Ricky_ wrote:I fully agree, i can;t remember such a baron period for boxing. Froch Groves is looking like a diamond in he rough for this year. The big 2 stars in Pac & Floyd are setting the bar as low as they can and the rest are following suit. Boxing is killing itself.
Boxing is only killing it's self if you don't look at the lower weights. In the next few weeks we have some amazing bouts, heck this weekend is serving up 2 possible FOTY contenders but will get over-looked by the casual fans who can't be bothered to actually watch fighters at the lower weights.
In the lower divisions this year we've seen the emergence of Naoya Inoue (his win over Hernandez was excellent), Francisco Rodriguez Jr (his win over Takayama is a FOTY front runner), Oswaldo Novoa (his win over Zhong could be one of the upsets of the year), Sho Ishida, Kosei Tanaka and Paul Butler. We've seen brutal wars including the Rodriguez/Takayama bout and the Eto/Diale bout and the big upsets (Rodrigez Vs Sabillo, Novoa Vs Zhong).
If all you watch are the higher weights then you're really missing out sadly.
I will partially agree that boxing is killing it's self, but that's mostly US boxing killing it's self. The Japanese scene is ripe, the Mexican scene is great, Argentinian boxing is incredibly active and most wonderfully the Thai scene seems to be going through a major transitional period with alot of promising youngsters coming through.
The one thing more disappointing than US boxing right now is South Korean boxing which sadly seems to be dead (and from what I've heard their potential star, Ja Ik Goo, has retired after just 3 fights).
good post, i admire your dedication to the sport. For some strange reason, i've never really been captured by boxing below 122, i've found it to be something other fans o the sport seem to have as well. I can't really put my finger on why, it's not like there has ever been a shortage in talent or great fights at the lower weights.
I'd really advise you give a watch to Yaegashi Vs Gonzalez and Estrada Vs Segura. If you watch them and they can't convince you to give the lower weights a go then fair enough...just seems many people won't give them a go and then complain about a lack of fights. If you at least give them a go...you'll likely feel well rewarded :)
One big issue that's been present for awhile is that the best atheletes don't go into boxing anymore. Guys with real physical talent play football or basketball or baseball. I watch fights every so often. It's out of habit. Boxing was a major sport when I was younger. If it was on tv, I watched it. I see really well conditioned guys. Not many Tony Tubbs types. Guys today are in shape! However, I don't see that spark of talent where I say "Oh this guy is good!" When I first saw Tyson, his talent was obvious. When I saw Camacho, he oozed talent. Same with Roy Jones. Even if a boxer didn't show blazing speed or power, there were fighters like Chavez who had impeccable technique & knew how to box. Today I see workmanlike performances that drag on without moments that catch your eye. I watched some fight on ESPN where a guy was hurt & staggered in the 2nd, again in the 3rd & 4th, & went the distance wobbling around the ring because his opponent couldn't or wouldn't finish him. Well, I tuned out after the 8th so maybe he finally got him. It's all boring.
According to the odds, Geale is 10x better than Rubio which is f'n hilarious. The oddsmakers are sick of seeing GGG run through the division so they're now just gonna set the odds so damn high so no one can make any more free money on him.
diddy wrote:According to the odds, Geale is 10x better than Rubio which is f'n hilarious. The oddsmakers are sick of seeing GGG run through the division so they're now just gonna set the odds so damn high so no one can make any more free money on him.
Well they sure are giving away money to those betting on Kovalev a couple weeks later
wvboxer wrote:Boxing was a major sport when I was younger. If it was on tv, I watched it. I see really well conditioned guys. Not many Tony Tubbs types. Guys today are in shape! However, I don't see that spark of talent where I say "Oh this guy is good!" When I first saw Tyson, his talent was obvious. When I saw Camacho, he oozed talent. Same with Roy Jones. Even if a boxer didn't show blazing speed or power, there were fighters like Chavez who had impeccable technique & knew how to box. Today I see workmanlike performances that drag on without moments that catch your eye. I watched some fight on ESPN where a guy was hurt & staggered in the 2nd, again in the 3rd & 4th, & went the distance wobbling around the ring because his opponent couldn't or wouldn't finish him. Well, I tuned out after the 8th so maybe he finally got him. It's all boring.
Brother Naazim Richardson wrote:What you see now in boxing is athletes who happen to box. You can’t picture Julio Cesar Chavez with a basketball. You can’t picture Ricardo Lopez wrestling with somebody, or throwing a football. Roy Jones and them are athletes who happen to box. So once the athleticism starts to slip, they don’t have that boxing IQ that you saw in Chavez, you see in Bernard Hopkins. These guys were the last on a short level of fighters, what they did. A lot of these guys now, Andre Berto, are wrestlers, but they box too. If you don’t learn this craft outside of athleticism – people come to me and say, This kid is talented. I say, Bernard Hopkins is TALENTED. Roy Jones is GIFTED. And we know a gift is given to you. So we all play basketball and you get more rebounds than all of us, you’re more talented than us? You were seven-feet [tall].”
When you got guys who learn the sport – Sugar Ray Leonard, to me, was the epitome of it, a gifted fighter whose gifts alone could have beat you. But with Hearns, (Leonard said to himself) I realize my gifts aren’t working that night. I get my hands high, my elbows in, I go to the techniques of boxing – and get this guy. Bernard learned his craft. When the gifts go, the career is over. Guys who learn their craft get more years out of it. You lose the gift – that twitch fiber that we want to train now – as you get older. You don’t see no old man makin the shake & bake moves
Boxing Prospect wrote:I'd really advise you give a watch to Yaegashi Vs Gonzalez and Estrada Vs Segura. If you watch them and they can't convince you to give the lower weights a go then fair enough...just seems many people won't give them a go and then complain about a lack of fights. If you at least give them a go...you'll likely feel well rewarded :)
Problem is those fights aren't that accessible for US audiences.
Boxing Prospect wrote:I'd really advise you give a watch to Yaegashi Vs Gonzalez and Estrada Vs Segura. If you watch them and they can't convince you to give the lower weights a go then fair enough...just seems many people won't give them a go and then complain about a lack of fights. If you at least give them a go...you'll likely feel well rewarded :)
Problem is those fights aren't that accessible for US audiences.
I'm British and they aren't easily accessible to me either, though I make an effort and feel rewarded afterwards realise that boxing still delivers some great fights.
Yaegashi Vs Gonzalez will be on FujiTV (can be seen on streaming apps NijiTV and KeyholeTV) starting at 21:30 Tokyo Time. Even watching a download of the fight or the fight on youtube isn't that difficult, they are usually up with in 24 hours.
Cap wrote:The top guys are millionaires who don't have to fight. The concept of glory is history. It's strictly business and that means the greatest return for the least possible risk. You want to see good fights, go to your local arenas and support the small promoters trying to keep the sport alive. At least those boxers give it their best and want to impress the fans.
good post, i admire your dedication to the sport. For some strange reason, i've never really been captured by boxing below 122, i've found it to be something other fans o the sport seem to have as well. I can't really put my finger on why, it's not like there has ever been a shortage in talent or great fights at the lower weights.
