 360 open up a different aspect and to the reality tv culture. Is very popular in Europe, vegas is still special on big fight nights.

 

Sorry that last sentence is just not true. Wrestling can trace its roots back 200 years and pro-wrestling started to become a big attraction in Ameirca at the turn of the 20th century.

And this month the UFC is going to have 55,000 fans in the Rogers Center in Toronto, paying around $11.5million for their tickets.

 

UFC is getting constantly outdone in ppv numbers and in ticket sales. Its only fanbase is in america. But now the blacks are starting to dominate to it, its fell off even worse past few years with silva at the top.