The Future for British Boxing & Boxing on the Whole

The damage Eddie Hearn is doing to the sport may become irreversible.

 

at world level britain has got a few champions and a few contenders in around that level which is good

im dissappointed at british title level where it seems stagnant we need to see regular 50/50s even 60/40 match ups at this level but they dont seem to be happening. good domestic fights could create a lot of interest. the board of control should do more to sort this situation when they order a fight a lot of em are recycled rematches.

if there is nobody around to create decent match ups at this level than that is another problem. the olympians should create a bit of talent at british level but it all depends how fast they are moved and its usually fairly slow.

since frank with boxnation and sky went to matchroom other promoters have found there own niches in various ways. except hatton who doesnt know what to do leaving his fighters inactive even franks fighters dont seem to be doin much.

will be interesting to see if bt sport get involved in boxing in any way

 

bt getting boxnation on platform from what i been reading, unsure if they taking a percentage in it, or just having channel

 

You need to change the word sport to w. and the post would be spot on.

 

If you have been on this forum since 2008 you will be aware that there have been threada like this every year.

Regarding UFC v Boxing, the two sports can live together but it would be naive to think UFC doesn't limit the popularity of the sport. If you have attended an MMA and a Boxing show in the UK in the past few years you will notice how many more younger people there were at the MMA compared to the Boxing. Short term this isnt an issue but long term it is. MMA's biggest issue in the UK will an inability to secure a major TV deal for a UK promotion, and the UFC remaining on smaller channels.

No matter how good you think BoxNation is as a Hardcore boxing fan, it does nothing to grow the sport in the UK. You only have to look at the lack off shows from Frank this year to see that its not worked for him, and the attendences at these shows is poor.

There is a massive transitional period going on in boxing.It's going to take another 1-2 years until we get there. Thats where Hearn comes into play. You have a young guy, workaholic, boxing obsessed, a salesman that understands building relationships and marketing fighters.

Hearn is not happy with the sport being in the position that its in. He wants to get Boxing back to where it was in the 90s with Bruno, Lewis, Benn, Eubank & Naz. Fans on here have become ultra critical of Hearn, and that will probably never change but the problem with British Boxing right now is that Hean is the only promoter doing the business. If you had another 1-2 promoters doing as much good work as Hearn the sport would be in a better position.

Hearns mission is to increase the Sky boxing budget from Septber 2014 onwards. 30+ dates, International shows 1-2 a month. Then the sport will start progressing.

Another problem with Boxing in the UK is that it seems to have become obsessed with "mutual respect" and this "noble art". Everytime I see Adam Smith in a pair of cordroy trousers talking about how Kessler & Froch are good friends and thats great for the sport I cringe. Haye v Chisora, Hayes run on PPV, Groves v DeGale proved thats a load of bull****. Look how hyped people got when Bellew kicked off on Cleverly! When Hopkins told Calzaghe he would never lose to a white boy! People wanna see rivalries, cobtroversy, people wanna see two guys rip eachothers heads off. People want Tyson, Benn v Eubank, they want Rahman & Lewis brawling in the studio. They wanna see Naz predicting knockouts. They want Mayweather making it rain.

Big Fights + Big Characters

And I still think Mayweather v Pacquiao not happening really ****ed the sport long term. That fight would have been so huge.

 

i also wonder how widespread the use of drugs is in the sport and what if anything can be done about it both domestically and internationally.

the boxing fan in this country has never had it so good and is able to watch fights from all over the place my gripe with is they tv and promoters should stop clashing events on the same date its just daft

 

Quality thread good work skills, I think boxing is doing pretty well in the overall grand scheme of things. Mayweather and Pacman were both the highest paid athletes of 2011 possibly 2012 as well so there is still huge money in the sport at the top level. There's still plenty of shows and cards happening, the politics is obviously thwarting a lot of fights to some extent but such has always been the way.

In the UK I think we're in a slightly odd period for the sport, something will have to give eventually with the current situation of TV and Matchroom having most of the fighters. I think the BT Sport thing might have some impact and we desperately need ITV to get back involved with the sport in my opinion. Boxing on terrestrial TV is an absolute must. The debacles with promoters and TV slots is hurting the sport and hurting a lot of fighters who can't get a fight without TV money and are stagnating.

Some good talents coming through though and what is more important is that it seems to be regaining popularity with young kids, the gyms have lots of youngsters in them and that's going to have a positive impact 10 years down the line for sure. There's no clear super stars in the making right now, I think Fury could be one, and controversially I do think Frampton may be a force at world level, Groves possibly as he's coming into the division at a time when most of the top fighters are coming to the end of their careers. Having a British HW champion would definitely bring a lot of the casuals over too so lets hope Haye or Fury can pick up a strap as soon as possible!

 

The butures fright!! Agree about Fury,with Haye coming back the banter between these two has atg potential ..... skills,another great thread mate.

 

Yeah I agree that British boxing is in a positive spell at the moment

Boxnation is a success,we know it's really only watched by hardcore fans but does that matter too much.****** isn't promoting many shows no but many stars who will attract casual fans are on other tv stations.You have haye back on sky with burns,brook,bellew,groves,frampton etc.Then you have fury and degale on channel 5.These fighters will be the crossover stars.

