Popularity - Boxing

[Spud]

Am I being too hard on boxing by stating its only a minority sport and its only the big fights that people are interested in.

PPV events are they good or bad thing for the sport?

Same question for White Collar events?

If you had a magic wand to increase the popularity of the sport what would you do to improve it,

[gilgamesh]

1 Champion per divison (WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO...throw it all away)

At least 7 less weight classes (Any Jr. or Super division can go)

Any egregiously bad scorecard turned in by a judge, he's fined his entire pay and suspended the 1st time, fired altogether the 2nd time.

The top guys fight 4 to 6 times a year. Not 1 to 2 times a year.

All of these things would help. There's other things you could do, but all of this stuff would help a lot.

[Boxerbeetle]

Terrestrial tv coverage is the main thing. Without it, boxing will always be a niche sport. And then hiding big events even further away from the general public via PPV is another primary reason for the lack of overall interest. It’s a shame, but entirely predictable. Cricket has gone the same route (minus PPV obviously).

[The Docker]

Both the replies in this thread are excellent.

More worrying is it's the older generation (40+) keeping up the ever more scant support of boxing. The young guns I work with are more appealed with MMA over boxing.

[joshj909]

I was typing my response and realised all my points had been covered already and agree with all those that have been made.

Terrestrial TV is the main thing for me and the belts. People don't understand all the belts if they don't follow it. Accessibility and visibility of the sport need to be there. Look how much football is declining in interest in the UK because it's cheaper and easier for kids to play FIFA than to watch a live match on TV. Kids discuss stats of players and their "FIFA potential" as they haven't even watched the games. The issue is that the FA and UEFA see the issue and think that they need to charge more and add more advertising so they can then spend more on getting kids interested without realising how counterproductive it is. Rugby has followed suit. Same applies to Boxing really.

I see MMA only slightly having a harmful effect. I don't really know many people who follow MMA for a long period of time without also having an interest in Boxing (not including casuals as they don't count). My interest in combat sports pretty much started with MMA. Personally I think promotions like ONE FC should be getting a lot more attention as they have MMA, submission grappling, kickboxing and Muay Thai all in one event. If they ever add boxing to that, it would be a spectacle and great to get people interested in the broad spectrum of combat sports.

[mickey1975]

Greed will ruin mma here. Anybody wanting to go to The O2 for fight night starts at around a grand a person, all in, for cheap seats, if you can get them. Taking a bird, decent seats.... 4-5k, a dad with two kids, 4k?

[tonyevs]

Terrestrial tv coverage is the panacea to boxing's problems.
Good solid domestic evenly matched fights; you don't need the glamour names - because most often their fights are not that great to watch.

Yester-year there were week day fights involving the likes of Sean Murphy v Gary De Roux and Robert Dickie v Sugar Gibiliru .. they were never super stars .. but they gave great fights which got people watching.

[jlh]

I hate the multiple titles but would only having one title per division make it more popular ? Having multiple world titles does make it easier to sell fighters as a world champion and market the fights accordingly.
Would Carl Froch have been as popular never having a world title? AJ/Wilder ? Number two/threes in the division.
Interesting one as I suppose it would mean the best fight the best to become a world champion but that's the answer for me. The best fighting the best would make boxing more popular - too much politics with promoter's/TV stations/money/splits.

[MasterG]

If you are champion you have to fight number 1 ranked contender, no ifs or butts.

Only 1 champion per weight.

You have to defend your title every 16 weeks.

If you are champion you have to defend in your own country

No standing 8 count and can be knocked down as many times until either ref stops fight or towel thrown in

You have to win your countries title to progress to world rankings.

There is a standard purse for title fights, no more of this multi million pay cheques.

There is a recognised standard boxing glove for all

Allow enhancing energy suppliments

[Kit]

I think 4 world titles are ok, there are 4 majors in tennis and golf, 4 major trophies in domestic football.

Multiple world titles help build fighters profiles, increase interest and anticipation for unifications.

World champions once winning a world title remain ranked with other governing bodies and mandatory’s to be actively encouraged and enforced between governing bodies.

5 judges, and all cards independently reviewed, with any dubious card it has to be explained to the panel and the fight re-watched with the reasoning given for each and every round scored.

