BoxRec

I dont think the sports in imminent danger, but the current model cannot last forever.

The pinnacle of our sport is reached by winning an alphabet title from one of several disgusting, corrupt as hell organsiations. It defies all logic, yet continues with gusto.

I'm not a fan of the UFC, but at least the best fight the best. A loss on a UFC fighter's record isn't the end of the world, and because of that, they're not afraid to lose their 0s. In boxing, a loss is a big set back. But as a fan, we have to put up with prosbects being fed tomato cans for years before they're tested, so that the promoters get their investment back (incase they lose the 0). Which is all good for the managers and promoters, but it's shite for us, ...the people that follow the sport!

I m 34, My first memories of boxing was watching Barry Mc winning his belt and Loyd honeyghans win over don curry, i remember watching these in a caravan on a small 8 inch black n white tv i was young and fell in love with Boxing right there in this small caravan.
As i got older i enjoyed the Tyson era on sunday mornings when itv would show the fights in the morning..i went on to love the Benn,Watson,Eubank era..was so much talent and great fights it was exciting it wasnt about keeping a perfect 0... I saw BRUNO win the belt, I watched a prince become a king untill he met a mexican one fateful night. I watched Lennox rise and fall only to rise again.

But then as i hit my to mid 20s i discovered mma, i wasnt convinced after seeing UFC 1 to 5 that it was good but i stayed with boxing and some how i found UFC again at around UfC 25 and it had changed it seemed to be a sport not the brutal spectacle i had seen before. My late 20s i started to get fed up bad calls, greed, fights i wanna see not get made...people protecting cash cows... Calzaghe, Hatton the trend just went on and on untill where we are now with Arum n Floyd the 3000 million different champ belts and organisations..ducking fighters to keep the pounds up..i started to not even care about boxing to much.

Anyway somewhere along the line i guess from UFC 25 i became a MMA Fan i was converted i felt that excitement and buzz boxing had stopped giving me, i wasnt getting left frustrated with fights never being made, was getting interaction from UFC was excited by their build up their match making...yes theres some bad decisions MMA and UFC isnt perfect but my God could Boxing learn from UFC.
I still love boxing that will never go and some recent things in Boxing give me hope like Eddie Hearn, Coldwell and the new blood...its these Greedy old bastards that have sucked her dry that have helped her demise yes you Arum, Mr Allegedly and co..thats why good people like Mark and Quixall will throw in the towel its the Bullshit.

Now days i watch the fights that catch my attention like Chavez jnr v lee, Froches fights, cottos fights but i m selective she don't get all my attention like she used to ...she did it too many times took too many emotions now she has to have what time Football and UFC will allow...but theres still that love.

I know how Mark feels i remember being like that good few years ago....its not nice

x2

You guys should all form a support group so you can all cry and moan to each other about how boxing has abused you :)

Sorry Frank.

I can sort of see where Mark is coming from.

IMO the quality at the minute is shite, when Tim Bradley is a p4p top 5 you know its an average era.

I find I am watching it less and less and the only fights I am interested in now are Froch, the Dickinson brothers (local) and nonito donaire

Even pac man v mayweather doesnt interest that much anymore

I just wish I had been a big fan in the days of Hearns, Duran etc etc

If Sky dump Maloney then I may be a goner

Boxing is dead. I'm just going to see out Pacman and Mayweather and watch their final few fights then I am done. Sick of the corruption, sanctioning bodies, dirty promoters including the ex-fighter promoters who we all hoped would change the game, fake champions, paper titles, super titles, interim titles, the endless procession of protected mediocre fighters sold to me as something their not by pay television, prima donna celebrity fighters who would have been creamed in decades previous, average world champions accumulating stupid number of title defences that mean nothing, fat crappy heavies with no self respect, weightlifter heavies who can't entertain, openly corrupt referees still working, judges ditto... I could go on and on. Boxing is a minority sport and only a tiny minority still take it seriously.

