Of course, 10 hours after I dropped this, Fury vs Usyk was off. All the same, for anyone interested. This content is protected
Rummy great video. The only thing that truly changes things is money. That is something the sheik has and if he wanted to devour boxing he could. Problem is that within a couple of years another rich sheik would want to be involved and it wouldn't be more than 20 years before things were back where they started.
With over ten thousand registered professional boxers globally, taking into account most world champions only defend their title 1 – 2 times per year, how are the boxers supposed to get a bite of the cherry if the amount of belts are reduced? I also think these alphabet belts get used as a bit of a marketing gimmick by the promoters, casual fans are more likely to attend or watch a fight on TV if it’s for the WBF title rather than nothing at all. Considering how casual money is the life blood of the sport, I personally can't see how lessening the amount of belts would help the sport.
I agree @Rumsfeld we have too many weight classes and especially too many belts. But that construction that you come up with to have every organization fight every other year sounds reasonable in theory but it will just further corrupt things. Like you said the only solution is one belt one organization and the only ones that I can maybe see that make happen are the Saudis.
If the sheiks got involved, I think boxing would become like MMA. UFC, Pride etc. MMA fighters cannot fight in both at the same time. And with UFC, fighters are picked to join.
Like everything in life. Ying and yang. Boom and bust. We had it good in boxing for a while and by a miracle kept the money flowing Now the money has ran out, olympic corruption has been outed and we are entering the bust cycle. Maybe that's too negative and outlook. I think I'll retire with Fury. Boxing will return from the ashes with a new generation of fighters who are cut from pig iron and steel baby. As Fury said in a recent interview he thinks boxing is dieing and he's right. The Saudi's managed to give us a final last gasp which will probably fade given there are no new stars to be born.
Only if they plan to never hold events in US because what UFC does would be illegal as per US boxing regulations like the Ali act. It would also be extremely stupid of the fighters to sign with anything like the UFC because once they have control they will start paying them like the UFC does (not much). So this is a non starter UFC gets away with it because the Ali act doesn't currently cover MMA As per Arum the Saudi's aim to do 6 boxing shows a year (he said this on the 3 knockdown rule) where they will probably target the most prestigious fights & fighters to come fight in Saudi. It will work best with fighters who are very good but not necessarily stars in North America & thus are underpaid for their talent. It would apply to Beterbiev, Bivol, & other Eastern European fighters & the whole Cruiserweight division for example They would also be able to get all the guys below 135 & they are clearly interested in mixing them in with the Heavier weights going by their interest in hosting Inoue vs MJ & the fact that Vargas vs Ball is happening on the AJ vs Ngannou card The fighters who are already stars in North America or have the potential to be have less incentive for Saudi. Someone like Matias (a Rican who doesn't speak much English but is all action stoppage machine) for example would benefit more from Saudi than someone like Shakira or Huggy who are paid millions even when they put on stinkers because they are English fluent Americans who promoters hope will become the "next Floyd"
Fans are often quick to point out the not-so-distant past when Oscar De La Hoya's impending retirement had the same media questioning what would be next, who could take the ball and run with it into the future. Of course, Mayweather and Pacquiao were there to fill that role. But the "boxing is dying" meme dates back to well before the last decade. In 1913, the Los Angeles Times ran an article titled "Professional Boxing Is Dying A Natural Death." In 1923 the same publication ran an article titled simply "Boxing Is Dying Out." The St. Joseph News-Press ran an article in their January 10, 1934 edition detailing Kid Howard closing his legendary gym. Howard told the paper "The sport is dying. There are not good enough boxers or good attractions left. I can see no future for the sport. There are more clubs and more stadiums in the country with no outstanding boxers to fill them, or even come close." In the mid-1940's it was boxing on the radio that was supposedly killing the sport. By 1951, articles such as one appearing in The Montreal Gazette's December 26 edition, were defending televised boxing, the latest innovation supposedly killing the sport. The mid-50's brought more "dead sport" talk. The Toledo Blade on June 8, 1955 read "Let's face it. Boxing is dying everywhere, because commissions have surrendered to fighters and managers." 1961 brought a new wave of the same old stuff, boxing was dying, again because of TV. Former champ Jack Dempsey explained "TV, or rather too much TV, and the people who profit from it, has put the independent promoters out of business. There are few, if any, small clubs anywhere in the country. Those clubs were the source of talent. Without fresh talent, boxing is dying." Even unheralded heavyweight title challenger Cassius Clay was possibly part of the inevitable death of boxing in 1963, along with fans not getting their money's worth. Four years later, in the June 6, 1967 edition of the Leiston Morning Tribune, Archie Moore mentioned Ali as one of the saviors of boxing as people again claimed the sport was on life support, "They sounded the death knell on boxing in 1938, but it enjoyed a spectacular growth after that. Then they sounded the death knell again, and along came (Cassius) Clay. And now you've got these Italian boys." And here we are, in 2013 running through the same cycles. There are no stars! There's too much boxing on PPV! There's too little boxing on PPV! Where are the clubs creating new young boxers?! It's the commissions! It's the managers! The fights are boring! But the reality remains, Floyd isn't making $41.5 million and Alvarez $12.5 million, in a fight that already set a Las Vegas live gate record, and will likely set pay-per-view records, to compete in a sport that is "dead." The sport of boxing is flawed, it has always been flawed. But as with every other period in its history, it's not going anywhere. https://www.sbnation.com/2013/9/11/4718644/mayweather-vs-canelo-superfight-boxing-is-dying-meme 1937 - Jack Dempsey knows his own game. When he says boxing will be washed up within a year, unless something's done, he's talking straight from his heart. "It isn't boxing anymore, he complains, "but just a big lawsuit." Still, when Jack thinks the evils of his former occupation can be cleaned up by appointing a czar-someone like judge landis, who runs organised baseball, there is room for doubt Jul 22, 1966 - Boxing is dead no question in Jack Dempsey's mind the fight game is dead there is no fight game to day the former champion said there never will be again.
I appreciate that diagorus but who can you see coming through Look at the state of guys like Ryan Garcia. Dead on arrival. Davis dead on arrival. Haney is manufactured and boring. Japanese market is a niche upon itself. Cruiserweight dead.