When do you think was the last year that was better than this in terms of quality/significant/exciting matchups? I can't think of one in recent memory, this has been the best in years. We've had... Oscar - Floyd (sure not exciting, but a legit mega fight) Hopkins - Wright - (good matchup between 2 modern greats) Margarito - Williams Cotto - Judah Vazquez - Marquez - BOTH fights, awesome. Great matchup, even better fights. Then we've had some brilliant KO's and upsets including Nonito over Vic etc. And then still to come... Hatton - Floyd Pavlik - Taylor Cotto - Mosley Vargas - Mayorga Pacman - Barrera 2 AND Calzaghe - Kessler That's a fucking quality year. What do you think Jake and other boxing afficianados? When was the last year that clearly surpassed this in terms of quality matchups and good fights?
Yeah. 2000 was actually f*ckin' loaded with fights in every division. Even Tyson and Lewis had like 6 fights combined that year.
They were. And that's a hell of a 3-punch combo. But the year otherwise ran pretty damn thin. The heavyweight division tried - Lewis vs. Grant and Tua was demanded, and delivered. The former (which was actually thrust upon us more so than demanded) was a mismatch, the latter a major bust. The cruiserweight division did dick. The light heavyweight division - now unified - did dick. The super middleweight division continued to slip further into anonymity. The middleweight division stood around, awaiting a planned tournament (which would come in 2001). Ditto for the junior welterweight division. Naz continued to freeze out the best of the featherweight division, instead further milking his HBO contract.
I liked 2001 because: HVY - top prize twice changed hands, both via brutal knockout. MW - crowned its first undisputed champ since 1987, with a single 3-fight tourney help removing a lot of the bad taste that was left behind from the state of the division throughout the 90's. JWW - crowned an undisputed champion and in entertaining (albeit brief and slightly controversial) fashion. JLW - Floyd settled the dispute once and for as to whether or not he or Chico was the world's best @ 130 - and did so in brutally one-sided fashion. FW - Hamed no longer able to sit on his lead, as Barrera sent his ass packing.
they were both great years, no doubt, but this year clearly has a greater number of quality matchups. What year before 2000 could compete?
You can add fights like Trinidad-Reid, Hamed-Sanchez, Johnson-Maskaev, Diaz-Ward, Rahman-Sanders, Vargas-Quartey, Izon-Jefferson. It was easily one of the best years for great fights there's been in a long time.
Forgot to add Hatton-Castillo. That was a big match up as well. I kinda think that p4p this yr matches up with any yr in the past. All the big names are getting it on. You gotta love boxing. I also want to add the Juarez-Marquez. People keep saying that boxing is back. To me it's never gone anywhere. I'll Holla 5000
You also have to realize that even though there are huge fights coming up, the fights are going to have to deliver too. There's nothing worse than fans looking forward to a potentially great match only to be thoroughly disappointed. And then in future, they won't dish out money for another fight. Good fights on paper is only 1 part of it. If they turn out to be crap like Hops/Wright and DLH/Floyd where the fans were pissed, then it hurts the sport even more.
We haven't had a year like this in recent memory INCLUDING 2000. In fact I'd venture that this is the best year EVER.
It went somewhere, at least from a ratings standpoint. Plus, last year was complete ass. Honestly, it was one of the worst I've experienced as a boxing fan, perhaps THE worst.
:bears: I completely forgot about that, probably because it was such a blowout, but that was also a great matchup.
King Arthur Abraham Impressive 34% market share. :bears: :bears: Marty at MaxBoxing needs to catch up with his euroland knowledge. The last time we had only four tv channels was 1982. :: <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RUFT-POApr0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RUFT-POApr0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
