Boxing will decline as society gets more health conscious

I don't think so man. Fighters know the risks involved... and if thats the case, than the NFL and UFC will be going away too and that damn sure won't happen with the amount of money that they generate. What will hurt boxing in the future is if this trend of the best fighters avoiding each other continues to transpire.

 

:deal

 

Young men don't think long term. Some guys are just hard wired to be hyper competitive and like to fight. Throw in some money and they're game.

Yes, this current government is hell bent on regulating everything possible, but I don't see a ban on combat sports anytime soon. Even the Soviet Union allowed the continuation of sport once they went socialist/communist.

 

Boxing will never decline cause humans are blood thirsty by nature.... Whenever there's blood in any sport they view it as a sign of toughness.. Take Curt Schilling's bloody socks for example it made him not only great but almost invincible-like on the mound.. And you have to remember humans are animals.. They love killing each other and what other sport exemplifies all these except boxing.. The fact that some parts of the world still glorifies cockfighting or dog fighting which is brutal by nature only indicate humans attraction to bloody sports...

 

Regardless of how much we "further understand impact trauma", I don't think there was ever a time when we thought getting punched in the head repeatedly was good for you. The fight game is here to stay.

 

Yeah I agree even though people know the health risk of fast food they continue to eat it because they like it. Some people will just naturally like boxing and other combat sports.

 

Despite your username, you've just explained why boxing will be the first of the combat sports that actually will die out. It's simply not violent enough for the impatient bloodthirstiness our society is cultivating today.
It's the same reason football has taken over baseball as America's favorite game. Baseball is a chess match, boxing is the sweet science.
People nowadays think chess and science are boring.
We need instant gratification and MMA-UFC gives people that much more frequently. There's no appreciation of a skill like a fine boxer, just give us bloodshed and knockouts. That's the appeal of those sports.
The Romans started with running races as their national sport of choice. As they grew in power and wealth, they also grew bored. So through a series of small steps where the games that drew crowds grew more violent little by little, they ended up going to watch lions shred apart criminals and Christians. We're headed down that road.

 

This line of thought is faulty simply because it is utopian. It implies that with new knowledge there will be progress in society. History has shown us that this is not the case as we are still bound to the rule of power. In my opinion this will never change.
WIth this in mind i think that boxing is a "virtual projection" of the rules of nature where the powerfull prevail. The sincerity of violence in the ring is overwhelming to a spectator who is used to being lied to in "reality". Combining this with the fact that participating in a boxing match is a consensus (isn't this the most beautiful part of pugilism?) ensures us that boxing is here to stay. There will always be people who will fight and strive for better things in life and people who will watch and fantasise.

 

I generally agree but would like to add that we humans like our violence served with style. NObody wants to see two bums almost kill each other but we enjoy when skilled boxers do it. I think skill plays a vital part when it comes to appreciating a good KO.

 

agree with this, it's the attraction to some people that it's dangerous, it gives them the extra buzz and a feeling of proving themselves. also it's kind of a manly thing, proving yourself as tougher, faster, more skilled etc against the risk of possible fatality, i don't think that's going to go away. and there's always going to be violent people who find an outlet for their aggression in the ring. and there's always going to be people who want to see violence. mma may well end up swallowing boxing though, once there are more dedicated gyms and the growing popularity translates into more fighters going through the system, it's the other way round in boxing:-(

 

At this point maybe. Kinda like how the gladiator fights weren't initially to the death. Then they were. But like I said, it eventually went beyond even skilled fights to the death, and just became wild animals tearing people to shreds solely for entertainment.
People tend to think somehow that it couldn't really have been that way, but it was. Human beings went to sports stadiums to watch lions and other exotic wild animals eat people. We're a dreadful race, and the move from no boxing to boxing, and now from boxing to MMA-UFC, is a small step in the same direction.

 

It's interesting that - while there was bare-knuckle fighting in the time that globenerd refers to as "no boxing", it wasn't seen or sought out by large groups of people - prior to the time of John L. Sullivan, everyday life was likely brutal enough that people didn't need to see brutality served up in the squared circle. Not when you probably saw hangings, executions, someone getting beaten up in a back alley fight, or mauled by animals or run over by trains or horses and whatever other violence that was more open then than now. Everyday men fought each other more, kids were bullied, beaten, it was called Life.

You can see it in the trends of entertainment as well. Movies and music from 1930s-40s is all schmaltz and sentiment because life was hard, what with your Great Depression, World Wars, walking everywhere, working everyday. Today we have cars, climate control, shoes with support, we don't go around beating each other up in the street, but all we watch and listen to is BAM BAM BAM and POW POW POW and FU=++K FUC FUKC $#&*@$ Pretending.

Anyway, hope you're wrong that it's going to require actual death sports in real life to break people's insipid boredom.

 

We are humans. Humans have been in love with blood sports since the Roman Empire. As time passed this love evolved into combat sports. Combat sports won't ever stop. Its a part of human life.

People love seeing a good scrap.

 

Exactly. You can hardly find any sport that's not violent anyway, they might as well ban almost everything and keep soccer for gays and women.

 

Football.
Now we all know the USA won't ever EVER get up their Football. Whole southeastern states would rebel all over again. lol