Boxing’s repeatedly predicted demise and rise

[Jwright27]

I get why boxing is always forecasted to succumb obsolescence. More and more options arise to take the attention of sports and compact enthusiasts away from the sport. Good matches seem impossible to make at the right time. People have grown tired of politics and the sport has not changed much in a century.

Why does it never die though. Why is it that when it seems on the brink of losing any mainstream attention, an Ali, Tyson, De la Hoya, mayweather, canelo or AJ steps in to the forefront to carry the torch?

[gilgamesh]

Boxing never dies because there's always another Superstar to pull it out of the fire.

Canelo is keeping it afloat for now, but there'll be another major star coming in the next 10 to 20 years in all likelihood that'll get over to even bigger degree.

[Jeff_lacy_ko]

It wont "die"

But if you put popularly on a graph the trend in the US is pretty damn dismal

Estimate there are only about 300k hardcore boxing fans left in the US.

[Best Coast]

Boxing never dies because there's always another Superstar to pull it out of the fire.

Canelo is keeping it afloat for now, but there'll be another major star coming in the next 10 to 20 years in all likelihood that'll get over to even bigger degree.

Great point! Given the fact that Latinos are the fastest growing demographic in the US population it wont be surprising if one or more of the young Hispanic rising stars in their early 20s like Teo Lopez, Vergil Ortiz or Ryan Garcia are eventually able to carry the sport into the next decade. Especially if they can build rivalries with other young boxers like Shakur Stevenson, Devin Haney or Boots Ennis. These guys are all 23 or under and are in the same medium weight divisions (135-147) so they are likely to grow into higher weight classes together (154-168) and could keep their rivalries going strong enough to energize the sport into the next decade.

By then these guys will be in their early 30s, same as Canelo, Spence, Crawford, Fury & Joshua who are the top P4Pers right now. Plus we're bound to see other young amateur standouts who arent even pros yet, being added to the mix in the not-too-distant future.

[Evander]

I get why boxing is always forecasted to succumb obsolescence. More and more options arise to take the attention of sports and compact enthusiasts away from the sport. Good matches seem impossible to make at the right time. People have grown tired of politics and the sport has not changed much in a century.

Why does it never die though. Why is it that when it seems on the brink of losing any mainstream attention, an Ali, Tyson, De la Hoya, mayweather, canelo or AJ steps in to the forefront to carry the torch?

We have a good mixture of smart ass academics and street people mentality here.

[Thomastearns]

Boxing survives because the story it usually tells is basically about challenge, confrontation, self discipline, survival and ultimate doom.

Boxing can get no more boring than life can.

Both are also full of a relatively few parasites secretly and quietly leaching off all the hard work and tears of many many others.

[joshj909]

my view is that this is because boxing is prizefighting, not a sport. If it were a sport, it would have a consistent trend of interest, people would maintain this interest and learn about different boxers and different aspects of the game etc. However, the most money comes from the casuals who are interested in the big name, the highlight reel and the trash talk. Whoever can bring one, or some, of those promotional factors will get the casuals back involved and bring money and viewers back, even if it is just for that one boxer. Fans of boxing as a sport will keep it afloat, but when the casuals get involved, the "sport" appears to thrive.

[brilo33]

because fighting is king, my brother asked me what would you wanna be prime minster or heavy weight champ , i laughed and said champion of the world , when i grew up the hardest kid in primary school was king than secondary school .your easate ,borough pub , your football team , your own family fighting is respect its king always will be

[RScarf1]

I was at a restaurant/bar watching Jermain Taylor beat Bernard Hopkins in 2005. It was packed and people were very enthusiastic. Now people are doing this for MMA. Boxing is not giving people the matchups they want when they want them. Not when both boxers are in their mid 30s. Also, I can count on one hand the amount of bad decisions by judges in MMA. There are too many bad decisions in boxing. Another reason why boxing is declining in popularity is the boxing itself. I think boxing in the '80s and in previous decades was generally better. The intensity was definitely more and probably the skill level too. That's just my opinion.

Boxing has events all over the world, so it's not going to end anytime soon. But I think we all are thinking about boxing at a world-class level and not the numerous club shows. By the way, the ticket prices for the club shows are getting to be ridiculous and, of course, tickets for events with world title fights cost even more. I could pay to see Canelo Alvarez fight in a couple of weeks, but I don't want to see the supposedly best boxer pound for pound in the world. I'm not interested.

[Oiky]

I think boxing survives because at the end of the day people like to see a good fight, even if they Are viewing it reluctantly

The hardcore followers of boxing understand how bulls**t the politics are,we could pick out 5 or 6 fights at a time that would be good for the sport, and theres always that "big one" to look forward to that takes forever and a day to finalise,

But all that aside when talk of a big fight starts,it captures people's attention, it sparks debates and it gets people watching

The reality of who can spot decent footwork and the subtleties of the sport is extremely low compared to those who get wind of a good battle and just want to see it, boxing let's the casual down because they don't get that violent toe to toe they expect all the time, they get a tactful bout, or of course sometimes an uncompetitive embarrassment , which puts them off from following the sport at a regular basis - most folk don't like skilful boxing, they like Knockouts, but it's the buzz and talk that only a big fight generates that keeps boxing alive