Biggest Reason for Boxing's Downfall?

[Ambling Alp II]

There have been a lot of reasons for the decline in the popularity of boxing. Some of them are intertwined. However, if you had to pick one, what had been the biggest reason?

[evrenb]

Boxing is healthy at the moment isn't it?? in the UK anyway.

[Oiky]

wouldln't nessecarily say healthy if your a true boxing fan, i'd say healthy if your a casual that isn't to clued up on the sport and doesn't know the ins and outs.

for example its not healthy that the casuals will look at brezeale and think its going to be an even fight vs joshua

although it is healthy that fury will retain his belt vs. klitschko and then box aj's head off.

[BitPlayer]

The alphabet soups, allowing people to get high ranks against bad opposition.

[PredatorHayds]

I always how different boxing would of been if Castro didn't ban professionalism.

There's loads of Cuban fighters who would of gone down as great pros.

Some amazing Havana nights missed out on aswell.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Money! Premium cable and the casinos stopped regional building and let promoters just collect cash and not work. That's all built into a system where guys can make bank fighting lesser opposition. Nobody risks tougher fights and the sport is bland as a whole(though europe and asia produce quality). When I was growing up guys could make a huge payday like Holmes/Cooney, but Holmes was also defending his title on ABC for what is novice money now. Less fights, way less good fights, way less people care.

And the UFC continually putting on cards as solid as full months of Boxing isn't going to help attract the younger audience.

[Bodyshot3]

The sport is actually doing well in certain markets....even thriving....but a bit like the global economy there are places where there are some definite success stories and other places where the sport is only ticking over or in danger of collapsing.

It is a very mixed picture out there I'd contend.

Here in the UK we've seen the return of major stadium fights attended not just by the enthusiast, big domestic match-ups getting the fans out and a good number of fighters achieving crossover appeal and recognition.

Amazingly, this is happening without the BBC showing any pro boxing (ITV flirting with just the odd fight) and the national press pushing boxing to the margins due to their financial problems and overall fixation with football.

Of course, It could be argued that we are just in the middle of a particularly 'sweet spot' when it comes to talent here in the UK. It is certainly hard to recall a period when we've have had so many top-class fighters...so when they move on perhaps we'll see the real state of play?

Overall I think something else has happened as well...and that is that the European football stadium fight has established itself as a credble rival to the once mighty/dominant US casino experience. A shift in power has happened with European promoters achieving some real momentum.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

The biggest issue past the purses in America is that nobody gives a shit. Garcia/Guerrero was on free network TV and it got trounced by Figure Skating in ratings.

[Chuck1052]

In the United States a few years after World War II, boxing's downfall was due to a combination of societal change and the advent of television. The dramatic decrease in the number of U.S. professional boxing shows followed.

- Chuck Johnston

[elmersalsa]

I guess we live in different times. MMA is taking over. Sad to say it, but, it is what it is. And fighters now, they don't have to fight as often as before. I don't think we will ever see a boxer with more than 100 pro fights in this era. Maybe never again. The alphabet organizations destroyed boxing in my view. We got 4 champions per division, now? Who is the real champion?

[BoxBuzz]

I've been thinking about this, and not sure I agree with the validity of the question.

However..... IF it is going downhill, I think I may have the reason.


In a world where UFC matches can be over in a matter of seconds, it may well be that the average fight fan has lost the ability to focus on anything beyond a few minutes.

And quite frankly in the U.S. everything is going faster and faster. And no one can be truly focused on anything that lasts longer than an average 60 mile an hour head on car crash.


And since MOST really great fighters engage for a full 12 rounds, this may simply be too much for the attention span of a U.S. citizen.


This could also explain why it's still doing ok in Europe.

And why good looking women appear to be immigrating to the Euro Zone.

[littlepug]

Boxing is fine its just evolved to fit in with its time like all things do, and there probably hasn't been a time in boxing history when the state of the game hasn't been questioned by its followers

[sweetsci]

In a world where UFC matches can be over in a matter of seconds, it may well be that the average fight fan has lost the ability to focus on anything beyond a few minutes.

And quite frankly in the U.S. everything is going faster and faster. And no one can be truly focused on anything that lasts longer than an average 60 mile an hour head on car crash.

And since MOST really great fighters engage for a full 12 rounds, this may simply be too much for the attention span of a U.S. citizen.

I've thought about this before and I don't think short attention spans are, overall, an issue. Americans obsess over things like NFL football, where a game takes about 3 hours and is made up of short bursts of activity mixed with LONG stretches of waiting for something to happen, while using strategies to make those things happen.

