Is Boxing a couple years away from a huge decline?

[Kev]

It may seem absurd right now to suggest this as boxing is the hottest it's been in a long time.

But look at the ages of the combatant's involved.

Hopkins will be gone in 12 months, as will Mosely almost certainly.

J M Marquez, his brother Raphael and Israel Vasquez will all likely be retired within a couple years.

I'd imagine Floyd and Manny are maybe two fights each away from retirement.

Roy Jones will be gone.

The heavyweight divsion will most likely be in a piss poor state as the challenge of David Haye will most probably have been vanquished.

I'm trying to think who the big stars will be in two years time and I'm guessing it will be Dawson, Ward, Gamboa.

Do you think boxing will go through a quiet spell, a noticable dip for a couple of years until these guys establish themselves as household names?

I'm thinking between 2011 to the end of 2012. I wonder what the state of the sport will be like then.

Who do you think the breakout stars will be, and will Manny, Floyd et al be long gone?

[blegit]

Maybe if you're talking about creating another star like PBF, De la Hoya, or Pac. But that takes time to build with the exception of De la Hoya. But arguably the two deepest divisions in boxing, 140 and 168, are loaded with young fighters at the top. Then you have the Cubans defecting at a good rate. Rigondeux looks special. That Lundy guy looks very promising. Plus, a lot of the usual good fighters like PWill, JuanMa, and Berto will be around. Really only the superstars will be gone. But I do think Gamboa or Rigondeux will make for potential superstars. Boxing thrives off the superstars leading the way so it will need to start looking/creating the next one.

[Kev]

Maybe if you're talking about creating another star like PBF, De la Hoya, or Pac. But that takes time to build with the exception of De la Hoya. But arguably the two deepest divisions in boxing, 140 and 168, are loaded with young fighters at the top. Then you have the Cubans defecting at a good rate. Rigondeux looks special. That Lundy guy looks very promising. Plus, a lot of the usual good fighters like PWill, JuanMa, and Berto will be around. Really only the superstars will be gone. But I do think Gamboa or Rigondeux will make for potential superstars. Boxing thrives off the superstars leading the way so it will need to start looking/creating the next one.

I definitely think there are some exciting boxers coming through, especially domestically. I think a year or so from now UK boxing will be the hottest it's been in a long time with maybe a dozen or so world class, or borderline world class fighters.

Internationally I'm not so sure. I think the heavyweight division will frankly stink. Haye will have been beat, Vitali might have retired, it could be awful.

I don't think 168 will have the action by then either. Once the Super Six has finished I think we will be left with a couple great fighters and they will likely meet at 175 or something.

Two years from now Froch, Kessler, Green, Abraham I think will have had their swansongs. It will be all about Ward and Dawson imo. I would say Bute, but I can't bring myself to consider that.

Shame, I dislike him purely because I want to be right in my disagreement with ICB and CFH

[0james0]

I definitely think there are some exciting boxers coming through, especially domestically. I think a year or so from now UK boxing will be the hottest it's been in a long time with maybe a dozen or so world class, or borderline world class fighters.

Internationally I'm not so sure. I think the heavyweight division will frankly stink. Haye will have been beat, Vitali might have retired, it could be awful.

I don't think 168 will have the action by then either. Once the Super Six has finished I think we will be left with a couple great fighters and they will likely meet at 175 or something.

Two years from now Froch, Kessler, Green, Abraham I think will have had their swansongs. It will be all about Ward and Dawson imo. I would say Bute, but I can't bring myself to consider that.

Shame, I dislike him purely because I want to be right in my disagreement with ICB and CFH

That was exactly my thoughts when I read the title. UK boxing is buzzing with top up and coming fighters. As one top dog retires globally, another appears and takes his place.

If you wound the clock back 6 years ago we could have probably said the same thing (although in fairness we would have probably been talking the same fighters)

[skel1983]

I don' think there will be a huge decline but if you look at the p4p top ten now and look at it say 5-10 years ago it is a lot weaker.

[HattonTheHammer]

I don' think there will be a huge decline but if you look at the p4p top ten now and look at it say 5-10 years ago it is a lot weaker.

pacquiao, mayweather, mosley, klitschko brothers, williams, gamboa, dawson, marquez, lopez, hosegawa, donaire, darchinyan

Is it??

