For all those homo cynics that say this shit all the time, look at the matchups for the end of this year. Hatton vs. Mayweather Calzaghe vs. Kessler Taylor vs. Pavlik Cotto vs. Margarito If boxing is dead now, damn Id love to see it when its alive.
There is a significant difference between dead and dying...as well as dying and downturn. Boxing is quite obviously not dead. Thats the finality of the argument, where nothing is happening at all. Positive or negative. But dying or simple downturn? Thats the real question and the one that is toughest to answer. Does anyone really know?
The sad part is, you have some terrific talent out there. But nobody has stepped up as a major star. DLH and Trinidad were two big stars in boxing, but thats not enough. IMO its the result of the heavyweight division. Boxing has been defined by its heavyweights for many years. Once we get a bad motherfucker in that ring, taking everyone out and not caring about shit, boxing will be reborn. But lets also not forget about boxing's rival at the moment. MMA is taking the world by storm. Its the fastest rising sport out there, and there are SO many matches out there people want to see. Boxing needs a star.
If they put those 4 fights on one card, then boxing would be alive and well. But what Godfather says is true, boxing needs a star, one that's not past his prime like Oscar, and it just doesn't have one. And boxing has forgotten how to create stars, so I don't see any on the horizen. TFK
:: Maybe if Cotto,Hatton,Mayweather got paid $16,000 each like in the UFC....that could be done...:doh:
I'd prefer to see these fights separately with a good undercard. Anyway, all 4 have the potential to go twelve, so that'd be a bad idea to put all of them on the same card.
BTW if you wait for cards like this one to happen before saying boxing is in good shape, I guess you should watch another sport because that won't happen.
If anythings dying,its boxing mainstream appeal and I blame that on the promoters,the sanctioning bodies and the fighters.
Those are all GREAT fight, can't wait for any of them. I would rather it be Cotto vs Mosley instead of that mejicano though.
Taylor-Pavlik isnt PPV. And Calzaghe-Kessler will probably just be on regular Showtime. Cotto-Mosley & Mayweather-Hatton definitely will be PPV though. But both those matchups are WORTHY of PPV, and I'll certainly order both.
From my perspective, as a Brit/European, boxing is NO WAY dying over here. In the last few years, boxing has had far more exposure on regular TV, and people I know have turned into boxing fans. In America I don't know, but it's only the heavyweight division that's that bad though.
N Addition to FINISHING the Year w/a BANG,Boxing has Given Us GOOD &/or "Big" Matchups on Paper, as Well.... Floyd-DeLa Hatton-Castillo Winky-Bernard Cotto-Zab Diaz-Freitas Marquez-Vasquez JM Marquez-Barrera Pavlik-Miranda Miranda-Green & we've Got Pac-Barrera II, Pavlik-Taylor & Marquez-Vasquez II,in Addition to the HUGE Fights N November & December... If Boxing CONTINUES to Put Together Good YEARS like 2007,N Terms of MATCHUPS,Boxing WILL Get Back N 2 the "Mainstream"... Boxing is CYCLICAL...Larry Holmes' Era WASN'T Particularly Strong...Neither was Marciano's...Yet the Sport SURVIVED,Didn't It???... N Addition to a # of GOOD Matchups,2008's an OLYMPIC Year...Please DON'T Underestimate how IMPORTANT That is... REED
Boxing is far from dead and I’m sick to “death†reading about how boxing is dying blah blah blah.. The problem with boxing is corruption/promoters!
It's likely dying dispite the obvious denial of the hopefuls. You have your lack of great or even good talent replacing the old that's on it's way out. Where's the next RJJ, Hopkins, ODLH, (we have the next Tito), Mosley etc. What happens when Morales, the underappreciated MAB, JMM, Floyd, and Pacman retire? Will they be replaced? Not likely, thanks in large part to a huge lack of boxing gyms and training facilities that has made boxing become damn near extinct in the US. This is the main reason why no knew talent has been coming up and why it will continue that way. With UFC slated to take boxings place and becoming extremely popular you'll probably start seeing MMA gyms opening up in america shortly. With PPV's pumping the remaining life blood out of boxing, promoters and managers are cashing out while they still can. We've even beared witness to a new era in boxing of pussification. A few safety first guys like RJJ and Floyd helped breed a whole next generation of safety first fighters who lack toughness. We've also witnessed the further evolution of the "clinch" style which keeps going strong and is diluting the sport as bad as flopping is doing to the NBA. The safety first and clinch styles have brought a slew of ugly fights that continue to turn fans off. We've always waited for boxing to get the new fans, to go back to cable, to basically take that next step. How the hell can we expect that to happen if the fights are getting worse, much worse than just 3 or 4 years ago? Boxing won't die completely, it'll live on in other countries and europe and might even do well on hispanic tv, but as far as the US is concerned it's likely about to fall below lesser sports like poker.
I for one never said a bad word about MAB the guy is an absolute legend on mines but I take your point too many people hate on him. I think one problem with boxing and this goes for football too, as people gain more wealth these sports seem to suffer. Its not a coincidence that the majority of football talent is now coming from Africa.
Those are all great matchups but does the mainstream media outside of boxing know"s? or do they even care? This is why people are saying boxing is dead because the mainstream don't care about boxing like they did in the 90's and 80's
Exactly but most of the Fightbeat members don't wanna here it but it's the truth. Everything in this thread is the truth and whoever thinks otherwise is in complete denial.Good Post:bears:
Well perhaps you're right as far as 'no influence towards boxing' ..is concerned in America,.. but you'll always have your born fighters, the type of tough kids who survive domestic horrors and mature with violence flowing through thier veins,...they have no academic potential, so they pathologically head for a rough sport, :crafty: and I seriously doubt poofy, padded Gridiron, is a satisfactory release to contain these man made monsters,..and whichever ones of them remain alive or outside of prison, could very well end up world champion boxers instead,...it happens often. conclusively Lib four Lib,...we can thank god for violence and sexual abuse against minors, the status quo will save Americas neck, just you watch. :bears:
It's not dead in that there aren't good-to-great fights happening. It's "dead" in that nobody outside of our world is aware that these fights are happening. That's the real problem - and a damn shame because there have been more quality matchups made this year than any other in recent memory.
What's to stop that same tough kid from going to MMA rather than boxing? MMA, a sport that is probably easier to pickup, requires maybe less dedication and training seeing as how it's only what 3 or 4 rds a match?
Well, in the schoolyard,.. and on the streets (I think)...untrained free-fights are usually windmill brawls with only the use of the arms,.. "Girls kick"..is the code and sentiment,.. so virtually they're going to be plying thier trade early as young ruggered school boys, it's naturally all they know, they're not gunna be bothered 'appreciating the art of fighting' learning all that oil wrestling shit and submissions, they're gunna wanna SMASH things, SMASH bodies, like the way thier own bodies were smashed, get it out of thier system, it's a simultaneous release you see,..:nono: I seriously doubt thier abusive fathers tortured them for years with triangle chokes..
You no nothing about MMA,there's alot more to learn and prepare for than boxing:doh: Like gettting punched,getting kicked getting taking down getting caught in a submission,while in boxing you just need to worry about the opponents right or left hand coming.MMA is alot more multi demensional than boxing.
They fight 5 minute rounds. 3 rounds for non title fights, 5 rounds for title fights. Why on earth would you think it's easier to train in multiple diciplines than it is to train in one? MMA guys train as much and as hard as boxers do. You're just making stuff up now.