After Pac/Bradley I am honestly embarrassed to be a boxing fan, so I'm done with this crappy game. We'll always have 1892 to 1999.

loaded_gloves wrote:Boxing is dead. I'm just going to see out Pacman and Mayweather and watch their final few fights then I am done. Sick of the corruption, sick of the sanctioning bodies, dirty promoters including the ex-fighter promoters who we all hoped would change the game, their fake champions, the paper titles, super titles, the interim titles, the endless procession of protected mediocre fighters sold to me as something their not by pay television, prima donna celebrity fighters who would have been creamed in the decades previous, average world champions accumulating stupid number of title defences that mean nothing... I could go on and on. Boxing has shot it's own foot clean off, both of them in fact, it is a minority sport and only a tiny minority still take it seriously.

After Pac/Bradley I am honestly embarrassed to be a boxing fan, so I'm done with this crappy game. We'll always have 1892 to 1999.

You and the rest of you can do us all a favour and fornicate off boxrec rather then bore us all.

Those who say boxing is dead will grow old and die whilst boxing will carry on living and living. Yes it's a very flawed and frustrating sport at times but it's also an amazing and beautiful one too.

exittored wrote:You and the rest of you can do us all a favour and eff off boxrec you moaning boring pudenda.

Those who say boxing is dead will grow old and die whilst boxing will carry on living and living.

You sound like a juvenile idiot - grow up.

And as for your sentiments - you're exactly what Bob Arum and co need to keep spoonfeeding the remaining boxing fans their warm feces.

loaded_gloves wrote:

exittored wrote:You and the rest of you can do us all a favour and eff off boxrec you moaning boring pudenda.

Those who say boxing is dead will grow old and die whilst boxing will carry on living and living.

You sound like a juvenile idiot - grow up.

And as for your sentiments - you're exactly what Bob Arum and co need to keep spoonfeeding the remaining boxing fans their warm feces.

Well stop making stupid statements and if you don't like boxing at the moment then why the fornicate are you bothering to post on a boxing forum?

For reasons you would probably struggle to comprehend.

loaded_gloves wrote:For reasons you would probably struggle to comprehend.

I'll take it you can't explain it to yourself let alone any one else.

If i'd had enough of watching and training boxing i'd just stop doing it and never come back to boxrec not stick around moaning about how i've fallen out of love with it etc etc....

Maybe i was a little harsh before toward you and the others, i actually understand your frustrations and didn't really follow boxing for around 5 years more due to work and career reasons but 100's of fights passed me by but i'm probably more in love with the sport then i've ever been especially with the internet making it so much easier to watch every big fight from America which was pretty impossible during the 90's and early 2000s.

I have always said boxing is the best sport in the world but also the worst run one too. Infact after the Pac-Brad i stayed away from boxing for a week untill Chavez-Lee but watching that fight made me realise why i still and probably will always love the fight game plus there's some great fights coming up like Matthysse-Soto, Haye-Chisora and Khan-Garcia so it's all good with me.

Boxing has always been a fucked up sport from the days of Sullivan-Corbett and it's probably always going to be that way as sad as that is but i've got used to what to expect and know there's enough of the good fights amongst the bullshit to always keep me as a supporter. I just hear so much negativity about boxing nowadays that it's becomes like a broken record to me and ticks me off so i can go off on one sometimes especially as i see so many positives at the moment especially at local and amateur level.

exittored wrote:

loaded_gloves wrote:For reasons you would probably struggle to comprehend.

I'll take it you can't explain it to yourself let alone any one else.

If i'd had enough of watching and training boxing i'd just stop doing it and never come back to boxrec not stick around moaning about how i've fallen out of love with it etc etc....

Maybe i was a little harsh before toward you and the others, i actually understand your frustrations and have always said boxing is the best sport in the world but also the worst run one too. Infact after the Pac-Brad i stayed away from boxing for a week untill Chavez-Lee but watching that fight made me realise why i still and probably will always love the fight game plus there's some great fights coming up like Matthysse-Soto, Haye-Chisora and Khan-Garcia so it's all good with me.

