What happened to BOXiNG

[oogiebe]

Really bad example. Other than Bruno I never heard of any of those guys.

Me neither. (geez we need two quotes on replies here)

[banjo]

Really bad example. Other than Bruno I never heard of any of those guys.

I think he means from a UK point of view, I mean I've never watched golf in my life but I've heard of Ian Botham.

[gilgamesh]

I think he means from a UK point of view, I mean I've never watched golf in my life but I've heard of Ian Botham.

Never heard of him either

I know Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer...and that's it. I know f*ck all about Golf other than that.

Oh...and Phil Mickelson...that's it.

[Onetimeonly]

I watch golf all the time, could probably name 100 European players and I've never heard of Ian Botham. I know Ian poulter and Woosnam. No Botham though.

[MasterG]

Never heard of him either

I know Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer...and that's it. I know f*ck all about Golf other than that.

Oh...and Phil Mickelson...that's it.

Seeing as I'm at work at present I googled the images of the 4 names. Out of about 12 people there was a few younger ones that didn't recognise Botham or Best. Everyone got Bruno and Higgins.

[gilgamesh]

Seeing as I'm at work at present I googled the images of the 4 names. Out of about 12 people there was a few younger ones that didn't recognise Botham or Best. Everyone got Bruno and Higgins.

They must've been draws in England. I'm not overly aware of the U.K. scene until my fandom started off in full. So some of your bigger name British fighters from the 90's on back would not be familiar to me.

[MasterG]

They must've been draws in England. I'm not overly aware of the U.K. scene until my fandom started off in full. So some of your bigger name British fighters from the 90's on back would not be familiar to me.

Incidentally only 2 got Tyson Fury and 5 AJ. Bloody casuals!!

[Boxerbeetle]

They must've been draws in England. I'm not overly aware of the U.K. scene until my fandom started off in full. So some of your bigger name British fighters from the 90's on back would not be familiar to me.

Ian Botham used to be on a weekly BBC sports quiz during the 90s, he’s probably just as famous for that as for his sporting achievements.

Saying that, me and my brother hung around the pavilion to get his autograph when he visited Glamorgan with Worcestershire, so we certainly knew who he was.

[revporl]

It's got really complicated to watch! Back in the early 2000's a starting subscribing to sky solely, really, for the boxing.

Last year I stopped by subscription as I was paying full wack and getting to see a small proportion of what was being broadcast. I had BN for a little while before FW left to team up with BT and then left that too.

Now I use the 24 hr passes on now tv and the odd ppv on Box Office, ITV or BT and its much cheaper across the board but I don't see half of the fights that I used to.

Hopefully ITV4 will keep showing some good fights on free to air too, that's the one positive development recently.

[handsofstone]

Never heard of him either

I know Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer...and that's it. I know f*ck all about Golf other than that.

Oh...and Phil Mickelson...that's it.

Botham was a cricketer


Edit- Is "Cricketer" even a word? I'm certain ive heard it but it doesn't look right

[oogiebe]

Botham was a cricketer


Edit- Is "Cricketer" even a word? I'm certain ive heard it but it doesn't look right

How about "Cricketeer?" I couldn't name a team much less a player in cricket.

[banjo]

Botham was a cricketer


Edit- Is "Cricketer" even a word? I'm certain ive heard it but it doesn't look right

Oh fuckin hell he was wasn't he?

I know nothing about cricket either but yeah I've heard of him.

[Onetimeonly]

Botham was a cricketer


Edit- Is "Cricketer" even a word? I'm certain ive heard it but it doesn't look right

Lmao, that makes much more sense. I couldn't name a cricket player for a billion dollars. Now I can!

[Onetimeonly]

They must've been draws in England. I'm not overly aware of the U.K. scene until my fandom started off in full. So some of your bigger name British fighters from the 90's on back would not be familiar to me.

Colin Jones, tony sibson, Alan minter, even Jaimie Moore. You know more than you think.

[Grilling Machine]

Botham was a cricketer

No, that was Beaumont. Botham was a rugby player. He came in after that jockey, Emlyn Hughes.

[GreenLightning]

Never heard of George Best That is funny

Probably heard of Callum though

[Black Sam Bellamy]

Sky have killed boxing.

[Fightnight Scores]

I think he means from a UK point of view, I mean I've never watched golf in my life but I've heard of Ian Botham.

Oh fuckin hell he was wasn't he?

I know nothing about cricket either but yeah I've heard of him.

I laughed out at the first comment as a good joke!! Turns out you really made the mistake though!! Not sure if it's funny or disappointing!?

[gilgamesh]

Colin Jones, tony sibson, Alan minter, even Jaimie Moore. You know more than you think.

I've heard of Sibson and Minter. The other two don't spring to mind.

[Onetimeonly]

I've heard of Sibson and Minter. The other two don't spring to mind.

Damn, Moore/Macklin is epic. Jones fought curry and mccrory.

[Finkel]

Sky have killed boxing.

In part. From a casual's perspective. i.e. Me. I remember watching a lot of the great fights on terrestrial TV when I was a little'un back in the mid to late 80s through to early 90s. Then Bruno, Eubank, Nazeem Hamed were household names. I recall Hamed signing for Sky Sports, then the majority of the public only ever heard about the outcomes of his fights. Even my mother would follow the boxing back in the 80s early 90s. Then we got Sky some way down the line, and I had access to watching Lewis face off against the other big names in the late 90s. Generally, watching a recording of the fight when I woke up the next morning.

But after Lewis went, and the Klitchko brother's dominated a largely lackluster heavy weight division (which lets face it is the glamour division for a lot of us casuals), people weren't really interested in watching a jab and smother style. There was some excitement when Haye moved up, but beyond that it was just about waiting for the brother's Klitchko to eventually retire, or someone like Fury to step up, which ever came first, and it was a long wait.

On the other hand, there was still interest surrounding fighters like Calzaghi (And of course Roy Jones Jr. & De La Hoya) But after that we were left with Mayweather (money version). I remember there being a lot of hype after he became the man to beat. And I was in Oz at the time when the Hatton v Mayweather fight came about, and the local pubs all showed it. Following that they showed the Pacquoa V Hatton Fight. So the innevitable next match up was the one we never got. And it just became a series of fights watching him display defensive masterclasses against opposition, that no one really gave much chance to. So the excitement died.
So combine that with the Klitchko's who weren't going to fight each other either.

And casual fans innevitably lost interest.

[leejonesjnr]

Immigrants coming over here, taking our jobs.... and benefits....

It can't be both, are boxers demanding and earning more than ever before or is boxing dead because nobody is watching?

[Ezzard]

Sky have killed boxing.

Agree. And people can say it's the governing bodies but essentially they dance to the tune of the TV companies.

The way the TV deals work kills the sport.

[Fightnight Scores]

Agree. And people can say it's the governing bodies but essentially they dance to the tune of the TV companies.

The way the TV deals work kills the sport.

I think the ABC bodies and the TV/Promoter deals are two seperate problematic aspects really.

Ultimately the promoters lead the way. Set up deals with the TV companies and pick the most profitable / risk assessed fights for their clients. The governing bodies come in to play as they allow for several different avenues for a promoter to look down.

So as well as promoters/fighters being tied to a specific tv company leading to match ups not being viable to happen, we have multiple organisations recognised world title belts to pick and choose from, leading to more avoidance of top names.

Clusterfuck!

[banjo]

I laughed out at the first comment as a good joke!! Turns out you really made the mistake though!! Not sure if it's funny or disappointing!?

Yeah, I had a funny feeling that it didn't quite look right though, I should have just googled it rather than make myself look a plonker.