You can pick two things from this list. Boxing's popularity has definately been waning of late, why do you think this is?
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You can pick two things from this list. Boxing's popularity has definately been waning of late, why do you think this is?
Lack of Big matches on Free TV. Back when all the championship fights were on free TV boxing was a mainstream sport in the US.
I PICKED POOR MATCH UPS THAT NO ONE GIVES A F ABOUT
AND TOO EXPENSIVE
cc!Quote:
Originally Posted by lance Uppercut
I voted for too many titles (makes it very confusing to the casual fan)
and poor match-making (makes it hard to justify to casual fans to come over and watch a non-competitive bout)
Ive gone for too many titles and No good public personalities, but by that I think its more about there not being enough exposure to create public peronalities. Look at the exposure Amir Khan is getting and all the guys from the contender and look how much public interest there is in them. If only there was that much media exposure for the real champions ......
not being from the US i only have a vague idea about how much u get charged in the US for watching boxing.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheBESTP4P
back in the 80s we got all the major fights on terrestrial/free tv. im thinking thats your ABC/NBC.
nowadays apart from frank warren fighters which remain on free tv most of our bouts are on a subscription channel called sky sports which im assuming is your HBO/showtime. the odd one (ricky hatton) is shown on PPV here for about 15 pounds.
from what i understand u guys in the US used to get most big fights in the 80s on free tv apart from the likes of holmes,hagler,hearns, leonard. now all fights are on subscription. correct me if im wrong
i think UK and US have a similar problem in fights not being seen by the whole of the country although by the sound of it we tend to have less ppv boxing matches. for example de la hoya v mayweather here is on subscription channel sky sports because crazy as it may sound neither are deemed big enough to appear on PPV here in the UK.
BOXING ALSO LACKS THE BIG TIME ENDORSEMENTS THAT NBA, NFL MLB HAS AS WELL!
WHEN PAC MAN LANDED NIKE I WAS LIKE WHOAAAAAAAAAA SERIOUSLY?
Yeah PPV here is around $50 (25 pounds) a pop and about 60-75% of the big fights are PPV.Quote:
Originally Posted by LBSCFC
I voted too many titles and other my other is PROMOTERS. Ultimately they are the ones with the money they are the ones that bid on the fights.
Theres tooo mnay hands in the pot and they ALL want a piece of the PIE.
If we could go back to 1 champ. belive me even the promoters would step it up they would have no other choice BUT since their is a choice they take that route and pay sancitoning fees to other organizations to sanction their fights... Uummm!! Just look at the PBF vs. Zab fight the IBF didn't collect a check from Baldomir so they took their belt out and then just gave it back to Zab so he could collect $ from PBF.
wow u guys are being done. we get the majority on subscription. only lewis (late career), tyson (late career) hamed (97 onwards) and now hatton regularly appeared on PPV here.Quote:
Originally Posted by killersheep
SLEEZY!Quote:
Originally Posted by CutMeMicK
BUT LIKE LETS SAY EVEN IF YOU GOOGLE SPORTS
GUESS WHAT HARDLY EVEN POPS UP EVER?
Quote:
Originally Posted by killersheep
I think the opposite and that it's on the up (Fight wise anyway)
Look at the matchups so far this year on the whole and compare them to the last 2 years 8)
We're getting big names meeting head on at last ;)
I am speaking specifically to the popularity of the sport world-wide, definately on the decline.Quote:
Originally Posted by Smashup
definitely a lack of exposure on TV is huge.....and I think we have way too many weight classes and titles...the IBF and WBO need to go.....Quote:
Originally Posted by lance Uppercut
IF YOU REALLY THINK ABOUT IT THO LOOK AT THE ENDORSEMENTS FOR NBA, NFL, MLB ALL BIG TIME CONGLOMERATES!
LOOK AT THE BOXING ENDORSEMENTS LIKE GOLDEN PALACE CASINO, LEONS BBQ RIBS, SHASTA MCNASTY ENERGY DRINK ;D
ALOT OF SPORTS BARS WONT SHOW FIGHTS TOO BECAUSE THEY DONT WANT TO PAY THE PPV VIEWING CHARGE FEE
ALSO THEY FEEL ITS NOT SAFE?
Combination of poor matchmaking and too expensive.
How is a casual sports fan supposed to follow the sport when most fights are PPV?
I mean I can understand putting the huge events on PPV like the Tyson-Lewis or your ODLH-Tito, but when you got fights like Rahman - Barrett on PPV, something is damn wrong.