Boxing has always been a fucked up sport from the days of Sullivan-Corbett and it's probably always going to be that way as sad as that is but i've got used to what to expect and know there's enough of the good fights amongst the bullshit to always keep me as a supporter. I just hear so much negativity about boxing it's becomes like a broken record to me and ticks me off so i can go off on one sometimes.

Exittored, can't you see that your argument can be turned on yourself ? You say, why do we post on a boxing forum when we are disolusioned and intend to stop watching, yet i ask you, why do you answer in a thread that you know will wind you up ? It's obvious that the majority of people who answer this thread will be other like minded individuals who rightly see boxing as an absolute piss taking sham, so you aren't going to change anyone's opinions by coming out with what you do, especially with the tired old gutter language " Fuk off then.........."

Quixall wrote:

exittored wrote:

loaded_gloves wrote:For reasons you would probably struggle to comprehend.

I'll take it you can't explain it to yourself let alone any one else.

If i'd had enough of watching and training boxing i'd just stop doing it and never come back to boxrec not stick around moaning about how i've fallen out of love with it etc etc....

Maybe i was a little harsh before toward you and the others, i actually understand your frustrations and have always said boxing is the best sport in the world but also the worst run one too. Infact after the Pac-Brad i stayed away from boxing for a week untill Chavez-Lee but watching that fight made me realise why i still and probably will always love the fight game plus there's some great fights coming up like Matthysse-Soto, Haye-Chisora and Khan-Garcia so it's all good with me.

Boxing has always been a fucked up sport from the days of Sullivan-Corbett and it's probably always going to be that way as sad as that is but i've got used to what to expect and know there's enough of the good fights amongst the bullshit to always keep me as a supporter. I just hear so much negativity about boxing it's becomes like a broken record to me and ticks me off so i can go off on one sometimes.

Exittored, can't you see that your argument can be turned on yourself ? You say, why do we post on a boxing forum when we are disolusioned and intend to stop watching, yet i ask you, why do you answer in a thread that you know will wind you up ? It's obvious that the majority of people who answer this thread will be other like minded individuals who rightly see boxing as an absolute piss taking sham, so you aren't going to change anyone's opinions by coming out with what you do, especially with the tired old gutter language " Fuk off then.........."

Well i've added a bit more to my previous post which may explain the reasons why as was busy watching Prizefighter before.

Yes my language before was emotive and maybe uncalled for but also a little out of exasperation too. I've been posting on boxrec since 2003 and lately there's just too much moaning and negativity around to the point it takes all the love out of boxing for me....why do i stay? probably force of habit and being comfortable here but i really should have moved to eastsideboxing years ago where there's still that real love of boxing plus some great debates and great comedy too despite some idiots.

So i guess hopefully Boxrec admin ban me so i can move on :)

BIGMARK wrote:Quixall recently did a thread after the Bradley - Pacman fight about having enough with boxing after another dodgy decision, which seemed was just one too many for him. Well i have been watching the sport for 27 years and now feel the same.

i used to stay up to all hours to watch fights or even follow just RBR threads but now the results arent even the first thing i check the day after a fight. The recent Pacman fight i forgot about and it wasnt until sunday afternoon that i turned on the radio that i caught the result where as 3 years ago i would of stayed up through the night.

I still take Boxing Monthly but now rarely finish reading it and i think the magazine is better than ever but the sport just doesnt capture my attention anymore.

the sport has been dying for sometime and Boxing is too arrogant to want to do anything about it. Yes we still have the odd big fight that captures the publics imagination but in general it gets little coverage as fights are not televised or are hidden away on strange tv channels. We have god knows how many mismatches these days and fights that are bad stoppages which just turns the viewers off

Yes bad decisions have always been part of the sport but when the sport is turning to more of a minority sport and the average fan feels why bother and your fair weather sports fan doesnt watch. Take the recent Pacman fight stuck away on a PPV channel in the middle of the night which ended in a joke result, why would anyone stay up for that or pay for that next time.