Same with NASCAR. People obsess over it. HOURS of guys driving around in circles with the occasional wreck. People get into the drivers and the strategies they use. They get into the personalities. It's really brilliantly marketed.

If boxing (and I say "boxing" like it's one person who has the power to change everything) were smart it'd model itself after NASCAR, promotion wise. Get people into the personalities and stories of the participants. Humans love stories. And simplify the championship structure. One world champ per division, beneath that regional champs. No silly ratings. 15 round world championship fights. People can take that distance and it separates the men from the boys, so to speak.

We all know great boxing is amazing. If it were better run it'd be much bigger than it is now. The fact that it's doing fairly well is a testament to the excitement of the sport, considering all the shenanigans in the running of it.

[gilgamesh]

Taking at least 5 times longer than it should to give people the fights they want ain't helping

[BitPlayer]

I guess we live in different times. MMA is taking over. Sad to say it, but, it is what it is. And fighters now, they don't have to fight as often as before. I don't think we will ever see a boxer with more than 100 pro fights in this era. Maybe never again. The alphabet organizations destroyed boxing in my view. We got 4 champions per division, now? Who is the real champion?

I know of one journeyman currently fighting who's 11-222-7
http://boxrec.com/boxer/216597
Though I think it's very true at the higher levels.

[Ruthless-RKO]

3 letters!

IBF!

Such a joke of an organisation. The rankings are simply stupid and they just hand out mandatories like it's nothing.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

The ibf is the best one, not saying much, at least they have rules they stick to.

[yancey]

I was a big time boxing fan back in the '60s and '70s when title fights were a big thing, but I lost a good bit of interest starting in the late '70s and early '80s. That seemed to be about the time when all these different "organizations" and cheap titles started happening.

There should be fewer weight classes and one organization with one undisputed world champion for each class.

I also wish they would go back to 15 round championship fights, but that ain't happening in the pussified times we live in.

[Dart340]

Cable Television, same as what killed the territories in Pro Wrestling.

No need to drive downtown on a Monday night to see the local guys fight at the Sherwood Club or go down to the Indy PAL to see the Friday Night Golden Gloves when you can see two, three, maybe four boxing shows on TV for free.

When the local clubs dried up, less fighters, less interest. No more local heroes. No more kids going to learn how to fight to find glory, fame and fortune.

MMA coming along and challenging boxing's ability to be the showcase for "the toughest man at his weight" just sank it into the lake even further.

[dempseyfire]

It's not the ABCs, UFC, bad officiating etc.

It's DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES POST WW II.

Boxing used to be up there with soccer as THE major global sport; the primary means for a young athlete to try to break out of poverty. In the U.S. boxing and baseball were king; in Europe soccer and prizefighting.

Then you saw the wider advent of the middle class and with that organized sports that don't constitute getting hit in the face for a living. Couple that with the rise of TV and boxing always being disorganized compared to the newer competition, and you have a sport in major decline with participation rates nosediving.

[BoxBuzz]

Yep,

I've said this before, a stroll on any college campus reveals that the Boxing Team of the 30's and 40's were huge.....as were the rifle teams.

Then the advent of other sports....and football became the main event....in fact, it appears on some campuses that the football team is bigger than the male population of the campus on that particular year....go figure.

AND...this is important....

wimpier and wimpier things are becoming the prime focus.......eventually tiddily winks, and grass growing competitions will rule.
Less litigation, less politically incorrect activities, blah blah blah....the recorded history of the feminization of society in full regalia,is on display at any of your local institutions of higher learning.

[cfang]

I dont agree that attention spans are shorter as someone else said - look at the nfl. Also don't agree that things are getting wimpier either - what about ufc - it's pretty violent and used to be calls for it to be banned and now its mainstream.

I do agree though that boxing isn't what it was and the reason for that is mostly that there are more options now for for people. There's far more sports for a start - back in the day there were really only so many professional sports and boxing was one. Now there's snowboarding and skateboarding and many sports that used to be amateur - like tennis etc are now professional. We've seen that over here in the uk as rugby is far more popular than it once was. Same in the us with the NFL. I reckon a lot of rugby players here and NFL players over there would have been boxers years ago. Same with the NBA.

Yep,

I've said this before, a stroll on any college campus reveals that the Boxing Team of the 30's and 40's were huge.....as were the rifle teams.

Then the advent of other sports....and football became the main event....in fact, it appears on some campuses that the football team is bigger than the male population of the campus on that particular year....go figure.