The casual fan is NOT gonna drop $50 to see these guys fight.
So they don't pay, they can't follow. And if they aren't following, they're not gonna pay. Catch-22.
Valid point, compare Boxing's sponsors to Nascar's!!Quote:
Originally Posted by TheBESTP4P
Gone for to many title and to expensive...
In every sport there should be only ONE champion, when you got four or five if you include the ring although normally owned by someone with one or more of the ABC belts in some cases they hold just that and we get FIVE champions!
To expensive for people to watch! I feel so so sorry for the people in the Us having to folk out all that money for most PPV - boxing is something you fall in love with as a kid, something you following from a young age, watch fighters grow up and retire, enter a next generation with the experience of the last... Now, it is a discrace the amount of money people have to pay, not just that though; more fights need to be held around the country in the Us for people to be able to see, not just Vegas.
I have to mention the promotors though! IF the fights we wanted to see happen happend - the Major belts would be amalgamated in no time, also people wouldn't mind as much paying such high prices if they were getting true value for money.
I really believe boxing is on the down side. No longer are the mega stars known throughout the world, the non boxing fans don't know many. Ask about Mayweather in the UK, fuck all know of him, and even less prior to the announcement of the DE la hoya fight and he is the majority's P4P #1! winky wright the P4P #2 is another barley known fighter!
I honestly don't see boxing ever really on the up again. Prices would have to come down, the governing bodies would have to rank other champions, or force them to fight eachother every so many fights to make sure total unifications happen fast and the likes of HBO need to force the top names to fight eachother.
Boxing really needs a body that isn't a 'belt' - a body that governs world boxing, one that can step in and stop the likes of the WBC stripping its champion for wanting to fight to unify a belt
[/rant]
Identity, Thats the word Im looking for.In the40s and 50s and before millions Boxed and had identity with the sport someone in the family Boxed or had an interest in it. There was no need to sell it with cheap Titles or gimmicks, qauntaty bred quality. Boxings my first love, Im still actively involved. But Ive spread my wings and in a way am involved in Athletics, Soccer and a few other sports just through evolving. Im invited to watch the people I work with. There was a particular event which shocked me, The schools cross country event National finals I think there were 6 events, age groups about a hundred in each event. what surprised me was the crowd, there were thousands.Every competitor brought family and freinds, because of identity thing. Unfortunatly I cant see it changing unless we change Boxing at the grass routes, there should be a little less take and a lot more give.
cc KILER SHEEP! AND EVEN BETTER POINT WITH NASCAR!Quote:
Originally Posted by killersheep
TAKE SHAQ FOR INSTANCE..........
ITS COMMON KNOWLEDGE THAT SHAQ SOLEY LIVES OFF OF HIS ENDORSEMENT MONEY ALONE AND HAS NOT EVEN TOUCHED HIS NBA SALARY CHECKS. HE JUST PLACED EVERY SINGLE NBA CHECK HES EVER EARNED AND PUT IT INTO HIS SAVINGS.
NOW HOW MANY BOXERS COULD ACUTALLY LIVE OFF THEIR ENDORSEMENTS ALONE AND NEVER TOUCH THEIR PURSES?
PUTTING EVERY PURSE THEY EVER EARNED INTO SAVINGS AND NEVER TOUCHING IT?
That's cause he's Shaq-a-licious!!!!! seriously...every fighter considered a legend fought on national TV..not PPV....Quote:
Originally Posted by TheBESTP4P
SHAQ-A-LICIOUS? :-[Quote:
Originally Posted by THE Bigragu
i choose too many titles.
the boxing world has allowed too many crooked people into the business, abc titles are meaning less and less every year. championship is meant for one holder not four.
I think more people involve in boxing needs to coisist if they really love the sport, if not then they are just plain money hungry greedy people.
hopefully one day a billionaire would save the boxing sport and buy off all this cancer so called promoters and abc title corporations.
we need 1 champion in each division. and we need to make him defend the title every few months like the old days. so we can have boxer focus on only boxing.
I went with to many titles cause it was the closest thing to the alphabet fools & poor match making (Which has been getting better over the last 5 - 6 years but can still be better!)
Another thing I don't like is all the bullsh*t before the fight starts:
1st theres about 100 people in the ring (Should only be the fighter & his second).
