Has Sky already lost to BoxNation?

It's a demographic thing. My sports-obsessed colleagues know nothing about MMA - they actually think it is some sort of gay combat sport from all the wrestling, or ask "where's Hulk Hogan?"

They all know Amir Khan, most know Haye, some know Groves and DeGale (although didn't see the fight because Frank stupidly allowed it onto PPV).

I'd be very very surprised if any casual knew Brock Lesnar. Maybe Randy Couture since he was in the Expendables, but not for his MMA work.

 

MMA is more popular and faster growing with people below the age of 20.

Its a generation thing, its taking over bit by bit. And boxing is dying a slow death.....

Me at 25, I'm possibly "Part" of the last generation that grew up with boxing.

 

I can understand that, I'm 31 now and a load of the younger lads in our footy team are bang into UFC/MMA, and not so much boxing, appart from the big PPV bouts.

 

You may be right to a degree, PK. MMA does a good job of targeting guys with low incomes in the 16-25 age bracket. Also, the DVD releases make it so much easier to get into the history of the sport.

Boxing is such a shameful mess.

 

I dunno, round my way the same thing happened with kick boxing and Muay Thai clubs/ gyms starting up and outstripping the boxing gyms about 15 years back but it hasn't really maintained the growth and fallen away a little.

 

never had the decoders but i 'know' of plenty dodgy boxes. when i was 5-6 there was the real small cable ones where you had to push a button for 5 seconds and you would get sky sports 1-2 sky premiere and sky movies. you would get one sky box office channel which would show boxing ppv (naz vs barrera). then the ntl chiped boxes came out soon followed by the nokia v box or something which no longer work.

dodgy boxes have been going around for over a decade but i too think setanta would have survived had they not been around. when i was a kid around 8-9 i 'knew' about dodgy boxes but they were only really used by asians until a couple of years ago when they really popped up in conversation everywhere you went and they began to be sold to ordinary people who had sky before. if it hadn't been for dodgy boxes i do think that setanta would have survived not because of the footy or boxing but because of the cricket. the ipl was launched and was supposed to be the premiere league of cricket and setanta got it, now every ****stani and indian wanted to watch the ipl because of all the hype and the ones who didn't want a dodgy box subscribed but the ones who were willing to take the risk all bought dodgy boxes. every ****stani and indian in the country who liked cricket had setanta one way or another at the time.

agree with your point of boxing being too niche and my friends too would not be willing to subscribe to it. personally i prefer primetime to this because that way my mates would chip in for the ppv and it would work out 3 quid each but you can't do the same for a subscription channel.

 

UFC hasnt really managed to grow in Europe as fast they would of liked. There Germany shows tanked, France have banned it, Holland is a kick boxing country and while they do good gates at the UK shows its not as if UFC is anymore mainstream than boxing.

Its not like the media are ignoring boxing to cover the UFC instead is it.

I will come to work on monday and nobody will be talking about the Clev v Bellew fight but at the same time UFC isnt up for discussion either.

If UFC was that hot I think Sky would of snapped it up by now but they never do as I dont think they believe its something which drives up subscriptions.

 

Apparently Sky have gone in big to get Amir Khan back, presumably with the money saved from the ****** contract. That would give them Khan and Froch, the Uk's two biggest attractions plus Kell brook and Darren Barker. Sky might have less boxing but they'd have the big domestic names.
Heard Khan v Peterson would be on regular Sky with Khan v Brook and then Khan v Mayweather scheduled for ppv. Froch is expected to box on ppv following the super 6 also, and Brook was quoted last week saying Sky wanted him to be their next big ppv star. So not sure how much we'll see on regular sky?

 

Says who?

 

Brook = not a big name
Barker = not a big name
Froch = big for boxing fans, not a big name
Khan = a big name, but without much of a constituency it seems.

 

MMA gyms are popping up everywhere ,been to a few shows and its more like a party atmosphere with girls in abundance its a good night out .

 

"they"

But not that Hammers idiot who just makes up random stories

 

That "insider" idiot who makes up stories then?