AND...this is important....

wimpier and wimpier things are becoming the prime focus.......eventually tiddily winks, and grass growing competitions will rule.
Less litigation, less politically incorrect activities, blah blah blah....the recorded history of the feminization of society in full regalia,is on display at any of your local institutions of higher learning.

[pound per pound]

Boxing is at it best when there is a clear champion and the right fights are made at the right times. These days we seldom see either.

If I were King, this is what I would do.

1 ) Schedule a majority tournament of All WBO, IBF, WBA, and WBC belt holders. Force them to fight for one champion. These alphabet soup types can then play games with continental title belts and such. To keep then happy, charge more for sanctioning fees, and funnel it to them equally to the 4 alphabet organizations. Money is all that it takes to keep them happy.

2 ) A champion must face a top 6 Ring Magazine or Box Rec ranked challenger once in 12 months, or he loses his status and a new four-man tournament is created to fight for the championship. If the champion is injured, stop the clock and start it once he recovers.

Boxing is a great sport when the right fights are made!

3 ) Optional 15 round title fights.

4 ) A retraction of weight classes to match the Amateur divisions. Fewer champions = more defined champions. I'd settle for 11 over 17.

5 ) The creation of an all boxing TV channel. Fights, opinions, gym reports, prospect reports, classic fights, fan voting polls, radio call in's, etc...

6 ) Judicial review on clear robbieries, with the authority to declare a no-contest with a re-match, ordered.

7 ) 5% of all purses goes into a bank for boxing issues. Medical bills for critically injured fighters, promotion money paid to help amateur talents turn professional.

8 ) Bonuses offered to any fighter to go professional if he won Silver or Gold in the Olympics or World Amateur Championships. $10,000.00 paid, funds to be taken from the global bank ( see point 7 )

9 ) Allow instant reply allowed on missed knockdowns or clear fouls, with the point awarded or taken in the next round announced by the referee between rounds.

10 ) A single commissioner is appointed with power, with check and balances from 2 other VPs' who can overrule him via 2/3 majority.

[Bodyshot3]

Boxing is fine its just evolved to fit in with its time like all things do, and there probably hasn't been a time in boxing history when the state of the game hasn't been questioned by its followers

I'd agree with plenty of that littlepug....and I would still contend that in some markets/nations the sport is flourishing whilst we are looking at a downturn elsewhere. The sport is evolving; some 'mature' markets are moving on and others are now coming on stream.

Big boxing countries like Japan, the UK, Germany, Argentina and Canada are putting on major shows and getting the fans out...and it also seems clear that places like the Ukraine, Russia and Poland can now put on major events for their own fighters and these guys don't always have to travel.

The number of decent shows - not just small hall stuff - now taking place in Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany and also places the Czech Republic and Hungary suggests that we're seeing a shift in the sport's centre of gravity. Places like Kiev and Moscow are now holding major title fights.

By way of example, Wilder v Povetkin is likely to be a sell-out Moscow fight - not Vegas - and a young gun like Joshua can fight in the UK and not have to the follow in the US footsteps of other British heavyweights.

The sport is far from dead; it is just booming elsewhere.

[Bundana]

Boxing is fine its just evolved to fit in with its time like all things do, and there probably hasn't been a time in boxing history when the state of the game hasn't been questioned by its followers

I'd agree with plenty of that littlepug....and I would still contend that in some markets/nations the sport is flourishing whilst we are looking at a downturn elsewhere. The sport is evolving; some 'mature' markets are moving on and others are now coming on stream.

Big boxing countries like Japan, the UK, Germany, Argentina and Canada are putting on major shows and getting the fans out...and it also seems clear that places like the Ukraine, Russia and Poland can now put on major events for their own fighters and these guys don't always have to travel.

The number of decent shows - not just small hall stuff - now taking place in Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany and also places the Czech Republic and Hungary suggests that we're seeing a shift in the sport's centre of gravity. Places like Kiev and Moscow are now holding major title fights.

By way of example, Wilder v Povetkin is likely to be a sell-out Moscow fight - not Vegas - and a young gun like Joshua can fight in the UK and not have to the follow in the US footsteps of other British heavyweights.

The sport is far from dead; it is just booming elsewhere.

Exactly!

While boxing isn't as big in the US as it used to be, the WORLDWIDE No. of fights/fighters has gone nowhere but up since the 60's and 70's. We now see pro boxing in former communist countries - as well as many countries in Africa, that are "newcomers" on the pro scene. Needless to say, boxing is also big in Asia (Thailand, Philippines, Japan, etc.). Lots of activity around the world!