Less titles, better match-ups. We all know how to improve boxing. Problem is the people running it are making plenty and could not give a f.......
None of those things were what MADE boxing mainstream though. The single major factor was the activity levels of the boxers. To get new fans and HOLD the attention of existing fans, championship level boxers need to fight a minimum of 4 times per year. Ideally more often than this. Fighters today are only part time boxers!
- one belt per weight class - sort out the corruption and bad decisions - possibly eliminate some of the weight classes Btw, is it true that when Ali was coming up boxing was kind of losing popularity? I was under the impression that boxing was a very popular sport all up until the PPV era? What was the highest point of boxing's popularity in the US, how long did it last and where was boxing at the time in the rankings of most popular sports in the country?
Speaking from an American fanbase point: - An exciting HW champion - A White fighter with skill and swagger (think of a Paulie type with better skill and appeal), preferably East Coast based (media coverage) - Better promoters who know how to use the media to draw attention to events (right now Bob Arum should have Chris A on dayum near every station selling him as a slick version of Rocky) - Bigger personalities in the sport, both fighters AND non-fighters (Emmanuel Steward/Kronk Gym, Howard Cosell, Don King) - A better class boxing journalists and historians who respect the fighters and can educate the casuals, through honest, non-hating opinions/reports on all aspects of the sport
Those things are just fleeting, transient things that will come and go. To attract new fans and more importantly to HOLD them, we need boxers to fight more often. If I was a kid growing up today it is possible I would have never become a boxing fan at all. Kids see some guy they like. But then he doesn't fight again for 6months or more...kids have a short attention span , and lots and lots or OTHER competing interests. If that kid doesn't see his new hero again soon and often..he drifts away from boxing. In this way boxing dies.
While kids play a major role, they're definitely not the primal targets when it comes to attracting casual fans. Kids are usually the last group to join in when a fighter fully establishes fame.