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The Boxing Frustration
Posted: 24 Oct 2018, 22:25
by mrdonleon
Boxing is a beautiful sport. But it takes some solid research to exactly know whats going on. All the different promotions, channels & titles brings some confusion to the table for the 'regular fan'. At times it can be frustrating too see all the boxing politics, problems with the judging and the pay per view prices too legally see some big boxing events.
How did you guys get in too watching boxing? And do you watch all the boxing events or you just follow some of the promotions?
Re: The Boxing Frustration
Posted: 25 Oct 2018, 04:11
by sweetviolenturge
I can understand your frustration with trying to follow the sport. And, yes, it can be expensive. But, believe it or not, things used to be a lot worse.
I come from an era when fans were at the mercy of the three major television networks. Which was both good & bad.
Good in that all three networks showed a healthy amount of boxing but that still left a lot of fighters & fights unseen. And, the truly big fights were telecast on closed circuit. Which meant that I had to go to a local arena or theater to watch the fights broadcast on a screen for $20 - $25 a pop.
But, then came the advent of cable TV when I was a teen & it opened up a whole new world of boxing. I finally got to see the sort of fighters that weren't quite ready for network television or, in some cases, past the point where they wanted them. ESPN was chief among the new cable networks to carry boxing on a weekly basis on its show Top Rank Boxing. There was also the MSG network that broadcast fights from NYC & LA on a regular basis. Then, a bit later, the USA network joined in with its own weekly cards.
And, for the bigger fights, there was HBO.
Still, despite all this new coverage, there were all the fights in Europe & elsewhere overseas that we here in the States didn't get to see. Something that, for the most part, has remained the same until recently with the arrival of the apps DAZN & ESPN + which have opened up a whole new world to us. At least on a regular basis.
How long have you been a fan? Myself, I've been a rabid boxing fan since I was 14-years-old way back in 1976. So, I've pretty much seen it all. Including the period of time when promoters were basically PPV crazy. They went through a phase for a few years when almost all the major fights were on PPV. Things were a lot more expensive back then.
These days things aren't so bad IMO.
Some may not agree with me & that's cool but I think things are pretty reasonable right now.
As I said, I'm a die hard, so I have to see it all. Which means that a programming package with a bare minimum of ESPN, ESPN 2 & FS1 is a must. As for premium channels, HBO & Showtime are, of course, a must as well. But, I'll be putting a stop to my HBO subscription in January when the network ceases to carry boxing. So, that's $15 per month that I'll be saving.
Also, now especially, a high-speed internet connection/wifi is a must so that I have access to all my favorite boxing news websites & for my subscriptions to the DAZN & ESPN + apps.
So, how much does that come out to each month?
A rough estimate is as follows:
Cable TV w/ high-speed internet/wifi - $100
Showtime & HBO $ 30
DAZN & ESPN + $ 15
So, roughly between $140 - $150 per month with no PPVs. Which, I'm very, very picky with. I probably only order about one per year.
Re: The Boxing Frustration
Posted: 25 Oct 2018, 05:08
by littlepug
Been following the sport since 89 as a 16yr old, did my research (reading back then) on the history of the sport from day one so I knew properly what was going on and have watched pretty much every fight since, I watch boxing everyday, when im not catching up on the weekends action im watching older fights ive never got round to watching, I don't always buy every fight these days cos money is tight and I can usually watch it on youtube next day, I tend to know pretty much whats going on around the world boxing wise as I like to bet on the sport so it pays to have a bit of knowledge, as you can imagine ive got an understanding wife and no kids !
Re: The Boxing Frustration
Posted: 25 Oct 2018, 07:22
by Quantrax
Boxing Monthly said that in a normal year, more than 1000 bouts will be a for a title of some description or other. It's impossible to keep track of all of it, even the major 4 titles across all 17 weight divisions.
Re: The Boxing Frustration
Posted: 25 Oct 2018, 10:13
by Boxing101101
the froch groves rematch was what got me into boxing. I was like 12 or 13 at the time. to be honest I diddent really know much about boxing at the time like I knew the basic rules and who were the top guys where but I had no idea who these two guys were but I kept seeing it advertised and the beef they had and younger me bought into it and I managed to convince my dad to buy it so I watched every fight and really enjoyed it and my interest grew from there. I started off by only watching the big ppv like not long after it was Bellew-cleverly 2 and then it was Mayweather- Pacquaio and sometime around then I found this website and realised there was way more boxing so long story short I used to be a casual but now im not lol. but yh I have sky so im able to watch all of their shows as well as anything on itv or channel 5. I buy all the ppvs which is a bit costly seeing as there is quite a lot now but usually when its someone like aj fighting ill get a few mates together and it end up only costing a couple of quid each. but yh there is good fights on like every week now and ill try and watch as much as possible tbh boxing is probably my favourite sport now.
Re: The Boxing Frustration
Posted: 25 Oct 2018, 19:01
by TheBeast
Quantrax wrote: ↑25 Oct 2018, 07:22
Boxing Monthly said that in a normal year, more than 1000 bouts will be a for a title of some description or other. It's impossible to keep track of all of it, even the major 4 titles across all 17 weight divisions.
Ken Pollitt (kstat on TTR and a member here working on rankings) is THE only one who keeps track of EVERYTHING about titles... He is an encyclopedia and a reference imo.
I just don't follow the title stuff and focus on watching all the bouts personally.
I have been following everything filmed or televised for decades and internet has helped a LOT. Str3aming has changed the game.
IMO the only thing that could be better would be if a boxer's association would be created and would take care of many things and have their own network, their own title... everything would be centralised (money wise) and working for the benefit of those risking their lifes, the fighters.
