Boxing is so dead!

If Adam Azim lives up to the hype he will be the face of boxing at least in the UK.

 

There has been a lot of good fights this year, and just now boxing’s biggest name had a bloody, fan friendly slug fest. The main problem is still most of the other popular fighters refusing to fight more than once every year and a half. Again though, plenty of great scraps in the 2023 file.

 

I was just at the bar watching the fight and I was shocked at the fact that it was not a full house. Normally when Canelo fights it is an absolute full house but it was much smaller this time. I don't know why that was. I don't know if it was how the fight was promoted or because it is more of a tune-up.

 

I think there is some good fights, no denying that. BUUTTT it takes for ever for those fights to happen. They try to hype them up for years and by the time they happen, the fighters are on a decline. They dont match up the best against the best anymore. Most good fights within the passed couple years were cherry picks gone wrong.

 

The problem is casual fans will no longer discover boxing flipping through the TV channels. Boxing is only on paid apps and you are not going to catch casual audiences finding it that way. Not only do casuals need to know who you are but they also need to know who your opponents are as well. Also social media following is not an indicator of household names. Gervante Davis and Ryan Garcia are still by no means household names.

 

2023 is the best year in a long time, so I think maybe we've seen the bottom and it's time to come back up.

This is the big problem. They have it backwards.

When the Cowboys play the Chiefs it's on NBC, when Alabama plays Georgia, it's on CBS. If I want to watch the Texans play the Jaguars, that's on big subscription fee NFL Redzone. If I want to watch University of Toledo vs University of Akron, I need to pay through the nose for ESPN's expanded CFB coverage.

I should be able to watch the HW championship of the world on broadcast TV. Then if I want to watch the fights that real boxing fans love like Chocolatito vs Estrada then I should be paying for it.

That's what growing sports do, put the big game on free TV to attract fans then make the most devoted fans pay for the stuff only they want to see.

 

That is true, but I’m talking about those random cards. Top Rank, Showtime, and DAZN have had plenty of great fights among lesser known fighters. It just sucks that you basically have to a hardcore boxing fan to consistently keep up with all the cards. The sport does a terrible job at reaching to the masses.

 

Not really. we still have some good fights and talented boxers who can fight and be future of the sport.

 

Ive heard this argument since the 1980s. Hence if Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Alexis Arguello, Salvador Sanchez etc, saw boxing nowadays, they'd think they are watching golf instead.

 

They don't. They dont do any work at reaching the masses, actually.

 

PBC and DAZN tried, but reverted back to PPV.
DAZN now is more focused on other sports, as they keep picking up big football deals that are quite expensive. It´s the reason the price has gone up so much, not because they blew their budget on boxing.

But DAZN did pick up the BS KSI show that is basically YouTube boxing and they also picked up Lou Dibella´s Broadway Boxing, which is promising. I like what DAZN is trying to do and I hope they make more deals like the one with Dibella.
And as much as I despise De La Hoya, it´s good to have GBP on DAZN to keep Matchroom company.

 

These days armwrestling gets more views on youtube than boxing.

 

It occurred to me recently that we've probably seen the last megafight, at least in the US. The UK might have 1-2 more.

The UFC flirted with having megafights, and maybe it even had some. But, though it delivers vastly more to its fans than does boxing, it seems to be becoming more of a niche sport too.

By megafight, I mean, your mom knows who both of the fighters are pretty well. At the poker table, or perhaps the job, guys are likely to start talking about who will win before the fight, or sharing opinions after the fight. And the atmosphere of the fight will still give you tingles, watching it on youtube 20 years later.

I think that's gone.

 

it's about the same.

 

Archie Moore, 1958:
"You can count the really accomplished boxers active today on the fingers of one hand. Unless emergency measures are taken, boxing will soon be deader than the dodo bird. There aren't enough competent teachers and trainers around now."

The thing is, that while boxing in the US isn't what it used to be... that doesn't mean, it's dying worldwide! Today far more countries are hosting pro boxing, than was the case 50 years ago... and the sport is, by and large, doing fine.

Are there things we think could be better, that we'd like to change, if only we had the power to do so? Of course there are... but that's just neards like us, who have found our way to a place like this.

Average boxing fans around the world are likely more interested in backing their local heroes - than they are in taking part in discussions about Mayweather's cherry-picking (if they even know, that is a subject of debate in certain circles!). In Japan, for example, I bet fans looking forward to Inoue vs Fulton, far, far outnumber those who lose any sleep over Bivol's and Beterbiev's reluctance to meet!