Add this to all the drug talk today and yesterday i have finally had it so will know longer be following the sport as before. Yes i will tune into the odd big fight but gone are the days of watching undercards on Youtube and downloading big fights to watch and score.

this weekend i met up with 4 friends from London who came to visit me in Spain and 10 years ago it was common practice for us to all meet up for a allnighter or a big Uk fight, but now not one of them now watched the sport or even followed it (none of them saw the Froch fight and 2 had never heard of him)

Boxing, you have lost me and i wont let the door hit me on the way out as i have already gone

Boxing is like heroin... you'll come back.....

For me it`s an age thing. I`m 40 next year, wife, busy job, two kids etc, I simply don`t have the time to follow the sport in the same way, as other things have taken priority. However, it is still the No. 1 sport for me hands down.

Compared to say 25 years ago, we are seeing too much boxing. It`s everywhere. I still get buzzed when a big fight is due (waiting for the Froch v Bute fight seemed like an age) but the crap I watch inbetween oes dull the edge a bit.

People make some interesting points about MMA, but I have to disagree with them. Unlike boxing, I watched UFC almost from it`s inception and the first few UFC`s, World Combat Championships etc really caught my attention. It was the unknown at that time, the shock value and if I`m honest, the sheer brutality of it. I`d not seen anything like it before, as the internet was not what it is today and I had to order the VHS videos from the U.S.

However, the fights back then in UFC were between guys with different styles, with no real experience of a real fight. They wore no gloves, no weight categories, there were no rounds, virtually no rules and it was a fight to the finish where the ref would almost never jump in. It was excitement, regardless of how rudimentary it was.

Now almost all the guys hae the same fighting style, same outfits, three minute rounds, massive rule changes etc. It does not excite me anymore.A guy who`s skill was pure grappling is no longer given the chance to use his skill fully, as the ref will break them up for "inactivity". UFC took over from boxing for me some years back, now I couldn`t give a rat`s arse about it.

Boxing on the other hand has never left me. Sure things could be better, as with most sports, but there is nothing like the buzz of a real 50/50 big fight, it still rocks my boat and I`m pretty sure it always will.

Early stoppages are a pain in the arse (did they really stop fights so quickly in the past?) and dodgy decisions annoy the hell out of me, but they have always happened. However, suggesting that boxing reinvents itself so that it can capture the hearts of some spotty teenager with a 3 second attention span, is the first step towards WWF or dare I say it MMA.

I don`t want flashy gimmicks and fake personalities. I want to see decent fights between two equally matched boxers.

I follow most sports quite passionately and often travel to watch the football, rugby and cricket (living in Norway I have to travel), but no other sport gives me the buzz of anticipation of a big fight. Sure, I may be left dissapointed afterwards on some occasions, but when you get a good one nothing beats it (Froch v Bute being a recent example)

Boxing is in my blood far too deep to ever contemplate kicking it into touch. It`s far from perfect but you get on with the sh*t you have, complaining about it or over analysing it will do no good.

It`s easy to look back and think "it was far better back in the day" but you have to remember that you were different then also (younger) and what else did you have going on that would take priority.

Just don`t feed me too many more Prizefighters and I`ll be happy enough.

BIGMARK wrote:

forcefraser wrote:For me it`s an age thing. I`m 40 next year, wife, busy job, two kids etc, I simply don`t have the time to follow the sport in the same way, as other things have taken priority. However, it is still the No. 1 sport for me hands down.

Compared to say 25 years ago, we are seeing too much boxing. It`s everywhere. I still get buzzed when a big fight is due (waiting for the Froch v Bute fight seemed like an age) but the crap I watch inbetween oes dull the edge a bit.

