Thread: would you agree with the statement that

Boxing started its sharp decline after Mike Tyson left the sport?

Originally Posted by TysonBomb

Boxing started its sharp decline after Mike Tyson left the sport?

The decline started when he joined boxing.

Boxing hit an all time low when a rapist on parole committed GBH in public and got away with it in the name of money.

Probally someone with tunnel vision and blinded by the allure, legend and or myth of a single man making the sport

Despite his critics the Golden Boy was a PPV saviour and he didn't duck anybody, i think Boxing took a noesdive after the fall of DLH. Floyd should've taken up the mantle, but the Pacman fiasco of the past few years has been more puzzling than anything else. Boxing simply doesn't have enough stars? In the sensational 70's you had at one time Ali, Foreman, Norton and Frazier in the heavyweight division, you had Bob Foster, Carlos Monzon, Jose Napoles and Roberto Duran as long standing champions, then came the electrifying 80's with Sanchez, Gomez, Pryor, Arguello, Benitez, Leonard, Hearns, Hagler and Tyson ruled the heavies. The 90's with Chavez, Whitaker, Trinidad, DLH, Tszyu, The Prince (who turned into a toad) Floyd begins, Bowe, Holyfield and Lewis. Where are the charasmatic champions of today? Boxing has taken a huge nosedive these past 7-8 years.

Originally Posted by THE THIRD MAN

Despite his critics the Golden Boy was a PPV saviour and he didn't duck anybody, i think Boxing took a noesdive after the fall of DLH. Floyd should've taken up the mantle, but the Pacman fiasco of the past few years has been more puzzling than anything else. Boxing simply doesn't have enough stars? In the sensational 70's you had at one time Ali, Foreman, Norton and Frazier in the heavyweight division, you had Bob Foster, Carlos Monzon, Jose Napoles and Roberto Duran as long standing champions, then came the electrifying 80's with Sanchez, Gomez, Pryor, Arguello, Benitez, Leonard, Hearns, Hagler and Tyson ruled the heavies. The 90's with Chavez, Whitaker, Trinidad, DLH, Tszyu, The Prince (who turned into a toad) Floyd begins, Bowe, Holyfield and Lewis. Where are the charasmatic champions of today? Boxing has taken a huge nosedive these past 7-8 years.

Boxing should have stars but they do not necessarily have to be great fighters. ATG are rare and should be appreciated when they come. Oscar was not an ATG but had the guts to take on the very best. Floyd fights great but is not a great fighter because of his inactivity.

What decline? Do you mean decline of boxing in the USA?

It could be argued American boxing was never quite the same post Ali, but Leonard, Hearns, Hagler and Duran along with Tyson plastered over the structural faults for the 80s...

Boxing has with the full of the 'Iron Curtain' and the growth of the Latino market changed massively in the last 20 years in the USA, with the 'white' population generally losing interest.

in Britain the loss of terrestrial TV has cost the sport. But also the local rivalries and local heroes have really decreased costing the small hall promoters too boot.

But boxing has arguably not ever been bigger in Germany, Mexico and the Philippines...

Originally Posted by TysonBomb

Boxing started its sharp decline after Mike Tyson left the sport?

no I would not agree. I think boxing started declining about 1990 after Douglas beat him. You had a good young Lewis and Holyfield there, and a few exciting fights with Bowe, T Morrison and Razor Ruddock but the 90s then only had 3 or 4 exciting heavies, while the 70s had a dozen, 80s had Holmes, M Spinks, Cooney, Tyson, Qawi, Foreman 2, Mike Weaver, Witherspoon, etc

I say after Douglas beat Tyson it (heavyweight US boxing that is) went south.

Originally Posted by TysonBomb

Boxing started its sharp decline after Mike Tyson left the sport?

Boxings decline started after he went to prison. There is no doubt Tyson being unfairly convicted and sent away for no reason is one of the biggest tragedies in the worlds history.

There's a good chance that he was innocent, if he was then it's a great misjustice... I don't know about it being one of the greatest tradgedies in world history mind you.

boxing is on the up what are you on about

There is an old saying that boxing is only as popular/good as its heavyweight champion and let's be honest wlad may be consistent by he is never going to reach out to the non-boxing public watching him fight is to dull

The thing with boxing is that it isn't a entity upon itself or a brand (like the UFC), so it's level of popularity is determined by it's current "superstars" and how much interest and revenue they can generate not only from within the boxing world, but from mainstream media and the general public.

Unfortunately, no one ever REALLY succeeded Tyson in HW boxing who could generate near the interest. Lewis gained a lot of steam by KOing Tyson, but he retired shortly after and never really passed the torch. So I would say yeah, heavyweight boxing definitely declined after Tyson. Not in terms of skill, but definitely in interest and revenue.

I wouldn't say boxing in general went on a decline. You forget that the current P4P champ is THE biggest earner in the history of the sport, and guys like Pacquiao are not far behind.

Originally Posted by YIDDLE

There is an old saying that boxing is only as popular/good as its heavyweight champion and let's be honest wlad may be consistent by he is never going to reach out to the non-boxing public watching him fight is to dull

I like this comment. Although obviously it may not appear to be true in retrosoect.

I think the promoters inability to make and promote fights/ fighters has been on a decline for many decades now. There's no myth in fighters now.
I one read a historical account of boxing from the 19th century onwards and the stuff these promoters and their fighters got up to was amaizing.

Maybe TV networks are to blame in more ways than one?

Plus there are so many ways to spoil a good fight, spoil a fighter etc it's too easy to loose interest.