Boxing Is a Brutal, Fading Sport...

The problem I see with the author's theory is that he takes examples of the reasons for boxing's demise that are about 20 years apart. Well is it Mancini-Kim, or Griffith-Paret? 20 years difference, during which time boxing was hugely popular, even in the mainstream.

And he must have an awfully rosy expectation of human nature to think that anyone would give two sh/ts about corruption in the game. Anyone who likes boxing will watch it anyway.

It's even at the point now where such old stories of mob involvement and fixed fights and all that is as much a part of the storied and rich history of the sport as the great fights themselves. We may not savor the reality of such things, but it's still "colorful."

As to the description of stories as far back as Hemingway describing the vagaries of this decrepit thing, well...........that was a while back too, no? How many legends, how many great memories have we called upon since Hemingway's attack?

Besides, Hemingay was just probably just trying to validate his own toughness by mentioning stuff like this........it's well known he loved the game and liked to get drunk and pick fights with Gene Tunney.

 

"Boxing like its greatest champions goes down, but never for the full count"

 

The US is filled with insolent, presumptive, entitled little snots who expect the world handed to them for just being their precious selves. What we need is MORE boxing, mandatory boxing at the grade school level... not less.

 

God, I would have loved to have seen Tunney slug Hemingway right in the neck........

 

I was at the London arena when benn beat McClellan 20 years ago screaming for benn never felt like that before or since afterwards when we realised what had happened to McClellan I felt ashamed and went off boxing for awhile the thing is you will never stop two blokes fighting for money or pride all we can do until we have a perfect society is make it as safe as we can sometimes that means saving fighters from themselves.

 

It hasn't declined because of being too brutal. It's because of the PPV market shrinking the audience and a decline in the quality of the sport. Not because of its brutality. The article contradicts itself by pointing to famous boxing deaths decades apart that never contributed to a waning popularity. This also doesn't explain the rise of the UFC/MMA which looks even more brutal, even if the effects aren't.

 

I think boxing will outlive The New York Times.

 

Agreed and that's the crux, fighters are athletes and hero's they represent so much more than just fighting.

I am a huge fan of the sport, as a former participant and current fan I am also a realist and understand the dangers of the sport. I am an advocate of shutting a boxers career down when he shows signs of damage and when it's blatant a fighter is damaged hold the approving medical authority responsible. When a fighter gets so hurt he is showing signs he may not be in the mental state anymore to make the best decisions for his health. I am still irritated when we see our sports hero's destitute with serious brain injury and not taken care of by the community.

 

The decline was done by boxing itself too much greed and deprivation of great fights for fans. The last few years boxing has responded with bringing upcoming fighters back to TV and giving fans the best matchups we have seen in years.

 

Boxing hasnt declined because of brutality at all. Its declined because of the absence of it. Its a watered down joke compared to what it once was. Nobody knows who the champion is in any division. There are 10 million divisions and 50 million champions. I woke up this morning and after taking my morning dump I was awarded a boxing championship for something, Im not sure what. The best fighters rarely ever fight each other. When was the last time you saw a fight and didnt actually KNOW who was going to come out a winner? The money these guys get paid for the minimal risk and effort they put in is beyond a joke. Boxing used to rival baseball as the National pastime. At times it surpassed it. Now hardly anyone gives a **** and only boxing, and by boxing I mean the boxers, the fans, the managers, the networks, and the promoters have themselves to blame. They allow this joke to continue. The fans dont demand better so long as their flavor of the month continues his fake unbeaten streak, the promoters, networks, and managers go along with the con to keep the gravvy train rolling, and the fighters dont mind either because if you can make a million dollars losing a title shot for one of the half dozen championships of a water down division you still made more than the HW champion did to actually win a title fight not too long ago. I cant even be bothered to watch this modern **** and knowing how ridiculously bad it is today makes it hard to even enjoy watching the old stuff knowing the direction it ultimately headed. 10 years ago I had every cable channel that broadcast boxing and never missed a ppv. The last time I watched a live broadcast was Pac-Mayweather (I only did because it was free and I got to spend time with some dear friends that I hadnt seen a while) that was such an abysmal show for such a massive stage that I gave up. That fight symbolized everything wrong with the sport today. Two guys who avoided each other for years because it was easier to grab cash fighting no-hopers than face each other and risk losing prestige. Then cash out with a huge payday and both put on the most ridiculous minimal effort you can imagine in a championship fight of any profile. Everyone involved should be banned. This sport should be ashamed of itself.

 

I don't know. I think combat sports are as popular as they've ever been. You got boxing on a couple of different channels, but then you have wrestling, mma, and kickboxing too. I really can't keep up with how much of it there is and I don't even follow those other sports. I mostly follow the champs and some entertaining contenders but that's like a hundred guys fighting two or three times a year. It doesn't leave much time to watch the fights of prospects, amateur stars, and classics. It's kind of overwhelming.

 

Don't know if l agree with everything you wrote but l agree with much of it, and your comments certainly mirror my thoughts about the Pac-Mayweather fight, what a farce.

 

As people in the west get more interested in other sports a new viewing public needs to be found.

One of the problems is the slow down in the Asian economies. If China and India had continued to grow the way they were a few years ago, and the demand for entertainment of any kind had grown with it, that was a potential audience of more than 2 billion people.

 

Well said. :good

I agree 100%. :good