[Boxer4life]

there are stars on the horizon believe me, boxing will never have its decline its been around for centuries

[albsur2006]

Well Floyd, took a long time to become the star he is now. Oscar De La Hoya took much less time because of his good looks, gold medal, and Mexican following. But the one thing that Floyd ABSOLUTELY has right is personality. I'm not saying that he became a star the honorable way like maybe Pacquiao did but Pacquiao's style will allow him to be a big attraction. Tell me how Floyd, who's style isn't the most crowd pleasing, is able to generate so much interest? It's the aura of invincibility, it's the swagger. Boxers must realize this. It's the same reason why Shane Mosley ruined his earning potential and his importance in boxing. Shane Mosley was on top of the world after beating Oscar the first time, the guy was good looking and fun to watch. Instead of Shane taking a couple decent fights to look really good and build up profile but Shane thought like a fighter and took Winky Wright's challenge. I mean that's all great that he fought Winky Wright but that's a dumba$$ business decision. He should have let that fact that you didn't take the Winky fight right away or "ducked" the fight get the media interested; let them start finding out more about Winky and also build up his profile so that when you DO fight him, it's a bigger fight. But Shane Mosley didn't get it. And that basically amounted to a fight that did horrible business and that nobody outside of boxing fans cared about. Just because you don't take a fight doesn't mean you're scared, sometimes, you have to think about business. That's why I hope the following fighters are smart about their career and develop their star power. Doing that will help keep boxing alive:

Andre Ward: Great fighter, good to watch, nice guy, undefeated, not sure if he has star quality though. Only drawback is that he's kinda boring.

James Kirkland (after he gets out): Vicious fighting style, great backstory, crazy personality, undefeated, knockout puncher, he's like a mini-Tyson that could captivate the public. Only drawback is that he's not at a heavier weight. He could be a HUGE star in the future.

Amir Khan - Flashy, already seems to get the point that it's about having a CAREER and not just rushing into big fights. Has P4P skills, good size, and great speed. Already a huge star overseas. Only drawback is 1st round KO loss detracts from aura of invincibility. He should be a star as long as he doesn't get knocked out again.

JuanMa Lopez - Good Puerto Rican following. Vibrant and outgoing personality. Will talk a little trash. P4P boxing skills, great power, good technique. Undefeated. Only drawback is that he's a small guy but if he finds his way to lightweight undefeated he'll be huge.

Devon Alexander - Great boxer. Very slick boxer. Not the greatest to watch. Will be hard to beat. Personality will get him far. Undefeated. Cocky guy. American's love to HATE ultra talented yet cocky athletes. People will eventually pay to see him lose a la Floyd. Only drawback is his fighting style.

Andre Berto - Already has a good following in Florida. Great power. Great makeup. Sometimes great to watch. Undefeated. Already champion. Good personality. He can be what Shane Mosley should have been. Only drawback is that he looks like he'll outgrow 147 and that may be to his detriment because he's not big enough to be at 154 and 160 I think.

Saul Alvarez - Apparently a big star in Mexico already. Quirkish looks gives people something to talk about. Skills leave a little bit to be desired but he's still young. He looks like he really could become something like Gatti. Great to watch and vulnerable yet finds a way to win. Only drawback is that he looks like he doesn't have THAT much upside as a boxer.

David Haye - Heavyweight that fights with real passion and heart. Amazing power, great skills, great personality. Able to mix it up in the ring and out of it. Already a big star overseas. His fights aren't the greatest to watch all the time but he keeps you interested because he can land a huge punch at any moment. Only drawback is that he may be chinny and also he might get KTFO by one of the Klitschkos.

There a good amount more that I can name too. Boxing will be fine if their handlers handle them right. If it was up to boxing fans, fights would happen the minute we want to see them. We would blow our loads too early all the time. Sometimes, it's good to let things build.

[milmascaras1]

so much young talent ready to explode that i seriously doubt boxing will be void of many great champions in the future.

[Iceman778]

yes its right but now the time changed

[ElTerribleMorales]

with guys like

Adamek
Dawson
Pascal
Bute
Ward
Williams
Angulo
Berto
Alvarez
basically 140 lb division
Funeka
Mitchell
Guerrero
Gamboa
Lopez
Rocky Martinez
etc.
still around there are plenty of HUGE fights available and i doubt very much that boxing will be declining any time soon

[The Fightfan]

Nah. I don't think it will ever go silent. There are too many guy's just popping out of the woodwork with one solid performance. Then boom a couple good fight's and they are a superstar. Some good talent coming from Philly as well. Someone mentioned Hank Lundy,Mike Jones,Danny Garcia. I've met all of these guy's and they are very dedicated to the sport.It doesn't look as if they will be leaving anytime soon.

[Iceman778]

now time changed lets see

[Caine3078]

I think it might have a slow spell not long but there will be a year or two where its slow. Then as other stars begin to become household names you will have more super fights. One fight I see happening down the road that could be a potential superfight is ward vs dawson.

[Kev]

I think it might have a slow spell not long but there will be a year or two where its slow. Then as other stars begin to become household names you will have more super fights. One fight I see happening down the road that could be a potential superfight is ward vs dawson.

Yeah definitely, I think these guys are going to be p4p mainstays over the next 5 or 6 years. The only trouble I forsee though is that they are not PPV stars.

I think Dawson especially will be like Shane Mosley, a great fighter but not a PPV draw. Ward may be bigger in time, but being on ShowTime rather than HBO will likely harm his commercial appeal.

I can't think of any big boxing stars in recent years who weren't HBO fighters, especially Americans.