BoxRec

Come up with any excuse you can, sugar coat, call me insane or irrelevant, but deep down you KNOW this is the worst boxing has been! You know

it! Just be real about it! The hagler-hearn-leonard-duran era is gone, the Tyson era is gone, The Holyfield-Bowe series have come and gone,

The Trinidad-De La Hoya-Quartey-Vargas-Mosely era has left us, Mayweather-Pac-Cotto are on their way out, and there is really no excitement.

GGG has nobody to fight in his rightful division middleweight, Ward has nobody to fight as well in his division and really has no interest in the

light heavies regardless of what's been resported. I swear he will wait it out until Kovalev and both Stevenson are damaged goods then he will move

up in weight. He simply refuses Kovalev or Stevenson at this stage when they are the most successful. Thurman the most exciting 147lber

up and comer has no mainstream appeal fights lined up Mayweather will not fight this kid. Beating Khan or Porter will not enhance his mainstream

appeal I assure you.... This is the number ONE reason Floyd will not fight Thurman.....

Thurman is strong mentally....he's mentally tough and methodical. The heavyweights suck! Deontay Wilder, Fury, and Wladimir I am about to

vomit

It's the structure. Of lack therof.

There is no sole governing body.

There are endless hands in the cookie jar. From networks. To promoters.

It hasn't been about the fans in years. Years.

The system is broken. Badly broken.

It's pretty much been broken from day 1.

Boxing's history shows you why.

It began with rich landowners pitting their men against one another - and in reality, that is still the prevailing mentality. Promoters, in cahoots with governing bodies, networks, venues and commissions, still run the sport.

Unfortunately, boxing is about to go into a recession in a big way. As much as some of us dislike Floyd, he's single handedly been carrying boxing for many years. If he's telling the truth for once, Floyd's retiring in September and you can't fill that void quickly or assuredly.

So we have two things: Floyd retiring and a Promoter War

Both of these factors hitting at the same time could spell disaster or it could turn the sport around. It could really go either way. Promotors have been feeder fish to Floyd's scraps for years. Floyd has been a Tiger Woods like athlete to boxing. Before Tiger joined the PGA, golfers were playing for chump change week in and week out. Now, because of Tiger, golfers are playing for million dollar purses every single week. Canelo and Cotto will soon be signing to fight each other and both guys stand to make 8 figures. That doesn't happen without Floyd.

Disaster: If promoters continue to operate as usual with less than entertaining cards and fail to find someone to carry the torch, Boxing will die.

Success: If promoters realize that they need to improve the matchups now when attention is low, it could cause a soar in ratings with some great matchups that we have been longing to see.

With the way these promoters protect their boxers and investment, betting odds are that we are in for a disaster. But the sport has been around forever and always finds a way. Time will tell.

What do you think?

bnovelist wrote:Thurman the most exciting 147lber

I said Thurman as far as the up and comers, he's series about training and he is very vocal he speaks out!!!! I swear I have been watching boxing

closely since 1990 NONSTOP...I've seen many great champions come through the sport but NOW at this present time this is the worst. It's really

bad right now. Remember how everyone was sad and complaining when Tyson got locked up that boxing was about to dwindle with his absence

because Tyson was such a regular active face? Well at least we had Holyfield, Bowe, Mercer, Lewis, Foreman, Chavez Sr, Trinidad, Roy Jones Jr,

James Lights Out Toney, Tommy Morrison, Iran Barkely, Randall Bailey, Sweat Pea, Meldrick Taylor, etc... It was still major competitive fights

happening. We are in an era where everyone is ducking one another the only fighters I can honestly say that will fight anyone as long as it's

lucrative is Bradley, Thurman, and Kovalev. They want whoever is the best at their weight and makes sense financially. I love Floyd for what he

has done for the sport in terms of records gates but after him we are in trouble. After him honestly is Thurman I can see how he can grow on the

fans over the years with his style and the way he talks, you just want to listen what the guy has to say it's like running into someone you went to

high school with bumping into him at the Wal Mart lol. That dude is fun to talk to! Boxing is bad though right now.....

Let's be honest as good as Canelo, Lara, and Cotto are imagine what a prime Felix Trinidad would do them at 154lbs. Remember the same Tito

that beat up Reid, Thiam, and Vargas. Imagine Tito screaming "Viva Puerto Rico!! Viva Puerto Rico!!" as he climbs the ring post with Canelo

waiting in the ring Or a young "Big Daddy" Riddick Bowe entering the ring with Wilder waiting across the ring... Wilder would succumb

to a big overhand right from Bowe by the 3rd-4th round with Wilder doing the little chicken dance all over the ring.

