Here's a statement of S. Kim about about the lame ass promotion at a fightcard US promoters putting together: Just tell me why? Boxing in the US compared to other sports like Basketball, Football etc. is just average when it comes to getting into the mood. Whereas Brits get drunk and crazy and Europeans being a bit fade when it actually comes to fight, it seems that US fans ar bored and don't care about the undercard b/c there is nothing (but the fights) to get excited about. So about 70 percent of the people actually just show up before the main event b/c they ain't entertained properly. And it also shows just a bad image on TV - "Hey son do you like boxing - na dad, just 2 guys pounding on each other didn't get me excited, but did you see those fireworks during Wrestlemania?" One thing I don't understand: The promotional upbringing of a fightcard in the US is way better than for example in Germany. You seldomly see banners or hear/see about the promotion in local radio shows (Just mabye for the Klits fights). Why can't they hold those standards and try to get the show way bigger with all those stuff the promotions do in Europe? This is also one of the reasons (IMO) that it is harder to upbring/create a new superstar in boxing - b/c no one (except the hardcore fans) really watches the undercard anymore... :deal
Yeah, I always liked Eubank's walk-in and ITV/BBC's countdown to a fight with him philosophizing...Hamed was a bit too much (and loooooong).
It's unquestionably true. Klitschko has had some incredibly elaborate entrances. The Germans and the British know how to put on a show. Some American fighters have had somewhat entertaining entrances, but I suppose that's more about the fighter than the promoter.
I didn't intend to make this a topic about ring entrances but more about the second fact, saying that you can't build up a superstar without people to notice him. I was at Wlad - Thompson and I have to tell you that even for the first bouts there were about 7,000 people in attendance and about already 10,000 people for Banks vs. Rossitto.
There does seem to be a better atmosphere at Brit shows than American ones but i wouldn't say there is a good atmosphere at German fight's. The crowd seem knowledgable and respectful in that they can enjoy a technical fight and don't just boo and heckle if it's not a war but there isn't much atmosphere from what i have seen.
Yeah, it's a bit weird watching them on TV but I can tell you that there is a good (not great) atmosphere when being ringside for those fightcards. American fans just seem to care for the main event whereas the Europeans come in masses early on to watch most of the bouts...
Americans do love spectacle. If they didn't, UFC and WWE wouldn't have millions of loyal followers. I would also agree that Europeans seem to have more patience with a more technical fight and most of the fight crowds I've been in don't understand boxing per se, but are calling for the knockout in just about every bout. It's a cultural phenomenon; we're just less refined here in the states.
I know, that's why I brought up football and wrestling - but why isn't there much of a spectacle at boxing's main fightcards?
One reason could well be lack of money. Boxing promotions, other than the really big events, are not well financed, purses are small, etc. Those big productions take $$ to set up. I have noticed with the German shows that they do have music, etc., but it's pretty much always the same setup. They use the same lighting graphics on the ring walk, have the same overhanging screen and light show, orchestra, etc. Looks like they've gotten it down. Plus, American crowds don't respond well to classical music versions of national anthems. They'd rather see the ring card girls that look like Hustler models.
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germany has a distinct advantage over other countries (like the usa) when it comes to boxing: in germany, you have loyal boxing "fans" that simply dont know one little thing about the sport. in germany, tv will allow a german (or german based) fighter to fight just about anyone. they simply dont care.......because the german fans will turn out no matter what. they fill the arena even if the opponent has not been announced. as i said: tv dont care, the fans dont care......hey the promoter can do what they want. in the us you cant do that.........not so easily anyway. first of, tv has a say about the opponent. and secondly, the fans are a little bit smarter. not that the average us fan is super smart or knowlegable or anything. but the are not THAT dumb. i mean come on. the average german boxing fan knows as much about boxing as a braindamaged ****** on crack. in germany, boxing is an "in" sport. its fashionable. it has no real backbone. so it basically sells itself. people go for the show.