I have a theory... We needed to be rid of the old guard: Mayweather, Hopkins, Pacquiao, Marquez, Klitschko. These guys were hanging around too long and were holding up the game. Now that they've gone...the fresh blood can shine.
Otherwise agreed, but it is always the new generation's duty to take over and clean the oldies away, force them to retire, rather than wait for it
Like REED’s Said a Thousand Times, Boxing REPLENISHES Itself... Every Sooooo Often People Say “Boxing is Dying” or Devoid of Stars...And 100% of the Time, Our Sport Reinvents Itself and New Talent Emerges... Boxing REPLENISHES Itself...Always HAS, Always WILL... REED
This is largely the Klit sisters' fault. Dreadful fuckers to watch... they destroyed the division's popularity. AJ and Wilder aren't as good as Vitali... but they're a helluva lot more fun to watch.
Yeah, the Klits were terrible for boxing outside a few euro countries. Boring, cowardly (inside the ring for Wlad, ouside the ring for Vitaly) and no charisma.
Deontay and Joshua are great for the sport. Each one has knocked out every man they’ve faced and are always looking for the knockout. The heavyweight division has always been the blue riband division...the big boys carry the sport on their shoulders. Then you have some great smaller fighters in lomachenko, Spence, Crawford etc
To add insult to MMGay injury, Dana White was at UFC 222 watching Wilder-Ortiz instead of the grapple fests. LMAO!
Golovkin is 35 AJ and Wilder are both basically shit and don't represent any genuine improvement to the heavyweight division... it's as crap now as it was when wald pussy the Queenpin Canelo is mediocre Loma is awesome but fights in weight classes the average moron doesn't pay much attention to It's not about cagefighting Boxing isn't suddenly in great shape just because wald pussy is retired and a sloppy awkward heavyweight scored an exciting sloppy awkward KO
Yeah, Cdogg has definitely become the old man yelling at the cloud when it comes to the current state of boxing. It's ok, you can have love for the Fab 4 and STILL enjoy watching this current crop.
I'm not gonna delude myself into believing there's some fucking renaissance just because a heavyweight fight was reasonably compelling for once and because maybe the fad of watching simulated homosexual rape in a fabulous S&M cage isn't as popular as it was a few years ago
The fuck? It's not about "enjoyment"... I enjoy boxing always but the quality of fighters now is pretty poor overall
Ah...the good olde days, where men were men. Nowadays, even with all the advances in training and knowledge and men getting bigger stronger and faster in every sport, boxing is regressing because guys no longer know how to fight and trainers have lost the wisdom that they had in past generations. You know what's to blame? Colour TV that's what. Also, I Pads, Mobile Phones and all that shit. It's softened men up. Back in the day men would cut down trees, lift logs, walk to work barefoot. It made them tough. Now we just have pampered pansies with silk Pyjamas (the correct spelling of the word). GGG?? Please, Hagler would have knocked him out in one round. Spence and Crawford? LOL....wouldn't have won even a single round against Leonard , Duran or Benitez. Men aren't men nowadays...boxers can't fight. The sport is dead.
Look, we have three fighters still in their 20s and in their physical primes who are potentially special... Loma, Crawford, Spence. Inoue is young and potentially special as well, and while he's too small to ever become a mainstream name, he does enhance the overall quality of the sport. Mikey Garcia is still in his prime, and operating at a high level. Golov is 35, yes. But perhaps Bivol can become the new Golov... he's only 27. Golov didn't hit the mainstream until he was 31. As for AJ and Wilder, I'll be the FIRST one to say that... no these two are not as good as Lewis/Tyson/Holy. But... does it matter? They're exciting and they put asses in seats. Heavyweights don't have to be great to generate interest, and that's what the sport needs. You're being way too negative. Perhaps the sport will never again reach the level of popularity it had in the 70s/80s, or perhaps it will... when we're old. But the sport isn't in bad shape at all. Especially when you consider there's those who claim doom and gloom about EVERY sport. Hell, some predict that the NFL will be gone in 20 years.
I think AJ is very underrated around here. The only possible weakness in his game is his chin...and it remains to be seen exactly how much of a weakness it really is. He's only been down once...and that was against Wlad. Say what you want about Wlad, the one thing that was never in question was his power. Wlad hit like a motherfucker...harder puncher than Vitali and Vitali had an extremely high KO %. A heavyweight Wlad's height with that resulting leverage doesn't suddenly lose power at age 41. AJ dropped, but he got up and survived. Whyte shook him up a bit, but it wasn't as if he was close to being stopped. Aside from that AJ has terrific skills. He's a great finisher. He puts his punches together extremely well, especially for a man that size. He has good handspeed. Great repertoire of punches...and seems to maintain a high workrate. On top of that he can bang. I don';t see what y'all are seeing.
I'm not being negative I'm being objective and realistic and refusing to devolve into Sly-level retardation just because a heavyweight fight wasn't completely awful and because more people are feeling justifiably ashamed for watching cagefighting The NFL will definitely be awful in 30 years if it even exists unless someone invents some crazy helmet that makes brain injury impossible Prediction: basketball is better than ever in 30 years
Basketball is on a downward spiral in terms of quality, but I predict the NBA will overtake the NFL in the US one day in terms of popularity. The NBA is already bigger worldwide because b-ball is a global sport and American football is not. LeBron James can go to China and get mobbed by fans. Tom Brady walks around China and ppl will think he's just some random white tourist.
Depends on HOW or WHY You Watch Sports, REED Guesses... When REED's Watching a Boxing Match or Basketball Game, the Fuuuuuuuuuuurthest Thought from his Mind is How the Fighter/Player Matches Up w/a Fighter/Player from a BYGONE ERA... REED Enjoys that Sporting Event for WHAT It Is, Singularly, Unto Itself... On that Note, Boxing SHINED this Past Weekend...Wilder and Ortiz EXCEEDED the Hype (Especially from Round 5 Onwards) and Bivol Added Himself to the "Must-See" List of Current Fighters... Boxing is INDEED In Great Shape...Not Sure HOW that Could Be Disputed...MEANINGFUL Fights are Happening, which Directly Results in INCREASED Popularity... REED
I'm interested in there being a lot of fighters who can fight well Depth is the best indicator of a sport's health Depth is currently quite poor north of the 120s and has been for years
There ARE though! That's what I don't get from you. Who exactly is so crappy that they're diminishing the quality of the sport? Granted, some divisions are currently weaker than others, but it's ALWAYS been that way - even in the 70s/80s.
There aren't though ... there's a lot of leapers and some brawlers ... but well rounded, professional boxers? Precious few around There used to be plenty that were just contenders never mind champions or belt holders in all the divisions Now maybe going away from retarded rules will create a new breed of amateurs who will become a new breed of pros but that hasn't occurred yet
There's a well rounded, professional boxer with actual talent/skill (no leap shit) in action on Saturday. You watching?
Am I not typically here for round by rounds? I watch the fights You guys need to quit equating a realistic appraisal of the sport with hating it or not watching it ...
No One’s Suggesting These are the Good Ol’ Day’s or Even Remotely Analogous... But There IS an APPRECIABLE Level of Skill, Talent and Know-How, as Currently Constructed... REED
