Boxing is meeting its ends.

Some popular sports have their ups and downs, but I don't see boxing ending whatever the crisis it may go through.

 

Its been ahead in a lot of metrics for ages already. The UFC was drawing much more consistently on PPV than boxing by the late 00s.

 

but most folk who watch boxing don’t read the boxing news the folk who do make a small percentage of that so boxing will be fine folk have been saying this for donkeys years lol

 

It's the money hungry grubs (promoters, tv companies) running the sport. They are just selfishly looking to fill their pockets for the now and they don't give a **** what type of state they are gonna leave the sport in.

 

That problem of there not being a lot of ways to get just a little exposure to boxing is a huge problem. It is getting a little better though because the celebrities boxing and the popularity of boxing for exercise.

The bottom line is that there is a single model used by successful sports: the biggest games are on network TV or basic cable at worst then matches only of interest to hard-core fans are the ones they charge for. The big matches build the audience and they extract cash from ones most willing to pay.

Boxing has survived with this ass backward model from momentum built up by the personal charisma of Ali, Leonard, Tyson, and Floyd (momentum built before or early on in PPV) and the fact that it is literally impossible for a human being to look away from a fist fight.

That second principle can be used to rebuild fast! They just need someone with the vision to get a HW championship fight on TV.

Unfortunately there is an incentive problem where, because the sport isn't growing fast, no one invests in the future of the sport so it doesn't grow.

This is also true. It's funny to read old SI articles from the 50s or 70s bemoaning the state of boxing.

 

It's not going to disappear but it's definitely getting less and less on tv. In addition the purses are about to be slashed big time as networks will not put up big fees for boxing that does not draw big ratings. But I think that's a good thing. It will force fighters to fight better Fighters because that is their only way to get a decent payday.

 

Unfortunately it's American boxers that refuse to make the big fights...and the American audience is dwindling incredibly fast

Charlo, Andrade, Spence, Crawford , Benavidez, Plant all could have been star 160/168 fighters. Blue chip. They won't find anybody that isn't Canelo.
Tank fights absolutely nobody.
Pretty sure , even with the same promoter, Haney and Stevenson will duck each other like the plague.
I have no hope that Ortiz or Ennis will get a shot at a title for a live body

Even the Mexicans are going this way now. Munguia has turned down two shots at a title so he can continue fighting bums ....until , and only when, he's allowed to fight an absolute bum for a vacant title one day and be 'world champ'

As a result every fight today is about 50-1 odds as these frauds crush absolute tomato cans

After this Crawford/spence fight fell apart there's not a single one out there that excites me

 

This fight has been discussed on/off for much too long. Just be patient for the 35yo and 32yo to finally meet?

 

"Boxing", as it exists now, will certainly never die. The problem is that boxing is different now. There have been massive changes implemented in a relatively short period of time.

So, "boxing" will continue on in its present form, a chameleon-like sport that will change to suit the times.

 

Just look at this UFC PPV today. One ****ing card has

- Three top 10 p4p'ers
- Two title fights in the two strongest divisions in the sport
- Four other fights involving top 10 ranked opponents facing each other
- A fight considered a mismatch by MMA standards with a top 5 vs top 15
- Two fights involving hot prospects who could be challenging for a belt within a year or two

Meanwhile boxing could be giving us Fury/Usyk and Spence/Crawford and a bunch of other big fights but it gives us Fury/Chisora 3 and Bud/Avanesyan instead. Its almost like the sport WANTS to lose ground to MMA.

 

Sadly this is true…
Not like it’s a huge sport now, at least in the US. I wonder how unpopular it can get now that the cash cows are gone or declining…

 

Boring. Been hearing this crap for years and fighters continue to earn more money than ever and the big fights continue to break record's.