BoxRec

Even when their has been a big fight the result does not get reported on the news, you don't read about it in the paper, sports talk radio doesn't cover it. My favorite sports talk radio station WSCR 670 out of Chicago who is usually right on top of sporting events doesn't even talk about it.

My best unqaulified guess is that the politics of boxing might have tarnished the sport, or maybe it lacks exiting fighters like when Sugar Ray Leonard, and Marvin Hagler were around.

Would be interested in some theories, qaulified or other.

it's politicaly incorrect, people are hitting each other you know.

They do cover boxing...whenever there is a freak-show quality to a bout, like any Tyson fight, or whenever a boxer dies in the ring the media jumps all over it, but for straight out boxing coverage...I don't know if there is a single newspaper in the country that has a daily boxing column and certainly no television is going to cover the sport...not even ESPN!

In the UK I also think its a class issue.

Boxing is not a nice upper/middleclass sport like Golf, Tennis, Rugby and Cricket, which all get loads of media coverage.

Cricket gets a lot of coverage? I've never tried to watch it before...it just seems to me like a rather silly sport.

barry wrote:Cricket gets a lot of coverage?

Ten times what Boxing gets.

Unfortunately, boxing just isn't a major sport anymore. While most Ameicans are aware of the top NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL teams -- okay maybe not NHL teams -- very few people can name any active boxers. If it had any significant fan base, it would get media coverage.

Well thats because there have been "accidents" and people have been really hurt or died and it has scared the networks and sponsers away. They will put on other reality stuff but not boxing. If they would put on a Friday night fight it may do well but no sponser wants to get caught with there ads on the "accident" night.

Someone would run with slant that Miller promotes deadly activities. I think people would tune in if they had the opportunity. But I think it's going be less not more as time goes on.

I get frustrated by that also. In philly all the sports radio programs talk about is team sports like the Sixers and Eagles. Our major paper does have a boxing colum it comes out every Tuesday but other than that there is nothing.

BoxBuzz wrote:Well thats because there have been "accidents" and people have been really hurt or died and it has scared the networks and sponsers away. They will put on other reality stuff but not boxing. If they would put on a Friday night fight it may do well but no sponser wants to get caught with there ads on the "accident" night.

Someone would run with slant that Miller promotes deadly activities. I think people would tune in if they had the opportunity. But I think it's going be less not more as time goes on.

Unfortunately, this doesn't explain the near death of local non televised fight cards. I live in Akron Ohio and there are very few live fight cards taking place in this area. It seems with each passing year there are fewer, and this indicates a sport that is not exactly healthy. While televised fight cards are great, a sport without a network of local contests is not going to produce much talent. The local cards aren't being promoted much anymore because the promoters can't make much, if any money. Luckily there are a few people locally who continue to try to keep the sport alive, but all you have to do is try to find a boxing trainer and gym to realize how bad the sports popularity has fallen off over the years.

It won't be long before OSHA will invade the ring.....or have they already?
Insurance is another zapper of the sport in terms of resources. Let's face it everything is about safety these days. Boxing was not is not and will never be "safe". And so it goes.

Another thing is you can't even pick up a copy of ring magazine anymore, or any other boxing magazine. To follow the sport you would have to pay everytime you wanted to watch a fight. Becuase of this I would fall into the category of having trouble naming current fighters. Good thing I found this website where you can discuss fighters of the past. At least I can spare myself the embarrasment of trying to name current fighters.

The media doesn't cover boxing because the average sportscaster knows nothing or less about boxing, has never participated and is intimidated by the whole idea. During my father's generation there were high school and college boxing teams and young men were encouraged to put their hands up to resolve their differences.
As far as the demise of local fight card, Ring magazine, and the overall lack of coverage...boxing did that to itself, or the pathetic greedy half ass clowns that run everything ruined it. Instead of putting together good fights which people will pay to see, promoters anbd managers opted instead to chase tv dollars and instead of good fights we got Yory Boy Campas against blind and lame predesignated losers week after week. And now there are no good prospects and how could there be when nobody fights live opponents any more. And Ring sucks, just like every other boxing mag I am aware of. I used to get 8-10 of them every month but now there are all owned by one group so th magazines are almost identical. They each have an almost tabloid feel to them and the quality of writing and of the stories selkected have gone to hell. The ignorance of the writing staff is matched only by their insane insistence on turning boxing into a tough man contest in which only kos count. I wish they'd belly up and wash away

Occasionally there will be some retrospective piece. The Thrilla was in The Observer newspaper last weekend (for UK members) and boxrec was actually mentioned in the article.

I think there are a number of reasons why boxing has shrunk.

1. In the UK the class element, as has been mentioned previously, is a big factor. people would rather watch average middle class British tennis players getting beaten than watch a fight. When I tell people I'm a big fight fan they look at me like I've just got out of prison.

2. Boxing being taken out of schools was a huge mistake. Boxing was removed from the curriculum but we now live in a more violent society. How does that work out?

3. Boxing used to be one of the highest paid sports but now it's much easier and more lucrative to be a professional footballer (or some other sportsman). They make more money, they have to make fewer sacrifices, they don't have to train as hard, and it's a lot less risky.

4. I also think it's a race issue. I read an article recently how young white men are taking up more and more extreme sports. These sports are not competitive in the same way. They are more about wearing the right gear and posing on your surf board, skate board, bmx, kite board, etc... Fun things to do but are they really sports? At my sons school they have non-competitive sports days!!!!!! I've never heard anything like it.

Here's the link

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/boxing/theo ... 59,00.html

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/boxing/theo ... 59,00.html

I think one thing that would help the sport of boxing is to have one title one champion per weight class. I realize that this is not a new suggestion, but I think it would be good for the fans, and would restore the prestige of being a champion. Look at the respect it helped Marvin Hagler to gain.

Thier have been as many as seven titles on the line for a single fight. The
WBC
WBA
IBF
IBO
WBF
IBA
NBA
What is to stop boxing from adding even more titles to where they may have ten or more. That may sound absurd, but if you were to go back to the days of Joe Louis and said, hey just for the hell of it let's have seven titles per weight class you would have had people thinking you were trying to be funny.

I just think that would be a first step in trying to recreate fan intrest in boxing.

Kick, you're right. It would also make for more top match ups as these guys couldn't call themselves champions like they do today wiothout having beaten better fighters. The champion tag would not be as diminished either.

Here would be a good example of a diminished champian. Take for instance Ray Boom Boom Mancini. He was thoroughly beaten and knocked out by Alexis Arguello for the WBC championship. So right after that he was given a shot at Art Frias for the WBA championship, a diminished champion himself. Now Art was a game fighter and seemed like a pretty all around good guy, but not really championship caliber. So Ray as expected knocks him out. Now all of a sudden Ray is catipolted into super stardom on this basis. Of course that did not last, and further demonstrated the flaws in the system. Just wish something could be done to fix it.

The Great John L wrote: I live in Akron Ohio and there are very few live fight cards taking place in this area.

I live on Leicester (UK) which is historically a 'fightown' but there are no professional fight cards here now. Very sad and fustrating. :(