Wlad is so damn boring that he makes even Lennox Lewis look like a Bad Bay lol At LEAST Lewis called out Bowe and punked him to his face

live on TV and was involved in a few scuffles with Tyson and Rahman for some pre fight hype. OMG Wlad please go and retire this guy

is the definition of what boring really is. Get a DUI, DWI, pimp slap someone on the street, have some type of pre fight drama, man this guy has

to go!!!!!! Holyfield didn't do any of that but he was knocking out folks too letting their face hit the canvas in his prime lol.

I wish all the people that say boxing sucks would vanish from the boxing forums, and go follow a different sport. No one is forcing you to watch.

Badhusker wrote:I wish all the people that say boxing sucks would vanish from the boxing forums, and go follow a different sport. No one is forcing you to watch.

Glad someone said it

Badhusker wrote:I wish all the people that say boxing sucks would vanish from the boxing forums, and go follow a different sport. No one is forcing you to watch.

Amen

So boxing's in rude health then? People must remember to put their rose tinted glasses on before coming on to the forum?

It seems to me boxing is only dying for American fight fans, over here in the UK there are packed stadiums and arenas ever other week, we have many world class boxers holding some versions of world titles and a few good prospects. The little guys are as exciting as fvck right now (ask boxing prospect and others if you want to know the exciting fights and fighters down there). Eastern European's are killing it right now with the obvious guys (please god I hope Loma fights Rigo).

Just because there aren't many exciting American's around (apart from a couple, Crawford for one) and there not dominating the sport, it doesn't mean boxing around the world is suffering.

digzee wrote:It seems to me boxing is only dying for American fight fans, over here in the UK there are packed stadiums and arenas ever other week, we have many world class boxers holding some versions of world titles and a few good prospects. The little guys are as exciting as fvck right now (ask boxing prospect and others if you want to know the exciting fights and fighters down there). Eastern European's are killing it right now with the obvious guys (please god I hope Loma fights Rigo).

Just because there aren't many exciting American's around (apart from a couple, Crawford for one) and there not dominating the sport, it doesn't mean boxing around the world is suffering.

Good post

Whether there are good fighters about or not there aren't enough good fights being made. Not enough between 'top ten' boxers. Sky Sports' programme ''The Gloves Are Off - The Middleweights' just about sums up the current era. Lots of talk but no end product.

you got your opinion and you are entitled to it, but don't ask others to admit what you think, I respect your opinion but I disagree and I will not ask you to admit that boxing is exciting right now, because it is exciting for me.

i think the problem are not the boxer, the problem are the promoters and managers and tv companys.

we have enough exciting fun to watch boxers, but because of greedy managers and promoters we dont get the match ups we want to this. we dont want kovalev-stevenson in 5 years, we want it now.


cruiserweight division is as strong as ever. lebedev, the ko monster kudrysashov, huck, usyk. if they all fought each other, it would be one top fight after the other.

light heavyweight division has never been better than now. kovalev, egor, bertebiev and stevenson would be all great match ups and exciting fights.

between 154 and middleweight there is golovkin, lemieaux, murata, cotto, canelo, lara, charlo bros, andrada. just enough good names to make up great match ups.

also the welterweight division is strong with spence and thurman as upn comers and sooner or later crawford will find his way to welterweight.

than lower division with roman gonzales and inoue.


all i want to say is, that in terms of great exciting fights to be made, we have the quality boxers around, the big promoters just have to do their job and put them together.

For those whining, complaining, bitching or just feeling disillusioned, make sure to find the Kongfah CP Freshmart Vs Daigo Higa bout on youtube when it goes up in the next 24 hours. Unbeaten Vs unbeaten, 20 year old vs 19 year old, all action bout...

bnovelist wrote:Wlad is so damn boring that he makes even Lennox Lewis look like a Bad Bay lol At LEAST Lewis called out Bowe and punked him to his face

live on TV and was involved in a few scuffles with Tyson and Rahman for some pre fight hype. OMG Wlad please go and retire this guy

is the definition of what boring really is. Get a DUI, DWI, pimp slap someone on the street, have some type of pre fight drama, man this guy has

to go!!!!!! Holyfield didn't do any of that but he was knocking out folks too letting their face hit the canvas in his prime lol.