Fewer weight divisions. No more than 10-12.

And obviously scrap all super, regular, recess as they are total bullish!t.

[joshj909]

I think 4 world titles are ok, there are 4 majors in tennis and golf, 4 major trophies in domestic football.

Multiple world titles help build fighters profiles, increase interest and anticipation for unifications.

World champions once winning a world title remain ranked with other governing bodies and mandatory’s to be actively encouraged and enforced between governing bodies.

5 judges, and all cards independently reviewed, with any dubious card it has to be explained to the panel and the fight re-watched with the reasoning given for each and every round scored.

Fewer weight divisions. No more than 10-12.

And obviously scrap all super, regular, recess as they are total bullish!t.

All champions in those sports compete for all of those trophies so I definitely don't think they can be compared. It's also a tournament format which is very different to Boxing. They are not all considered world champions.

It's way harder to sell a champ once people know how many people have belts. Casuals just can't keep up with it all.

[Dioufy]

Mismatches.
Kill any sport.
No excuse for them. Ever.
When you get 1/100 on in a 1v1 sport you know it’s spastic.
Especially a dangerous one.

[Kit]

Totally disagree.

If you are ranked bottom end of the top 10 and you are a problem and you have 1 champion who boxes once or twice a year.

Will your chance ever come? Where is the incentive for the champion or anyone above you to ever fight you? Many more competitive and enjoyable fights will be even more easily avoided.

With 4 belts you will get an opportunity. World title fights are easier to sell to the masses and generate interest. Without titles and no hype it’s harder to build a profile.

[Kit]

Mismatches.
Kill any sport.
No excuse for them. Ever.
When you get 1/100 on in a 1v1 sport you know it’s spastic.
Especially a dangerous one.

Agreed, I can’t watch ABA champions against 3-40 journeyman. I understand both are getting work and respect to someone making a very tough living, but it’s not sport without competition.

[Dioufy]

Mismatches.
Kill any sport.
No excuse for them. Ever.
When you get 1/100 on in a 1v1 sport you know it’s spastic.
Especially a dangerous one.

Agreed, I can’t watch ABA champions against 3-40 journeyman. I understand both are getting work and respect to someone making a very tough living, but it’s not sport without competition.

The Americans have it better than us. No way they tolerate 1-12, 11-125-6, or 0-11 fighters at all.

I understand those fighters are a part of British boxing culture but I want to see prospects swerve them whenever possible.

You get Olympic medalists fighting people who have been at work the day before,

I’d happily watch these journeymen fight. Each other that is.

[Kit]

Mismatches.
Kill any sport.
No excuse for them. Ever.
When you get 1/100 on in a 1v1 sport you know it’s spastic.
Especially a dangerous one.

Agreed, I can’t watch ABA champions against 3-40 journeyman. I understand both are getting work and respect to someone making a very tough living, but it’s not sport without competition.

The Americans have it better than us. No way they tolerate 1-12, 11-125-6, or 0-11 fighters at all.

I understand those fighters are a part of British boxing culture but I want to see prospects swerve them whenever possible.

You get Olympic medalists fighting people who have been at work the day before,

I’d happily watch these journeymen fight. Each other that is.

Absolutely, you can get really enjoyable fights at all levels, but only if both are similar standard and coming to win.

I’d much rather see a journeyman-journeyman fight, than a top prospect-journeyman run out.

Too many bills where you can pick all the winners down one side of the bill. Non competitive sport is a tough watch.

[coneye]

Without doubt its losing poularity , reasons are easy

Best refusing to fight each other ,
Constant mismatches
PPV ,

[maverick23]

Mismatches.
Kill any sport.
No excuse for them. Ever.
When you get 1/100 on in a 1v1 sport you know it’s spastic.
Especially a dangerous one.

Agreed, I can’t watch ABA champions against 3-40 journeyman. I understand both are getting work and respect to someone making a very tough living, but it’s not sport without competition.

The Americans have it better than us. No way they tolerate 1-12, 11-125-6, or 0-11 fighters at all.

I understand those fighters are a part of British boxing culture but I want to see prospects swerve them whenever possible.