Then theres along this announcing that know one cares about, I don't wanna be introduced to the ref or judges. The fight is about the fighters not these other guys. Can't they have like TV shows where all this stuff rolls at the end of the broadcast like credits.
For big fights get someone like Kallerman who loves the sport to talk about the fighters & their achievements as they enter the ring. Then introduce the fighters & their records & ring the bell. The ref has already told these guys the rules so lets get rid of his cheesy little recap.
I also feel it's to expensive & more fights need to be on network TV so the public becomes aware of who the fighters are today
In the day Ray Leonard & DLH were well known even before they turned pro as a lot of their amateur bouts were shown
there is a bunch of legit problems there but i think above all the worst are lack of public figureheads that aren't as popular and commercial friendly as peyton manning and too many titles. Bad judging has been around since the beggining of time and it will continue to happen thats just the way it is. Too many weight classes isn't that bad of an issue except for the complete joke divisions (Supermiddleweight and Cruiser).
Price is an issue but again if people were more popular, networks would wanna pick up their fights so thats a 2 birds with one stone kinda thing. And i will continue to maintain that mma is just a fad. Bad matchup's are another key issue but thats all on don king and people that say "high risk no reward". Well guess what, if you say its high risk then its a fight you should take instead of handpicking your opponents with pretty records who have fought nobody
The first one was easy, too many titles. It's just ruined the sport to the extent now that almost any fighter can get a world title now, even Audley Harrison is the former IBO world champ :-\
There should just be one champ in each division, will never happen of course but the current situation sucks ass. Then tards like the WBA compound the misery further by deciding that just one WBA world champ in each division isn't enough, now they need to have two for some divisions to enhance their 'super' champions.
That's the biggest problem and a lot of others stem from that. It's the root of most of the other problems out there.
Anyways my second biggest gripe is poor judging. There is nothing more frustrating, annoying and ultimately deflating than seeing a great competitave fight ruined by some bullshat bogus decision at the end.
Now I know some decisions are really hard to call but sometimes there is just no excuse, Bonsante vs Brinkley 2, Quartey vs Forrest and D.Hopkins vs Forbes were just a few recent examples of fights that wern't even close and somehow the loser got the victory.
It really really really grates me when that happens, as a fan I just feel a burning sense of injustice and my whole enjoyment factor is spoilt, one can only wander how the poor sucker who actually got jobbed must feel :-\
I think it's more than just 2! To many titles makes having a title almost irrelevant. Judging is very very poor at times. However,1 of my main gripes has to be that the big fights,for whatever reason,just aren't made. Although this year has been awesome so far,with some great match ups,these fights could have been made earlier. I think this year already has as many good fights as last year had alll year!
I went with To many titles and Other....
Titles are an easy choice....A big turn off is like with anything there can only be one best at a time....We have 4 best at a time unless someone happens to unify belts....Even then 80% of the time all we can hope for is 3 sometimes 2 world champions in a division...hardley ever do we have just one guy with all the belts...
It makes it to complicated for the avgeage fan....Especially if one of the champions is not a guy with a lot of publicity with the mainstream...EG ask the casual fan to name the heavyweight champion and see what they come up with....
Other---There were some choices on the list I would have picked but other IMO just put them all into one...Bad fights...Why is it guys can defend against almost anyone...I am also amazed on how a fellow can just appera in the top 10 out of no where then leave just as quickly...
PPV kills the sport,,so does poor promoting...I could go on all day
Funny cause I bet the actual fighters wouldn't complain of there being too many titles.
As shit as these WBU type belts are
a) Ive never heard a boxer that has won one rubbish it
and
b) The shit title make's them money. ;)
yeah...Shaq had the opportunity to be the most dominant player ever if he could have hit 75% of his free throws....still he's pretty awesome....Quote:
Originally Posted by TheBESTP4P
How are you supposed to make free throws when you're always cross-eyed?Quote:
Originally Posted by THE Bigragu
saddo wheres the cross eyed smiley face?Quote:
Originally Posted by killersheep
Th truth of the matter is without a good heavyweight division and a camera friendly champ, boxing won't return to the days when they had weekly fights on the very basic national cable channels (single digit). Yes there's fights on versus and espn here and there but its not the same.
8) The politics! ! ! 8)
Definatley too many titles. If we had one title holder per division then that would be the mark to shoot for. To make matters worse, the friggin WBA has 2 champions per divison. WTF is this Super Champion Bull Sh**. I know it's to get sanctioning fees but come on.