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Is Boxing dead in Britain????
Posted: 18 Nov 2006, 14:31
by MickyMoose
A mean come on to fornicate we have a big massive fight happening in boxing, yet our sports channels in the UK and not for the first time decide not to show it, isn't even on the next day as highlights

, yet if it was cricket it would be on, this is a disgrace, boxing fans in britian are been ripped off big time
Here's a link to Sky Sports, click on this and show them your disgust, its about time we let them know we aren't happy.
http://home.skysports.com/contactus/
Posted: 18 Nov 2006, 14:34
by Les Kendal
It is a bit of a joke. This is the biggest fight of the year. I wish there was a boxing channel, then I could cancel Sky with no problems.
Posted: 18 Nov 2006, 15:06
by Razor
Its been dead for a long time, no world class guys no more barring Hatton, Calzaghe imo. You southerners go on about Cook but i dont think he is or Scott Harrison, top euro level Harrison imo, his speed sucks when he fights someone his same size or one of the mexicans he will be punished.
Posted: 18 Nov 2006, 15:50
by Autobarn
it isn't dead, just marginalised and fragmented. we've seen a ton of great fights this year in Britain. Starting from Earl-Romanov and finishing with Moore-Macklin, there have been a load of excellent fights.
Posted: 18 Nov 2006, 16:25
by ABA Boxing
What fight we talking about?

