When did you feel the popularity of boxing started to decline?

Richard M Murrieta · Apr 27, 2020

Jamal Perkins said: ↑

If you pick up any boxing magazines from the 1970s,1980s...they are talking of a serious decline in boxing...a lack of stars outside a handful of guys...so this kind of thinking has been around for a long time...

However I think the actual decline set in around the late 2000s-very early 2010"s...the factors were:

1) Long term decline of American HW powerbase and lack of interest in Klitchkos dour brand and perception of them as unrelateable (neither white nor black-sadly such things always mattered in the HW division and America ..plus a lack of competition during their era and a boring style overall.

2) The Long term decline of brands which built up a fighters career in a episodic fashion so you could follow a fighters career and have a real interest in the said fighters ups and downs....eg HW Explosion, traditional BBC style fight shows in the 1980"s... ABC/NBC in the 19 80"s....ESPN Friday Night Fights.....Eurosport during 1995-2005 under Steve Holdsworth were masters of the soap opera boxing format of episodic shows showing a bunch of fighters journeys...an example being they covered sven ottke"s entire career...he wasnt the most exciting fighter but you had interest in how he would do against different fighted...this format was small potatoes and non ppv fish but they enabled u to follow a fighters career.

3) If the Alphabet soup of 1980s/1990s didnt kill the "sport" the explosion of multi soup titles eg Super,Interim,Silver,Regular WBA Middleweight champ has killed it...every fight between two middling non entities has a world title or lavish sounding title attached to it.......consequently previously prestigious national titles mean nothing any more and titles in general are demeaned...and the public eventually realises its a crick of ****t.

4) The lengthy longwinded tacky ring entrances,grinning army of smiling ring card girls,Michael Buffer style lengthy introductions....mariachi music .what I"d basically call the Bob Arum /Golden Boy template ...have turned off many.......the UFC has a very spartan entrance regimen..which many prefer the concentration focus on the sporting contest..

5)Mediocre yet stats wise world level boxers deciding to follow a Mayweather type once a year fight schedule...eg Amir Khan,George Groves,Billy Saunders...DeGale

All of these things have led boxing to just become a one off event type landscape rather than a sport you can follow.......and it is the casual one off event seeking millenial demographic it caters to....those who have no wish to follow a sport or invest time in a fighters career....so you get...logan paul v ksi.....you get them interested in a Anthony Joshua fight.....so based on the overwhelming success of these "events" and Eddie Hearn has been a master of them in the UK....it all means there has never been as much $ and £ in boxing...but the actual sport and standard is declining...and the promotional ability to create interest in fighters and a division is dying....so its a event "sport"...not an athletic "sport".

One off events can easily be usurped by new events...in other areas...

Mixed Martial Arts seems to have taken over from boxing in excelling in creating this athletic interest...1 world champion...and real interest in regular fights between contenders

Football for all its faults has never left its athletic competitive root...teams play in leagues in regular matches with each other...it isnt a one off event sport...u take an interest in players and teams careers long term
Click to expand...

Richard M Murrieta · Apr 27, 2020

Jamal Perkins said: ↑

If you pick up any boxing magazines from the 1970s,1980s...they are talking of a serious decline in boxing...a lack of stars outside a handful of guys...so this kind of thinking has been around for a long time...

However I think the actual decline set in around the late 2000s-very early 2010"s...the factors were:

1) Long term decline of American HW powerbase and lack of interest in Klitchkos dour brand and perception of them as unrelateable (neither white nor black-sadly such things always mattered in the HW division and America ..plus a lack of competition during their era and a boring style overall.

2) The Long term decline of brands which built up a fighters career in a episodic fashion so you could follow a fighters career and have a real interest in the said fighters ups and downs....eg HW Explosion, traditional BBC style fight shows in the 1980"s... ABC/NBC in the 19 80"s....ESPN Friday Night Fights.....Eurosport during 1995-2005 under Steve Holdsworth were masters of the soap opera boxing format of episodic shows showing a bunch of fighters journeys...an example being they covered sven ottke"s entire career...he wasnt the most exciting fighter but you had interest in how he would do against different fighted...this format was small potatoes and non ppv fish but they enabled u to follow a fighters career.

3) If the Alphabet soup of 1980s/1990s didnt kill the "sport" the explosion of multi soup titles eg Super,Interim,Silver,Regular WBA Middleweight champ has killed it...every fight between two middling non entities has a world title or lavish sounding title attached to it.......consequently previously prestigious national titles mean nothing any more and titles in general are demeaned...and the public eventually realises its a crick of ****t.

4) The lengthy longwinded tacky ring entrances,grinning army of smiling ring card girls,Michael Buffer style lengthy introductions....mariachi music .what I"d basically call the Bob Arum /Golden Boy template ...have turned off many.......the UFC has a very spartan entrance regimen..which many prefer the concentration focus on the sporting contest..

5)Mediocre yet stats wise world level boxers deciding to follow a Mayweather type once a year fight schedule...eg Amir Khan,George Groves,Billy Saunders...DeGale

All of these things have led boxing to just become a one off event type landscape rather than a sport you can follow.......and it is the casual one off event seeking millenial demographic it caters to....those who have no wish to follow a sport or invest time in a fighters career....so you get...logan paul v ksi.....you get them interested in a Anthony Joshua fight.....so based on the overwhelming success of these "events" and Eddie Hearn has been a master of them in the UK....it all means there has never been as much $ and £ in boxing...but the actual sport and standard is declining...and the promotional ability to create interest in fighters and a division is dying....so its a event "sport"...not an athletic "sport".

One off events can easily be usurped by new events...in other areas...

Mixed Martial Arts seems to have taken over from boxing in excelling in creating this athletic interest...1 world champion...and real interest in regular fights between contenders

Football for all its faults has never left its athletic competitive root...teams play in leagues in regular matches with each other...it isnt a one off event sport...u take an interest in players and teams careers long term
Click to expand...

Richard M Murrieta · Apr 27, 2020

Really good post.

C.J. · Apr 27, 2020

The blatant corruption in boxing is what has totally ruined the sport. They dont even hide the evil goings on. Whenever canelo fights you see everyone saying the same thing His opponent would have to KO him to win he would never be allowed to lose in vegas. It breaks my heart to see the sport Ive been around all my life be ruined

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When did you feel the popularity of boxing started to decline?

Richard M Murrieta Now Deceased 2/4/25 Full Member

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When did you feel the popularity of boxing started to decline?

Richard M Murrieta Now Deceased 2/4/25 Full Member

Richard M Murrieta Now Deceased 2/4/25 Full Member

Richard M Murrieta Now Deceased 2/4/25 Full Member

C.J. Boxings Living Legend revered & respected by all Full Member