Wladimir has class. He doesn't have to conduct himself like an uncivilized jackass in order to "be entertaining" lol. He's a very skilled HW who (unfortunately) doesn't have a contemporary around that's good enough to give him a real test in his division. The division has been weak ever since Lewis cleaned it out in the early 2000's. A fighter's personality has nothing to do with that.

Aside from the bolded portion quoted above, your sentiments about the state of boxing today are understood overall. I can kind of see where you're coming from regarding the impact that Mayweather's retirement will have on the sport, all the ducking that the top fighters do today, etc. I definitely see your points there.

Boxing has been affected by the advent of social media in a BIG way. There are both good and bad aspects to this.

digzee wrote:It seems to me boxing is only dying for American fight fans, over here in the UK there are packed stadiums and arenas ever other week, we have many world class boxers holding some versions of world titles and a few good prospects. The little guys are as exciting as fvck right now (ask boxing prospect and others if you want to know the exciting fights and fighters down there). Eastern European's are killing it right now with the obvious guys (please god I hope Loma fights Rigo).

Just because there aren't many exciting American's around (apart from a couple, Crawford for one) and there not dominating the sport, it doesn't mean boxing around the world is suffering.

This is also something to think about. Boxing seems to be on the rise in popularity in Europe and the rest of the world (outside of North America).

digzee wrote:It seems to me boxing is only dying for American fight fans, over here in the UK there are packed stadiums and arenas ever other week, we have many world class boxers holding some versions of world titles and a few good prospects. The little guys are as exciting as fvck right now (ask boxing prospect and others if you want to know the exciting fights and fighters down there). Eastern European's are killing it right now with the obvious guys (please god I hope Loma fights Rigo).

Just because there aren't many exciting American's around (apart from a couple, Crawford for one) and there not dominating the sport, it doesn't mean boxing around the world is suffering.

Good post.

It seems to me like most people who claim that boxing is dying are American and are only considering the state of boxing in the US.

I agree boxing went down, especially HW. In 90's I used to watch major HW fights live, and this usually meant waking up in the middle of night. Now I do not care even about title fights, although they are usually for free and in the same timezone.

I like Keith Thurman, but I don't think he could do much against Mayweather.

On a few Positive notes:

Boxing is televised more in the USA now than it has been for many decades.

I'm very interested in seeing how both Furys do, Wilder, Joshua, and Joe Parker.

But boxing has certainly done better before.

gregor wrote:I agree boxing went down, especially HW. In 90's I used to watch major HW fights live, and this usually meant waking up in the middle of night. Now I do not care even about title fights, although they are usually for free and in the same timezone.

..no offence meant, but can that have something to do with the fact that you're 20+ years older?

Boxing does not suck and now we're starting to get even more of it for free yet people still find some dreamt up reason to complain.

If you don't like watching boxing any longer then move on to watching golf or some other boring sport.

I've seen a few posts suggest that boxing is booming around the world and it's only Americans who are disgruntled at the state of boxing.

While agree that boxing looks pretty healthy from Europe (UK and eastern europe in particular), The far east (Thailand and Japan in particular) & south and Central America (Mexico/puerto Rico/Cuba),
I think it's probably unjust to state that boxing in america is lacking star names.
Check the p4p list, you'll find more Americans in there that any other nation, check the title holders, again dominated by the states
Look through Boxrecs list of american fighters and you get to page 3 before you find exciting prospects like Errol Spence Jr, Sammy Vasquez or Randy Caballero, not to mention recent title holders/challengers like Anthony/Andre Dirrell, There is a wealth of talent and potential there, just as there is around the globe

As suggested by a few others on this thread already the issue lies with the Governing bodies, the promoters, the TV companies, the managers and advisers etc. We aren't seeing the best fights, the best aren't facing the best or too often not facing them when they should.

I'm not saying the OP (or anyone who agrees that boxing is in a bad state) is wrong. Boxing is in a shocking state. But it isn't through a dearth of talent or exciting prospects. Boxing is being run badly.

But i'd also ask those who view a sepia coloured past where everything in boxing was so much better, have we not always had political and financial issues, albeit not to the extent we had now?
Christ, I was just reading all about the history of guys like Sam Langford who could only challenge for the "coloured world heavyweight title"
At least when the big fights don't get made now it's a result of greed and the pursuit of power and control, imagine we were still being deprived the big fights because the best fighters happened to have the wrong skin tone