The Future for British Boxing & Boxing on the Whole

Yes mate,been a good year so far and more to come.Weve got to pay for it through SKY and Boxnation but its a lot cheaper than going on the ale.Glad BN is still going,thought it would have folded.I like a little moan about fights falling through,predicting they won't happen etc. but in general things are great for us.Been a member here nearly a year and love it,even look at it before work in the morning most days.

 

Yea, I'm really excited about the future of British boxing as we have a lot of talent currently with more coming through. Won more medals (5) in '11 world championships than all previous years put together, Frankie Gavin was our first world championship gold medallist.

****** had a stranglehold on several prospects but with the emergence of Matchroom, he's lost a lot of his stable. At least now ****** should have enough room to manoeuvre the rest of his prospects who are being severely neglected.

Boxing returned to free-to-air TV on Channel 5 and that attracted a lot of people, good ratings - shame they've pulled the plug.

One little nit-pick is I cannot see anyone who's special but what we do have is the quantity.

 

Quality post.This year looks like it will be far better then last year with so many more brits getting a chance at World level.Barker should get another shot this year and fighters like Groves/Frampton/Quigg could get a title shot the effort Murrey put up last week was superb.This week we have Mayweather in action in a good fight and next week we have a brit defend a world title and one trying to win one and I for one will pay the ppv for Mcdonnell because it`s a good fight and would be quality if he won of course it should be Boxnation or Sky but i`m a boxing fan and hope Mcdonnell can pull it off.

Haye coming back brings mainstream attention to the sport love him or hate which is good for the sport.I`m feeling very possitive about the sport at the moment and I nearly fogot Froch-Kessler which is a fight i can`t wait for,going to be a great night if he can get the win,even if he doen`t there will be drama and quality boxing from both.

 

We also have Ringside which wasn't around in 2008 so Adam Smith is on hand to tell us on a weekly basis how it's "exciting times for British boxing"

 

Good post mate, will read in full a bit later on.

Basically on the title.......

I think its pretty rosy myself, we have a thriving domestic scene and have done for a while. What other country compares to ours in terms of Boxing? In the US, its just the mega fights, but the domestic scene is absolutely dire.

Will answer a bit better later on to the other points. :good

This forum needs more threads like this.

 

Great thread Skills. Domestic scene looks good, Matchroom are growing and we have a few potential world champs, Groves, Frampton etc idealy would like to see Barker, Macklin, Murray get it on. And we've got Tyson Fury! Probably the most entertaining characters since Eubank! I think the Futures bright.

 

Just **** right off with all this positive **** Mandana!

 

Why Mandanda? Not the Marseille keeper Steve Mandanda surely.....

 

The mystery revealed!:rofl

 

It's always good to look on the positives, but from the standpoint of finances and tv exposure across the board then the sport here is not looking so rosy at this very minute - but that can change. Certainly the likes of Buckland, Quigg and McDonnell would have some interesting responses to this thread. And this all stems from the present promotioanl and tv environment. Hennessy didn't have a tv option for Fury-Cunningham until CH5 changed their mind at the last minute which is a scary thought.

Matchroom needs competition and that can only be provided by having a more open shop window; the biggest outlet at present is exclusively on lease to one promoter. Another tv outlet of similar scale and ambition is needed to help put inactive fighters into boxing rings and onto screens. Matchroom cannot sign everybody

 

You mentioned the UFC in your opening post but whilst many boxing fans have always been worried that the success of MMA could take fans away from boxing, I think it spurred promoters on to start making the fights fans wanted to see. There was a bad few years in boxing which seemed to be just going through the motions but it seems different now and we're finally getting mouth watering fights on a weekly basis. Outside of the GBP/Top Rank feud, big fights are being made in every division and that's a great thing for the sport. Just like any monopoly can be hurtful, I think boxing needed a kick up the arse which the UFC did provide, so whilst many boxing fans were worried that the rise of MMA would hurt boxing, I think boxing fans should be thankful because without the UFC, I don't think boxing would be as good as it is right now.

Think of all the good fights we've had recently. Donaire, Hopkins, Martinez, Pacquiao, Matthysse, Khan, Canelo, JCC Jr., and many, many others are all out there trying to fight the best and prove their supremacy. As long as fighters and promoters are willing to put on big fights, the sport will thrive once again. I've always maintained that boxing is the most entertaining sport in the world and I think many casual fans would agree that little can beat a highly anticipated boxing match, so as long as the rights are made, boxing will continue to grow.

I think the TV deals in America and Britain have been beneficial to the sport as a whole. GBP going to Showtime has been beneficial to the Showtime/HBO rivalry and now instead of one dominant station, we have two rivals which provide the entire world with great fights. As long as Showtime and HBO are going at it, boxing fans benefit. You also have to consider boxing being back on terrestrial TV over there with the NBC deal, which has provided some excellent, entertaining fights. Boxing isn't at it's best in America yet but you get the sense that with NBC, Showtime and HBO all doing their best to lure new fans in, even better times are ahead for the sport.

Similarly, I think Hearn being given sole rights with Sky has been beneficial for the sport over here too. For too long, promoters had deals with Sky and they didn't do anything with it but I trust Hearn a lot more than Maloney, Frank and Hatton, whose shows were often lacklustre. I look at Hearn's stable and the potential he has to provide great fights is unbelievable. He has world champions, world ranked fighters, top prospects and it promises to be an exciting few years on Sky. If PPV numbers are good and fighters like Haye, Burns and Froch get big TV ratings, I'm sure it'll only be a matter of time before Hearn gets more TV dates and we see good boxing on a regular basis.

What excites me a lot is that boxing is growing around the world. China is a new market in boxing, which will bring in massive amounts of money, you have world champions from places in eastern Europe, there are more South American elite fighters, you've got boxing rising in Australia and so on. The more boxing grows globally, the better.

Whether boxing can become as big in the mainstream as it was decades ago, I'm not sure. However, I do think that the sport is on the rise and I look forward to seeing it continue.