Three reasons boxing's declining popularity won't be reversed any time soon

1.


The various biggest sanctioning bodies (WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO) won't ever join forces and fuse together. It has never happened and probably never will. And why should it?

If Don King can promote one great champion that satisfies the public and earns $20 million a fight, or two of his recycled heavyweight titleholders to produce stinkers like Byrd vs Williamson and Ruiz vs Holyfield, each of which brings in , say $15 million, he'll always go for the latter option as it brings in more money.

Promoters will speak endlessly in wanting the best fighters to fight each other, but in the end, the only thing that speaks is money.

The fact that when a person asks "who is the champion in that weight division?", and you have to answer "Well, there are four..." makes boxing lose credibility. It's like going on a holiday asking "So, where is the peak of this mountain area?" -"Well, there are four, depending on which travelling agency you ask".

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And to make the perspective worse: the reverse is not true. In the early 80's, the IBF got recognition when Holmes was gifted it after he was stripped of the (back then, only) WBC title for refusing to face the mandatory challenger Greg Page. In the early 90's, the WBO got greater recognition. Who is to say if an other sanctioning body will get bigger? Klitschko, before beating Sultan, is already announced as the IBO and IBF champion.




2.

Society is changing in a way that doesn't favor boxing as a mainstream show. Most people are spoiled, lazy and easily whine about small stuff. Being able to find everything on the Internet, the ability to call at any time and place you want, receiving therapy for every small deviant behaviour, etc etc. One or two generations back, people on average were much tougher, had a better attitude to just suck it up and go on with life.

Why am i saying this? Because more and more people think boxing is cruel, brutal and shouldn't be a mainstream sport. But this effect is not limited to the audience. Most boxers in the past have turned pro because it was their only way out of poverty. On average, people live much better now and don't need to risk their health and future by getting punched in the head.

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Amatuer boxing will survive, but the pro's will take a big hit. We're already seeing this in the American heavyweight division, where there is a big lack of talent influx over the last ten years.

Without Eastern Europe, the heavyweight division would be completely
gone, but sooner or later this effect will hit that region as well.


3.

Various promotion reasons:

Pay-per-view. Although this is for American's only, American's are the biggest boxing crowd so it's a pretty relevant wound. A big sport should be available on free tv, no discussion. It has been on free television for decades with no problem, untill greedy *******s thought they could squeeze another money-tree by introducing PPV, even on horrible fights like Holyfield vs Savarese. It is just an insult to the public. Even for a great fight+decent undercard, 50 dollars is a lot. Especially knowing that a good fight on paper can easily turn out to be a Mayweather - De La Hoya, and vice versa.

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The best fighters often don't fight each other, because of promoters that don't like each other or other political reasons. And again, why should they? They can earn millions by knocking out fringe contenders. Unifying only earns a bit more and risks a lot more. The fact that currently, you're "exposed" and "written off" after losing your first fight is also responsible for this.

What was one of the main reasons the early 70's was such a great era for heavyweights? Because the top fighters fought each other!
Everyone remembers Ali vs Frazier I, Ali vs Frazier III, Frazier vs Foreman, Ali vs Foreman, Ali vs Norton, Foreman vs Norton, etc etc.

Who remembers Bowe vs Lewis? Lewis vs Tyson early in the 90's? Holyfield vs Tyson in the early 90's? Lewis vs Holyfield mid-90's?
To me, the only reason the early 70's are better than the 90's is because in the 70's, the top fights all happened.



MMA is being promoted much better and it has been paying off. Even if their top guys keep on losing just when they're established, they still market their fights well.

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The fact that a boxing match can last 50 seconds but just as easily 50 minutes also makes it hard to get fights televised. Companies don't like the risk that their commercial won't be showed because there was an early knockout. Football, Basketball, soccer and tennis don't have this problem.

 

Boxing, at the lower weights, had two great years and this year thusfar is excellent as well, but is it enough to recapture the main public's attention?