Re: The Boxing Frustration
Posted: 25 Oct 2018, 20:31
by RScarf1
I started watching boxing in 1985, specifically the first Larry Holmes vs. Michael Spinks fight. I think that less young people are becoming boxing fans for various reasons. I probably would not be a fan today if I had not become a fan in the '80s. I think there is too much corruption and the top talent does not fight each other often enough.
Re: The Boxing Frustration
Posted: 25 Oct 2018, 20:32
by ldlamb
I started following boxing around 1980-81.
Back then there were usually two champs per division. I liked it because it gave someone being ducked a second option and allowed a natural buildup to a unification fight between the two champs like Leonard-Hearns.
Re: The Boxing Frustration
Posted: 26 Oct 2018, 02:51
by candyslim
I got caught up in the hype for the first Frazier v Ali fight. Pretty soon I got to wondering if they were one and two in the world (in which order yet to be determined) then who were three and four, and it escalated from there.
Re: The Boxing Frustration
Posted: 29 Oct 2018, 21:27
by mrdonleon
sweetviolenturge wrote: ↑25 Oct 2018, 04:11
I can understand your frustration with trying to follow the sport. And, yes, it can be expensive. But, believe it or not, things used to be a lot worse.
I come from an era when fans were at the mercy of the three major television networks. Which was both good & bad.
Good in that all three networks showed a healthy amount of boxing but that still left a lot of fighters & fights unseen. And, the truly big fights were telecast on closed circuit. Which meant that I had to go to a local arena or theater to watch the fights broadcast on a screen for $20 - $25 a pop.
But, then came the advent of cable TV when I was a teen & it opened up a whole new world of boxing. I finally got to see the sort of fighters that weren't quite ready for network television or, in some cases, past the point where they wanted them. ESPN was chief among the new cable networks to carry boxing on a weekly basis on its show Top Rank Boxing. There was also the MSG network that broadcast fights from NYC & LA on a regular basis. Then, a bit later, the USA network joined in with its own weekly cards.
And, for the bigger fights, there was HBO.
Still, despite all this new coverage, there were all the fights in Europe & elsewhere overseas that we here in the States didn't get to see. Something that, for the most part, has remained the same until recently with the arrival of the apps DAZN & ESPN + which have opened up a whole new world to us. At least on a regular basis.
How long have you been a fan? Myself, I've been a rabid boxing fan since I was 14-years-old way back in 1976. So, I've pretty much seen it all. Including the period of time when promoters were basically PPV crazy. They went through a phase for a few years when almost all the major fights were on PPV. Things were a lot more expensive back then.
These days things aren't so bad IMO.
Some may not agree with me & that's cool but I think things are pretty reasonable right now.
As I said, I'm a die hard, so I have to see it all. Which means that a programming package with a bare minimum of ESPN, ESPN 2 & FS1 is a must. As for premium channels, HBO & Showtime are, of course, a must as well. But, I'll be putting a stop to my HBO subscription in January when the network ceases to carry boxing. So, that's $15 per month that I'll be saving.
Also, now especially, a high-speed internet connection/wifi is a must so that I have access to all my favorite boxing news websites & for my subscriptions to the DAZN & ESPN + apps.
So, how much does that come out to each month?
A rough estimate is as follows:
Cable TV w/ high-speed internet/wifi - $100
Showtime & HBO $ 30
DAZN & ESPN + $ 15
So, roughly between $140 - $150 per month with no PPVs. Which, I'm very, very picky with. I probably only order about one per year.
Hey,
Sorry for the late reply!
Thanks for this amazing in depth reaction, very cool too read that you used to watch boxing in a local theater. My age is 24 so i definitely dont have as much boxing knowledge like you haha. I used to grew up watching kickboxing, which is very big here in The Netherlands. When i was 12/13 i started watching local boxing fights and i do fight myself.
Unfortunate it is very hard to watch all the boxing fight live because of the -6 hours time difference. Also there are not any cable channels that have the rights to air the fights just because boxing is not that big in Holland. It is more a soccer country haha. But when i have the time i love too see all the replays. I do watch all the big fights and i like what DAZN is doing with fighters like Jarrell Miller, Canelo Alvarez & Claressa Shields.
I definitely got too agree that $145 a month is not that expensive too see all the fights. Sounds like a good deal too me!
Have a great day, greetings.
Re: The Boxing Frustration
Posted: 31 Oct 2018, 07:44
by caldo2025
My love for the sport goes back to 1974-75 and Ali. My Dad used to hide me on the side of the couch so my mother wouldn't see that i was up that late watching boxing with the guys. Greatest memories. It wasn't soon after those years that they started having small arena's and movie theaters hosting PPV big screen boxing matches and the PPV Boom was alive and well.
Let's face it, PPV is the goal of every fighter...promoter...manager. Now, with streaming, they've just found a different way for us to now pay for crap matches as well as the big matches. Up until now, most promoters were lucky to get 1-3 PPV per year. Now, with monthly subscriptions, it's going to be a steady flow of PPV like cash but spread over 12 months and more of a fixed cash structure as opposed to having to guess how much an event would generate in buys. Look, it's VERY smart from the promoters side of the coin but it's absolutely horrible for the sport. Because we'll all be paying the monthly subscription and what's going to happen when Canelo /GGG 3 happens? They will charge extra for it and i guarantee that you don't get it free with your current subscription of whatever network it ends up. In the end, we'll be paying more at the end of the year for sure. Mark my words. Nothing ever gets cheaper folks.
The PBC showed us what happens when you put fights on a bunch of different networks...confusion...watered down products and just a crappy experience overall. Not many Americans even know about this btw. The sport is shiit over here.