We have more fighters ranked in an independent ranking like the ring than ever,as it stands only the powerhouses USA and Mexico are ahead.
Now that Is slightly deceiving as we only have 3 world champions and no p4p stars but the depth of fighters who are involved in international standard is very high.
Despite no top 10 p4pounders we have Carl froch and amir khan who are among the top 30 boxers in the world as well as constantly being in entertaining and tough fights,behind them we have David haye the best heavyweight in the world not called klitschko?,the outstanding lightweight world champion Ricky burns and the massive potential of light heavyweight world champion Nathan cleverly.Behind them we have world contenders Tyson fury,David price,del boy chisora,Tony bellew,George groves,James degale,Martin Murray,Matthew macklin,Darren barker,kell brook,Gavin Rees,Kevin Mitchell,John Murray,scott quigg,Carl frampton and Jamie mcdonnell
We also have some outstanding British champions expected to move up the ladder including Billy Joe Saunders,frankie Gavin,Gary buckland and Lee selby.
We also have a crop of prospects that will without a doubt produce more world contenders
How about Paul butler,Kevin satchell,John Ryder,Mitchell smith and you can hopefully add the names of Anthony ogogo,Luke Campbell,hughie fury and Anthony Joshua.

On the promotional front the fact you have 2 big hitters in competition can be good for
The domestic game,obviously ****** is lagging at the moment but I fully expect him to return stronger.Also having 2 tv stations in competition is healthy as well,as it stands sky are producing the big home shows and boxnation are buying up international shows from a number of promoters including goldenboy,toprank and sauerland.Lower down the levels you have good small hall shows with Maloney,coldwell,fearon,Goodwin and numerous others producing shows that rely on local ticket sellers,these shows are everywhere over
Britain every weekend and some weekdays.A couple of months ago Britain had more shows on 1 weekend than it's had since just after the war there is also more professional boxers and coaches than ever in the modern era.The shows are well attended
And are the lifeblood of domestic boxing.

Tv shows more boxing than ever now whether that's just because there's more
Space to be filled is irrelevant,it gains exposure and puts money into the system.
We have sky,boxnation,channel 5,eurosport,espn,loaded,primetime and the like showing all levels of British boxing not just elite level.

Amateur boxing has had a boom possibly because of the London Olympics but there will be more active boxers and fans due to this.
We topped the medal table for boxing at the Olympics,we were the home nation but the advance in standards was in line with the upward curve we have had since the team
Has had great funding and facilities,the likes of rob McCracken and Richie woodhall need to be congratulated for a fantastic academy system they have in place.
Bearing in mind these are our future pros some of whom will be at world level then the excellent coaching and experience these guys(Joshua,Campbell etc)are receiving is invaluable.
Nicola Adams's gold medal at the olympics made women's boxing acceptable with sceptics,she is a massive inspiration for both sexes and did a lot for boxings health last year.She is a wonderful ambassador for the young who want to be involved,the likes of Adams,Ricky burns,Scott quigg and Carl frampton promote clean living,discipline and dedication.

There are still so many issues of course that could be addressed but as i have mentioned our quality of fighters,tv,promoters and amateur game is on the whole very encouraging.just to even it up I will list a few things that could improve but boxings alive well and truly.

Don't listen to the haters

Things to improve
Too many prospect v journeymen bouts
Our top promoters not willing to put their men In together(price fury,frampton quigg etc)
Promoters to scared to protect fighters unbeaten records at any cost
Lack of competitive matches being made especially in small halls
British and commonwealth titles being devalued by undeserving challengers
A loss being perceived as disastrous

But mainly negative posters on this forum that's why this thread is well received.posters who slag fighters without analysing them just because of personal tastes.
As well as the many who moan about USA rob or nafflad doing tv threads,so ****ing what at least they are attempting to converse like adults and get people in discussions.what's wrong with tv threads anyway


So to sum up British boxing is very strong,just because it's not on itv and the back pages doesn't mean it's dying

 

**** didnt realise it was that long,sorry

 

Well yeh....thats the point.

 

Im liking boxing at the moment, for a north easterner its been pretty good. Been to few good JLD cards in past few months which have had good top of the bill fights and good talent on the undercard. Plus went to aba's other week which was good crack and a hell of alot of good fighters on show.

I kinda think a lack of tv is a good thing to an extent because it means title fights will end up on smaller cards and small hall shows meaning people have to go to fights instead of watching them on tv.

 

On the UFC stuff, I really have to limit how much I watch of that. For me, it appeals to the casual fans, its very much targeted for and at a certain demographic, I feel lots of casual boxing fans would be better of watching the UFC instead, because lets be honest, 99% of them DKSAB and just want to see a war purely to get their moneys worth. For what its worth, they'd be better suited watching the UFC, and I do think they aim that product at those sort of people, and old wrestling fans.

The same people that start booing if they start rolling about on the floor for more than 30 seconds. Its all a joke to me like, I just dont get that, you got people booing when they are showing a different part of the sport on the ground, so they stand them up to box to please the fans!?!

Why not just watch Boxing? Thats all the fans want to see anyway!

I personally just dont think there is any science to the UFC compared to Boxing. Its not an art, there is very little technique to punches. Some fighters are more skilled, granted, but most of the time its just two dudes swinging like pissheads and rolling about like dogs in the sun. "HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEREEEE WE GOOOOOOOOO"

It might just be me getting older, but it proper does my head in now. I can do with out it. Every card is the same, the production is the same, commentators chat the same pre-rehearsed **** "AND ITS ALL OVVVEEER" I find myself falling to sleep during the first fight.

Dont get me wrong, I used to watch it quite a bit few years ago but now, I dunno man. I think the last fight I watched properly was Silva vs. Sonnen....and that was only because of the hype.....and how long ago was that now?

Then you get these "smart MMA fans" who think they know it all and try to defend the sport from critics. I havent got a problem with the sport as such, I've got a problem with the fans it attracts.

I know thats gone a bit of topic, and I know I said I'd read your whole post Skills, and I will still mate, I'm just chilling at the moment for the big fight in the early hours, but sometime tomorrow I will post/reply better.