People make some interesting points about MMA, but I have to disagree with them. Unlike boxing, I watched UFC almost from it`s inception and the first few UFC`s, World Combat Championships etc really caught my attention. It was the unknown at that time, the shock value and if I`m honest, the sheer brutality of it. I`d not seen anything like it before, as the internet was not what it is today and I had to order the VHS videos from the U.S.

However, the fights back then in UFC were between guys with different styles, with no real experience of a real fight. They wore no gloves, no weight categories, there were no rounds, virtually no rules and it was a fight to the finish where the ref would almost never jump in. It was excitement, regardless of how rudimentary it was.

Now almost all the guys hae the same fighting style, same outfits, three minute rounds, massive rule changes etc. It does not excite me anymore.A guy who`s skill was pure grappling is no longer given the chance to use his skill fully, as the ref will break them up for "inactivity". UFC took over from boxing for me some years back, now I couldn`t give a rat`s arse about it.

Boxing on the other hand has never left me. Sure things could be better, as with most sports, but there is nothing like the buzz of a real 50/50 big fight, it still rocks my boat and I`m pretty sure it always will.

Early stoppages are a pain in the arse (did they really stop fights so quickly in the past?) and dodgy decisions annoy the hell out of me, but they have always happened. However, suggesting that boxing reinvents itself so that it can capture the hearts of some spotty teenager with a 3 second attention span, is the first step towards WWF or dare I say it MMA.

I don`t want flashy gimmicks and fake personalities. I want to see decent fights between two equally matched boxers.

I follow most sports quite passionately and often travel to watch the football, rugby and cricket (living in Norway I have to travel), but no other sport gives me the buzz of anticipation of a big fight. Sure, I may be left dissapointed afterwards on some occasions, but when you get a good one nothing beats it (Froch v Bute being a recent example)

Boxing is in my blood far too deep to ever contemplate kicking it into touch. It`s far from perfect but you get on with the sh*t you have, complaining about it or over analysing it will do no good.

It`s easy to look back and think "it was far better back in the day" but you have to remember that you were different then also (younger) and what else did you have going on that would take priority.

Just don`t feed me too many more Prizefighters and I`ll be happy enough.

I am in a similar situation as you with wife, two kids and approaching middle- age so maybe that is it, it is just things move on.

Yes boxing is a drug so after so long watching the sport I won't be going cold turkey but will certainly pick and choose what I watch.

I had prizefighter on last night but it was more background noise than viewing so much so I went to bed after first semi- final and didn't record the end, found the result this morning when listening to SSN

You didn`t miss much. The final was a waste of time. Prizefighter has never really been my thing to be fair.

forcefraser wrote:For me it`s an age thing. I`m 40 next year, wife, busy job, two kids etc, I simply don`t have the time to follow the sport in the same way, as other things have taken priority. However, it is still the No. 1 sport for me hands down.

Compared to say 25 years ago, we are seeing too much boxing. It`s everywhere. I still get buzzed when a big fight is due (waiting for the Froch v Bute fight seemed like an age) but the crap I watch inbetween oes dull the edge a bit.

People make some interesting points about MMA, but I have to disagree with them. Unlike boxing, I watched UFC almost from it`s inception and the first few UFC`s, World Combat Championships etc really caught my attention. It was the unknown at that time, the shock value and if I`m honest, the sheer brutality of it. I`d not seen anything like it before, as the internet was not what it is today and I had to order the VHS videos from the U.S.

However, the fights back then in UFC were between guys with different styles, with no real experience of a real fight. They wore no gloves, no weight categories, there were no rounds, virtually no rules and it was a fight to the finish where the ref would almost never jump in. It was excitement, regardless of how rudimentary it was.

Now almost all the guys hae the same fighting style, same outfits, three minute rounds, massive rule changes etc. It does not excite me anymore.A guy who`s skill was pure grappling is no longer given the chance to use his skill fully, as the ref will break them up for "inactivity". UFC took over from boxing for me some years back, now I couldn`t give a rat`s arse about it.