You get Olympic medalists fighting people who have been at work the day before,

I’d happily watch these journeymen fight. Each other that is.

I can’t really think of another sport where it’s 1 on 1 and one of the competitors isn’t even trying to win which is what we get with several journeyman over here. For me those kind of fights aren’t really sport.

People talk about journeymen being essential to the sport and I get that without some of them it’ll make matching their fighters tougher but I don’t think that’s a bad thing either.

[bripez]

Mismatches.
Kill any sport.
No excuse for them. Ever.
When you get 1/100 on in a 1v1 sport you know it’s spastic.
Especially a dangerous one.

Agreed, I can’t watch ABA champions against 3-40 journeyman. I understand both are getting work and respect to someone making a very tough living, but it’s not sport without competition.

Not only that, the opponents know their place and the last thing they want to do is actually win.

if the opponent was actually trying to win then there would be some interesting (and real "learning fights"), particularly early in a pro career.

[Dioufy]

Mismatches.
Kill any sport.
No excuse for them. Ever.
When you get 1/100 on in a 1v1 sport you know it’s spastic.
Especially a dangerous one.

Agreed, I can’t watch ABA champions against 3-40 journeyman. I understand both are getting work and respect to someone making a very tough living, but it’s not sport without competition.

Not only that, the opponents know their place and the last thing they want to do is actually win.

if the opponent was actually trying to win then there would be some interesting (and real "learning fights"), particularly early in a pro career.

Good point.

One of the few journeymen I like is Brett Fidoe; he’s tough, comes to win and if your prospect isn’t up to scratch he’s getting beat.

Has he ever been invited to a live show on Sky or BT?

I can’t recall.
Wonder why.

[tony1234]

Doubt it will ever happen again but the big fights on at 10pm on a Saturday night instead of PPV, wonder what figures the Fury/Whyte and Joshua/Usyk would have done on ITV instead of PPV.
The only way for boxers/boxing to be popular is for people to be able to see them on TV without subscriptions and/or getting an App

[maverick23]

Doubt it will ever happen again but the big fights on at 10pm on a Saturday night instead of PPV, wonder what figures the Fury/Whyte and Joshua/Usyk would have done on ITV instead of PPV.
The only way for boxers/boxing to be popular is for people to be able to see them on TV without subscriptions and/or getting an App

Yeah - they’d have done great viewing figures but even with that it’s unlikely it would have brought in the ad revenue to compensate for the lack of PPV income.

[tiny_acres]

Doubt it will ever happen again but the big fights on at 10pm on a Saturday night instead of PPV, wonder what figures the Fury/Whyte and Joshua/Usyk would have done on ITV instead of PPV.
The only way for boxers/boxing to be popular is for people to be able to see them on TV without subscriptions and/or getting an App

Yeah - they’d have done great viewing figures but even with that it’s unlikely it would have brought in the ad revenue to compensate for the lack of PPV income.

The 2021 superbowl had 94 million viewers with an ad revenue of 485 million.
In order to pay for such super fights as say a Fury vs Joshua the promotion would need to guarantee around the same viewership as the SuperBowl.
I don't see that happening in my lifetime. So I would assume ppv is here for ever

[rd350lc]

Doubt it will ever happen again but the big fights on at 10pm on a Saturday night instead of PPV, wonder what figures the Fury/Whyte and Joshua/Usyk would have done on ITV instead of PPV.
The only way for boxers/boxing to be popular is for people to be able to see them on TV without subscriptions and/or getting an App

Yeah - they’d have done great viewing figures but even with that it’s unlikely it would have brought in the ad revenue to compensate for the lack of PPV income.

The 2021 superbowl had 94 million viewers with an ad revenue of 485 million.
In order to pay for such super fights as say a Fury vs Joshua the promotion would need to guarantee around the same viewership as the SuperBowl.
I don't see that happening in my lifetime. So I would assume ppv is here for ever

It might be ,but obviously as interest wanes the potential earnings from it do to , so it might switch back .

[Spud]

As dedicated boxing fans, do we expect too much?

Are our demands unrealistic?

Would we want so much if we were promoters having to dig deep in our pockets?