Boxing's DYING???...

As Others have Stated (Much to the Dismay of the Grand Wizard of KLIT Likcing), the HEAVIER Weights have "Declined" Clearly...But REED Still Thinks there's PLETY of Talent in Lower Weights...

Supermiddle has NEVER been as Deeeeeeep as it is Currently...140-154 has Always Been Loaded w/Talent & That's STILL the Case Today...Little Guys like Gamboa, Rigondeaux, Donaire, Russell, etc. have the POTENTIAL to B Great, GREAT Fighters...

Time will Tell if the Sport Really IS "Declining", but REED Isn't Ready to Acquiesce just Yet...

REED:cheer:

 

David!!! David!!! David David Knock Him Out!!!

 

How badly did you want that one? 1-10 scale.

 

Not sure if this is the best way to respond, but i pieced together parts of your posts and put the 2002 and 2007 equivalents (best i could tell). The tough part about this is in hindsight we all know which fighters became busts and became great - it would be like looking at Gamboa 5 years from now, maybe he loses his next 3 fights and is totally exposed... tough to measure. anyway here goes:

2012: Gamboa, 21-0, 130 title, moving up for second weight class title
2002: Floyd 27-0, moving up for second title
2007: Edwin Valero 20-0 (20 KO’s), just won the 130 title

2012: Rios, 29-0-1, just won WBA 135 title, exciting match with Gamboa coming
2002: Tim Austin 25-0-1, exciting 118 champ, exciting match with Rafa Marq coming
2007: Jermaine Taylor 26-0-1, just beat Hops twice, 160 title

2012: Ward, 25-0, unified 168 champion
2002: Freitas, 30-0 just unified 130 in Jan
2007: Kelly Pavlik 31-0 about to challenge Taylor, Paul Williams 32-0, just beat Marg


2012: Bute, 30-0, 168 title 9 or 10 defenses
2002: Calzaghe 32-0 168 title 9 or 10 defenses
2007: Hatton 37-0, long time reigning WBU champ in England making noise

2012: Broner, 23-0, just won WBO 130 title
2002: Joe Mesi 28-0, heavyweight contender.
2007: Juan Diaz 31-0 , just won WBA 135 title
etc...NONE of Us Knows for CERTAIN How these Guys Careers will Play Out...

2012: If Bradley UPSETS Pacquiao, that'll Catapult him into Stardom – 28-0 multiple champ 140
2002: Tszyu had just unified the 140 division beating Judah – the winner of that match was catapulted to stardom
2007: Mayweather vs. DLH – propelled Mayweather to a whole new level

2012: Supermiddle has NEVER been as Deeeeeeep as it is Currently...
2002: there were Corrales 34-1, Floyd 27-0, Casa 26-1, Ace, Castillo, Johnston, Spaddy 34-0, Dorin 20-0, – 130/135 never as deep
2007: Cruiserweight division – Haye, Cunningham, Mormeck, Bell, Wlodarczyk, mo KO’s and more exciting fights than 168

I’d take the 130/135 division of 2002 or the 190 division of 2007 over 168 division of 2012, thoughts?

2012: Little Guys like Gamboa, Rigondeaux, Donaire, Russell, etc. have the POTENTIAL to B Great, GREAT Fighters...
2002: Little guys like Tim Austin, Rafa Marquez, Pacquiao (just beat Ledwaba), Paulie Ayala, Oscar Larios, Israel Vasquez had the potential to be great fighters
2007: Little guys like Martin Castillo, Jhonny Gonzo (32-4), Montiel (33-1-1), Alexander Munoz, Cristian Mijares, Jorge Arce- had potential to be great

What do you think?

 

::

Agreed, Hitman, Agreed. The Sans-Serif did it for me. ::

 

Haha shut up. it's edited now! not sure why that happened all i did was copy and paste

is it better now? seems fixed on my end

 

Reed you do make a great point about some fighters i listed in 2002 and 2007 having been more established than the guys on your 2012 list. I struggled to find as many up and comers as there are now... so that is a good point, but if you loook at the 2007 landscape for the most part it is the same fighters as now just 5 years ago, fresher, younger, some unexposed, some in their prime that is now dwindling.

now that those stars are declining from 5 years ago, i feel like the future is good, but not as good... Pacquiao, DLH, Mosley, Mayweather, Marg, Cotto, Santos (hehe), the Klitschko's, Haye (190)and Hopkins are all gone or significantly faded and the future - while not awful, is NOT up to snuff with the aforementioned fighters.

 

One thing that always concerned me was the commercialization of amateur boxing. You got guys now who make more money out of the World Series of Boxing {endorsements, sponsors etc}, advertisements galore on national TV if they win a medal- such as the ubiquitous Olympic Bronze Medal, etc etc etc.

So talented guys might not even bother their ass turning pro, preferring to milk the ammy game, go to school etc. Then, if they do turn pro suddenly...well...amateur boxing is now a completely completely different sport, so are lengthy amateur careers even making a difference? Who knows.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bendirs/2012/03/boxing_fights_on_regardless.html

 

Froch vs Bute. You see, Boxing's not dying. The big fights are being made.

 

5 years ago it was Calzaghe vs. Kessler. It can be argued that the quality has declined.

 

4 years surely.

Kessler barely got past Froch, Bute would not be dominated by Joe.

Sure, it can be argued that the quality has declined, but......"Ward would be Joe's best win"...:shit:

 

5 years ago was March 2007 and the big matchup down the line was Calzaghe vs. Kessler, which is an upgrade in a matchup vs. Froch- Bute.

 

altho - maybe Ward fights the winner, that's pretty good.

 

Actually, it has unarguably declined IMO.

MTF

 

Sorry, thought Joe vs Kessler was much later than that.

 

Superb post, but I think the inability of people to appreciate hindsight amplification of the past will make your effort futile.

 

yeah but that's because you're a jingoist buffoon