Thread: follow up

Originally Posted by amat

Originally Posted by RP33

Hey, first post..
From the reactions of my friends (who are not big boxing fans, but have their favorites and will watch the bigger name fights) it seems that it's all about perception.. The mainstream audience can just turn on a UFC fight and jump right into it and understand it because it seems more straight forward -- two men just go at it. At the end of the Liddell fight, everyone said "I heard it sucked" simply because it was an early KO, and the guy they wanted to win didn't win.. and when these are the people you're trying to sell PPV's to, then overall MMA is going to get the most money due to entertainment factors... I think that the mainstream audience may not be as entertained by a boxing chess match, where boxing fans may love it.. I think that boxing has a ridiculous amount of depth compared to MMA, but MMA is more straight forward and easier for a random person to watch..

I think a good example would be Mayweather, and how his style is nearly untouchable.. someone who purchased a PPV to watch Mayweather fight, and they see his opponent missing him constantly and Floyd sticking his shots in their, will probably be disapointed.. but i feel that when he puts on a show like that, i appreciate him that much more because of his skills.
And on the flip side you watch someone like Royce Gracie fight MMA and you see this skinny dude submitting and completely owning oversized opponents.. and unless you're a martial arts fan, or are somewhat involved or enjoy watching boxing/mma you won't appreciate his skills.. But if you see Matt Hughes or Rampage Jackson pound someone, then you consider them a great fighter..
This is a topic up for endless debate, but what it comes down to is satisfaction, and i don't think that my equivelant as an MMA fan can get as involved and excited about MMA as i do with boxing..

That's a hell of a first post man, CC and welcome to the board. Hope you enjoy your stay. No doubt MMA is easier to get into right now because it is more engaging, also they got lLiddell as their front man. Boxing has always had the best fighters as their front man while MMA has always had their most exciting. Even when Gracie was doing his thing, Shamrock was the guy.

When boxing's best was Hagler, he attracted loads to the sport because he had an engaging style, and like the UFC, people watched him and other boxing and learned a little bit more about the sport. Now the UFC fans can appreciate people like Gracie because they learned a little bit more but it was Liddell who brought them.

That's why I like Pavlik so much because he wouldn't be to hard to market, and he is exciting.

Very good post hope you stick around.

Thanks man..
I think the major point i'd like to get across is how Americans, specifically, have that 'instant gratification' mindset.. they need to constantly be entertained.. (i'm born/raised/still living in America, i mean this with no intent to offend anyone). If you think about what sells in America (and i can't speak for other countries cause i have no clue) you're looking at CD's that are fabricated and on the radio, mostly poppy sounding music.. stuff that is easy to get hooked on and nothing too technically musically or complex lyrically.. you're looking at romantic comedies with the same plot as the last romantic comedy, or any movie with certain poppy famous actors in it.. you're looking at books by Grisham/Koontz/Sparks/Patterson etc etc.. and i'm not dissing any of those authors but people want what is easy to understand.. it's all about MAINSTREAM.. it's not about independent films, or underground bands, its the mainstream.. and i think that most boxers have become those underground bands and independent films.. and the mainstream has pretty damn quickly became the UFC because it is instant gratification.. you don't have to wait 12 or so rounds for a POSSIBLE KO, you can see it in a minute, much more often than you will in boxing.
Does anyone agree that boxing has become more of an underground sport? i'm seriously curious as to how you guys feel.. i mean a lot of the boxers we talk about on the site are involved in friday night fights and a lot of times not even PPV events..

I totally didn't mean to make a new thread, so if a mod wants to move this to the MMA v Boxing debate, then by all means..
and can anyone tell me why i have to log-in every time i click 'reply' or 'post' something has to be wrong.. i have the always stay logged in button on.. possibly a cookie problem??

Well everything goes in cycles in this day of short attention spans....people will forget about boxing much like they did right before Tyson came along, and then someone will come along and capture the spotlight and all of a sudden everyone loves boxing again.

Maybe it's someone who makes boxing big again or maybe it's an event that makes boxing big again.

I just find that with all the different choices people have today it's going to make smaller groups of people to pay attention to certain sports or entertainment.

I don't think boxing has become underground, whatever that means. It is harder for people, even boxing fans, to access the good quality fights at the moment that aren't huge PPV events I believe. And that is making it less of a 'popular culture' participant I spose at present. And as you say the average guy/girl isn't going to go out of their way to go looking either, it has to handed on a plate. I believe the history boxing has will maintain it as a mainstream sport but at present it is just not as accessible as it has been in the past. I believe and hope that this will be part of a natural cycle and boxing will be more visible and accessible for larger numbers of people in the years to come. If the number of young kids attending my local gym regularly is an indication then it is looking good for the future as it is very well attended.