Boxing on the other hand has never left me. Sure things could be better, as with most sports, but there is nothing like the buzz of a real 50/50 big fight, it still rocks my boat and I`m pretty sure it always will.

Early stoppages are a pain in the arse (did they really stop fights so quickly in the past?) and dodgy decisions annoy the hell out of me, but they have always happened. However, suggesting that boxing reinvents itself so that it can capture the hearts of some spotty teenager with a 3 second attention span, is the first step towards WWF or dare I say it MMA.

I don`t want flashy gimmicks and fake personalities. I want to see decent fights between two equally matched boxers.

I follow most sports quite passionately and often travel to watch the football, rugby and cricket (living in Norway I have to travel), but no other sport gives me the buzz of anticipation of a big fight. Sure, I may be left dissapointed afterwards on some occasions, but when you get a good one nothing beats it (Froch v Bute being a recent example)

Boxing is in my blood far too deep to ever contemplate kicking it into touch. It`s far from perfect but you get on with the sh*t you have, complaining about it or over analysing it will do no good.

It`s easy to look back and think "it was far better back in the day" but you have to remember that you were different then also (younger) and what else did you have going on that would take priority.

Just don`t feed me too many more Prizefighters and I`ll be happy enough.

Good post. Totally agree about the early days of UFC too. It was amazing to see a 35 stone sumo wrestler square off against a Karate expert etc and I thought it could be a real threat to boxing but as its been watered down over the years I don't think this is the case. Early stoppages really grate with me too, as do stopping fights on non threatening cuts. I actually think the owness should be on the boxer and his corner to decide whether its worth carrying on after a cut. The doctor could advise but the corner could have the say and surmise whether its worth risking the cut getting worse and jeopardizing the boxers career or whether they think they could hang in there and see it out/go for the k.o etc. Boxing has become a bit sterile over the past few years and perhaps needs spicing up a bit.

No other sport delivers the same kind of drama.

I had quite a long time away from the sport. The move away from 15 rounds hurt boxing. The retirement of Duran, Leonard, Hearns, Hagler, etc…hurt me…

Then I just couldn’t stand the sh1t Roy Jones years where he fought as many nobodies as he could and everyone drooled over him. I was tired of seeing the top fighters make everything as skewed in their favour as possible…

I don’t like the mismatches. I don’t care about bad decisions as long as there are rematches.

I hate the way a guy becomes crap the moment he loses a fight. I hate the myth of the unbeaten record. And I really dislike the style of the top American fighters right now (Floyd, Hopkins, Ward, etc…).

But mostly it’s great. I love domestic boxing. I think we have a great scene over here. European boxing also seems much stronger these days with Germany and Eastern Europe…

I think boxing, for the most part, is as good as it’s ever been. I do think though that the American scene has fallen away. But Eastern Europe and Asia have more than made up for this.

And in the age of Premiership football where it’s very predictable, impossible to relate to the players and where your local team is made up of blokes from the far corners of the world who couldn’t really give a sh1t about the people they represent……boxing is the best antidote.

Goals disallowed that are goals… offsides not given… dives… punching the ball in the net…

Loads of stuff goes on in football but nobody ever says I’m not watching anymore. Black eye for the sport… Shot itself in the foot…

How many games in the CL are actually entertaining?

*.

For me who was obsessed with boxing for 4 years i feel the same.it was only when the pathetic "semi pro" moved in on my scene that i had knew it wasn`t for me.

I watch a fraction of the fights that I used to and very rarely buy the boxing mags. Part of it is an age thing I think - it was easier to identify with a particular boxer and imagine myself in the ring when I was in my twenties than it is now in my mid forties. I also think as you get older you don't fall for the hype so much and become less tolerant of poor match ups. I get a lot more excited about tennis these days. In that sport, the best play the best week in week out. It's one-on-one like boxing so it has something of the gladiatorial feel I want, only the players stand slightly further apart.

greed has hurt the sport in a big way.

the sanctioning bodies are as bad as some of the promoters.

they have so cheapened the tag of world champion now.