Posted: 18 Nov 2006, 17:34
by silkov
Posted: 18 Nov 2006, 17:42
by silkov
Boxings not dead, its just resting...
Posted: 18 Nov 2006, 18:01
by jomothepure
I've got a nice cuttle fish for it when it wakes up
Posted: 18 Nov 2006, 19:18
by harrygreb
Posted: 19 Nov 2006, 05:32
by Cuban Lion
Sky should have showed the pacman fight.
It was not about this but other posters are mistaking this thread to be about the british scene so.......
Calzaghe,Harrison,maccarinelli,woods,witter,Hatton all world champions.
Probably the best it's been for a while.
Posted: 19 Nov 2006, 06:25
by dondada
Cuban Lion wrote:Sky should have showed the pacman fight.
It was not about this but other posters are mistaking this thread to be about the british scene so.......
Calzaghe,Harrison,maccarinelli,woods,witter,Hatton all world champions.
Probably the best it's been for a while.
Yes, sick of all the negativity. There have been far darker days than this. We've got decent TV coverage of the domestic game though I'd really like the Beeb to get back into it and for ITV to show stuff other than SN.
Posted: 19 Nov 2006, 10:01
by silkov
Football mey well hit a wall in the near future, its just gone money mad and eventually the bubble will burst and TV people may come round to the fact that boxing is far cheaper to show and can still bring in the people... World boxing really needs an outstanding heavyweight champion to come along and unify the titles and not end up shooting or raping someone.... if that happens then world boxing may go onto the upswing but as it is now its basically a minority sport these days... but boxing will never really regain its credibility while it has 5+ 'world champions' at every weight... which is basically at the heart of its credibility faliure these days...
Posted: 19 Nov 2006, 10:16
by harrygreb
good points with elements of truth throughout except i dont think footballs demise will mean boxings rise.
socio - economic factors have the most to say about why boxing will, sadly, never reach the heights of yesteryear. the majority of our population is more affluent than ever before and boxing is a working class sport, traditionally populated by those in big need of a pound note.
football has moved with that change in our society much better than boxing has. i for one dont watch football any more because of its loss of roots. i, like you silkov, will stick with boxing until theres no boxing left to watch.
Posted: 19 Nov 2006, 15:10
by dr_devious
I dont think British boxing is dead, as exemplified by Hatton, Calzaghe, Woods, Haye, Macarinelli, Froch, Witter etc. Theres not much to get excited about at world level. PBF is a cut above everyone else and isnt exciting to watch. The heavyweight division is dire, most of the elite fighters e.g. Jones, Hopkins, De La Hoya, Barrera, Morales etc are comin to the tail end of their careers. There doesnt seem much coming up to replace them.
Posted: 19 Nov 2006, 18:30
by harrygreb
the question of the dearth of boxing is not the same over here and over there. because there are so many people in the states and only 60million
over here boxing will fizzle out quicker here than in the usa.
(although i dont think it will come to that)
Posted: 20 Nov 2006, 04:44
by glittermonkey
Ian 'Mr' McNeilly wrote:Cuban Lion wrote:Sky should have showed the pacman fight.
It was not about this but other posters are mistaking this thread to be about the british scene so.......
Calzaghe,Harrison,maccarinelli,woods,witter,Hatton all world champions.
Probably the best it's been for a while.
Yes, sick of all the negativity. There have been far darker days than this. We've got decent TV coverage of the domestic game though I'd really like the Beeb to get back into it and for ITV to show stuff other than SN.
Exactly. Last time I posted here (or anywhere for that matter) there was not a single British world champion, and certainly there were far fewer British fighters competing at European level upwards.
As far as the decline of boxing itself goes, console yourself with this. The US is quickly becoming an hispanic country (although they are doing everything they can to stop it happening). Boxing in central America is as strong as ever. The only thing it will mean is that there will be fewer and fewer fighters in the higher weight classes, while the lower ones will be awash with talent. I know that really long-term view like that doesn't put big title fights on British tv on a consistant basis, but we've never had all the title fights shown on a consistant basis anyway. I guess it's a case of being thankful for what you've got.
Also, I can't understand why everybody seems up in arms about missing Pacquiao/Morales. One's an excellent, improving hungry fighter. The other used to be a great, but has been on the slide for at least a couple of years. There was only ever going to be one outcome.
Posted: 20 Nov 2006, 05:43
by overhand_right
I think he means that big time boxing is not broadcast. All these fights like Pac, Mayweather, Klitschko etc, these should be on terrestrial TV.
All the general public is getting is UK fights as if the world scene doesn't exist, and Sky are hit & miss with what they do cover, and what they do cover they dont even promote or advertise, and then some of its on £20 PPV!
Bad, bad state.
Posted: 22 Nov 2006, 15:36
by mavrick
anderson muttley was class
Posted: 23 Nov 2006, 09:16
by BAM BAM TUA
I think its alive but hidden..with all these new channels..
we have boxing live on ITV/SKY SPORTS..
With channel 4 and i think Chn 5 playing Boxing style magazine shows..
why dont Sky play any Don King related Shows??
Posted: 24 Nov 2006, 13:43
by WildWaylon
Boxing went dead when ITV dropped it - They showed the Amir Khan v Kinderlin fight and because they got a massive audience they brought it back - Since then there has been renewed interest - Joe Calzaghe was fighting on Sky and was a world champion but because he hadnt been seen, or seen much on ITV or BBC the average man in the street didnt know who he was - They then had to do a documentory about him on ITV to explain to people who he is and what he has achieved - Boxing needs ITV and BBC and it needs stars - Back in the sixties almost every home that had a TV tuned in to see the Ali fights, why, because he was a star - Amir Khan is a star in the making and because his fights are on ITV most people know who he is - Star fighters on ITV will have people watching that usually never see boxing and have never considered going to a boxing match - Hatton isnt exactly a household name but he would be on ITV - Rugby once had a pretty small following but because of TV coverage and promotion from the late 80s onwards its fans grew and grew - TV bosses show us what they want to and that determines whether a sport is popular - Good boxing bills on ITV will definately bring boxing back and that is for sure - There was a time when only the HWs really interested people - Thankfully those days are gone, for two reasons - ONE we can now have star fighters at any weight and TWO the HW division sadly lacks star quality at the moment - Its sad when you follow a boxer on ITV and then he moves to SKY - One example is Carl Froch - They were really building him up and then he was gone - ITV viewers would now need reminding who he is if he came back - ITV can make a stack of money out of boxing while pleasing us as fans - They must be prepared to pay to get the rewards from commercial revenue - Finally, no boxing isnt dead its been reborn but a lot of care and thought is needed in bringing the child up - ITV must sow to reap the rewards.
Posted: 25 Nov 2006, 10:05
by harrygreb
i remember back in the early 80's boxing was a dirty word - quite literally - just to mention the sport made people question what sort of violence crazed hooligan you were. the oft heard phrase was "i cant see the point in two men trying to beat each other senseless" happily those days are receding and boxing can only thrive if it is not perceived to be a haven for thuggery and violence by the general public. this is not easy but times have changed for the better.
Posted: 25 Nov 2006, 10:14
by ILikeBeer
silkov wrote:Football mey well hit a wall in the near future, its just gone money mad and eventually the bubble will burst and TV people may come round to the fact that boxing is far cheaper to show and can still bring in the people... World boxing really needs an outstanding heavyweight champion to come along and unify the titles and not end up shooting or raping someone.... if that happens then world boxing may go onto the upswing but as it is now its basically a minority sport these days... but boxing will never really regain its credibility while it has 5+ 'world champions' at every weight... which is basically at the heart of its credibility faliure these days...
I'm 26 and have never boxed, but am 15 stone. Maybe I could have a go at being the next big heavyweight.
Posted: 25 Nov 2006, 10:20
by el_grande_mauro_mina
Does anyone rememeber the 1980s? as harrygreb stated man they were
bleak times, Charlie Magri had to be given a Lonsdale Belt and there
was talk of scrapping the flyweight divsion because there were no
flyweights. (Then Pat Clinto came along and won a Lonsdale belt, the
first fighter to win it as a flyweight since John McCluskey)
Then you had our heavyweights, between John L Gardner and
Big Frank, you had some decent fighters who were just that bit
too big for cruiserweight and too small to operate amongst the top
class of heavyweight. Men such as Gordon Ferris, David Pearce
(Good fighter and brave) as well as decent journeymen such as
Neville Meade and Hurhroy Currie becoming champions.
I think boxing today is in a decent state. It is not at optimum
levels of interest but it has been worse!
Posted: 25 Nov 2006, 10:20
by el_grande_mauro_mina
ILikeBeer wrote:silkov wrote:Football mey well hit a wall in the near future, its just gone money mad and eventually the bubble will burst and TV people may come round to the fact that boxing is far cheaper to show and can still bring in the people... World boxing really needs an outstanding heavyweight champion to come along and unify the titles and not end up shooting or raping someone.... if that happens then world boxing may go onto the upswing but as it is now its basically a minority sport these days... but boxing will never really regain its credibility while it has 5+ 'world champions' at every weight... which is basically at the heart of its credibility faliure these days...
I'm 26 and have never boxed, but am 15 stone. Maybe I could have a go at being the next big heavyweight.
And why not!

Posted: 25 Nov 2006, 10:33
by harrygreb
ok, its your first pro outing, your opponent is a guy named audley harrison. just go out there take a deep breath and blow...not too hard, we dont wanna let them think this is a mismatch...by this time audley is worried and he's running. place youself in just the position where your shadow is cutting off the escape to your left and he's cornered. ok shape to throw a punch. dont let it go!!! you wont need to. the refs counting and audley clearly has had enough. well done son, one fight one win. but they wont all be as easy as this.