The NFL and Football (soccer) are probably the only two sports with big enough brands that the sport thrives irrespective of stars. The NHL? I dunno if it's still big in Canada, but it's dead as all fucking Hell in the US. Even boxing is bigger here. The NHL had a good run of US popularity in the 80s-90s when Gretzy and Lemieux were household names to even casual sports fans, but now it's so diminished that it's almost excommunicated from the other three "major" sports leagues. The NBA has been a star-centered sport since Jordan, and that will probably never change. Well, actually you could argue that Magic and Bird were the catalysts for turning the NBA into a star's league. Having a huge boxing star is a very good thing, but the idiots running boxing don't know how to parlay having a star into enhancing the sport's popularity. Hmmm.... might be because our sport's only megastar fights behind a paywall that 100 people watch...
Arum was the architect behind the usage and implementation of the word "marinate" in boxing. The Grim Reaper needs to come for him already.
Even the most team oriented sports have been star-centered from before we were born. It just wasn't marketed the way it is now. The attraction to particular players was more natural. Today they are constantly on the lookout for stars and stories like it's a longer running episode of American Idol. Almost taking the Hollywood "controversy sells" approach but treating it like a buffet of accept or reject based upon reaction. It would have been interesting to sit in some meetings with NBA marketing cunts to hear what they had to say about Tim Duncan.
The ONLY Thing UFC Has On Boxing is it Has MONOPOLIZED Its Particular Genre... When REED 1st Started Watching in 2007, He Thought UFC and MMA were 2 Separate Things; It Wasn't Until He ASKED that REED Learned UFC was Merely an Organization Under the Mixed Martial Arts Umbrella... But Even Today, UFC = MMA to the Vast Majority of Mainstream Fans...And Organizations Like Bellator Seem to Be Where Past-Prime or Rampant Drug Cheating Fighters Wind Up... The Point Is, Boxing is Tooooooooooo SPLINTERED For its Own Good; PBC, Top Rank, Matchroom, Golden Boy, etc... Tooooo Many CHIEFS, Not Enough INDIANS...Everybody in Boxing Wants to Be BATMAN, But Somebody's Gotta Be ROBIN Also... REED
Sure, big stars are always a plus, no objection there, but boxing is centered around them while other sports use them to enhance the game. Think about it, the sport of boxing is basically never promoted (mostly because there isn't a main organization), only the boxers are. Sure Lebron is a major attraction for the NBA but a ton of fans will still care about basketball when he's out of the game or if his team is eliminated. On the other hand, basically no one watches boxing unless they know one of the fighters. A ton do so for UFC events.
Still. There's a lot of guy in Bellator and one that are among the best in the world. Hell, Chandler came in the UFC and nearly became the lw champion. Sure the level is lower, but the difference is not as big as some think it is
Floyd vs Paul or McGregor is exactly what I am talking about. Centered around the stars, not the sport. Do you think it would be the biggest basketball event of the year if Lebron played one on one against Brad Pitt or some other idiots??
I still don't feel like the UFC's model is sustainable long-term. It might seem like it is right now, but I suspect it's not. The WWE is the case study. Dana White and Vince McMahon might as well be long-lost brothers. Both are such egomaniacal, micromanaging dipshits that they wanna be the biggest stars in their organizations instead of the fighters. WWE has tanked since the 90s because of the idiotic strategy of putting McMahon and the brand ahead of trying to create megastars. The same will eventually happen to the UFC, though clearly it won't happen overnight.
Yeah, in a way it is kind of like a catch 22 due to the nature of combat sports. The promoters wants big stars cause it sells, but if they become too big, they can tell them to shove it and start protecting their interest instead of doing as told (and thus, hurtingthe sport in the long run). The UFC has mostly been good at managing it so far(save for McGregor, who seems completely out of control), even if it meant ''sacrificing' some stars like GSP. WWE and boxing would be at both extremes. Still, in theory, tennis could have the same problem too yet it is not the case....
Spence said he told Haymon that after Pac, he wants Crawford. Or else he's going to 154. I hope Crawford realizes that after Spence beats Pac, he (Bud) will have NO case for an even purse split. He either takes the short money, or it's not happening. I'd be amazed if Spence-Crawford ever happens.
spence already said he wants 70% of the pot, what you think he's gonna want after he beats down pacquaio and actually has the first really successful ppv of the two?
Probably 80/20, which I think is too much. If he stays at wanting 70/30, he's probably justified. But even at 70/30, it's gonna be a no-go. Bud will want 50/50.