Why Are Fighters Scared So Much Of Losing There Unbeaten Records

i had a flick thru a MMA magazine & there was an article saying that boxers in general are scared to death of losing there unbeaten records & this ruins the sport, i believe this is true & as far as i can remember there has been an obsession with being unbeaten! most of the best of all time have been beaten on numerous occasions!

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Originally Posted by Drago

i had a flick thru a MMA magazine & there was an article saying that boxers in general are scared to death of losing there unbeaten records & this ruins the sport, i believe this is true & as far as i can remember there has been an obsession with being unbeaten! most of the best of all time have been beaten on numerous occasions!

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Being undefeated gives a certain thrill to the any sport but boxing has to be the worst. Speaking of MMA, I am still waiting for someone to beat Anderson Silva or at least give him a good fight. Silva has been owning people in several divisions a la Paul Williams ;D I think it boils down to the fighter. It's what you do after you lose that shows who and what you are made of. We have plenty of fighters who have lost and came back to win again and even move on later into the HOF. Boxing has too many bandwagon fans ;D We praise them when they are up and then kick them when they are down :(

I hear you though, we pay too much attention to undefeated when we all know that boxers pad their records anyways so it should not be that big of a deal.

true!

i just think that once u get beat! its like the fighter can really forget abt it & fight any other fighter as oppossed to being scared of losing the '0'

I don't think fighters are scared to lose their 0

In fact are any of the top 5 p4p undefeated in boxing?

Good topic Drago and something that needs to be addressed by the matchmakers. So much is depentdent on that shiny undefeated record, future earnings, PPV dates, names in the paper etc. etc. It's pretty ridiculous that people would rather see a good record over a good fight.

All the best fighters lose because they fight the best available opposition. An undefeated record does not mean too much unless you have eliminated all the top opposition available.

I do love to see two undefeated guys go at it though, it's more marketable for a start and it makes it more exiting.

Well I hate losing even at Monopoly where I was undefeated for quite some time =). No seriously mma has no room to talk about undefeated records ruining sports because I remember them making a big deal out of Diego Sanchez being undefeated and now Rashad Evans is an undefeated Lightheavyweight champion. Plain and simple nobody likes to lose in anything especially professional sports. The goose egg gives a sense of invincibility for some and an enigma for fans because you never know how good someone is after they lose or if they ever will lose but thats what draws people in. I'm sure people are foaming at the mouth for someone to beat Money Mayweather. Marcianos goose egg will be debated for centuries but the man retired undefeated and its hard to argue with perfection.

Thats because in MMA there is only one champ per division so the top guys usually have to fight and one loses. In boxing there are multiple belts so you can go undefeated for 3 years and be thought nothing of. But if you do it in MMA its like a rarity. Tito Ortiz has the record for being the longest Light Heavyweight Champ for 3 years. Just 3 years. in boxing a 3 year champ isnt out of the norm but then again you can say who have they fought and maybe find one guy on their resume.

undefeated records are more marketable, and marketability = more money

It's wrong I guess but I can't ever see it changing.

I remember after SSM beat Margarito, I was so excited telling my Mom of all people that she should watch the recording with me. When she saw Shane's record before the fight she says "Oh he's lost loads of times, he can't be very good!" :rolleyes:

The casual boxing fan or people like my Mom who know jack shit have the general consensus that boxers who have been beaten are not that great.

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Originally Posted by Taeth

I don't think fighters are scared to lose their 0

In fact are any of the top 5 p4p undefeated in boxing?

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good point! but thats prob why they are top 5 p4p

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Originally Posted by Drago

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Originally Posted by Taeth

I don't think fighters are scared to lose their 0

In fact are any of the top 5 p4p undefeated in boxing?

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good point! but thats prob why they are top 5 p4p

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I think Floyd was the only p4p number 1 that was undefeated in quite some time.

i agree with the undefeated bit, but also most the MMA fighters and i did say MOST, could have been fighting for 10 yrs and only have a record of 10-4-3, i mean the gaps in between the fights are completely ridiculous, it's only been recently that they've began to fight about 4 times a year which IMO is a good number, especially for the younger fighters

I think the 0 carries the aura of being a bit invincible and with that it makes you marketable as people will wathc to see the 0 go. Agree totally that the best fights often involve to unbeater fighter with the old sales pitch someones 0 has to go.

When certain fighters have lost that 0 then a lot more people are then convinced that if he can be beaten once it can happen again, look at the confidence in Tyson's opponents once he had been beaten.

Also with each defeat comes a possible drop in rankings and in an era where the Khan's of the world can walk into a championship bout with no experience at a specific weight, a fighter needs to protect every chance he has of staying on top.

In the end though it may just be human nature, as has been said on this thread, who like to lose , period.

For once MMA is right. Boxers are scared to lose that 0 and I don't know why. If you lose to a great fighter there is no shame. If you do lose then that just means that you just fight the best that there is. There is no shame in that. Also, that Anderson Silva guy for the MMA, is he the same fighter that Boxed in his first fight and he got KTFO so he ran to the MMA because Boxing is just too difficult. Omar Luis Teixeria beat him. LMAO!

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Originally Posted by Drago

i had a flick thru a MMA magazine & there was an article saying that boxers in general are scared to death of losing there unbeaten records & this ruins the sport, i believe this is true & as far as i can remember there has been an obsession with being unbeaten! most of the best of all time have been beaten on numerous occasions!

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Because it creates an aura of invincibility and it lines your pocket.

As an event it's easier to sell from a promoters point of view because it's perceived that the casual fan will hang on to success...in this case: the undefeated fighter. It's the casual fan that makes the promoter the lion share of his money.

To be fair even the 'hardcores' make such a big deal out of a fighter losing one fight. I never understood why....it's boxing, fists are flying about, anything can happen. One simple mistake can lead to a KO.

I believe the sportscasters have made it such a big deal. It pisses me off to hear Merchant ask "where do you go from here?" in an interview when a guy loses a close fight. Merchant and Lampley are the worst at acting as if the world collapses when a fighter loses.

I also think that a lot depends on a fighters personality, his ability to absorb punishment and how much involvement a fighters team has in matching his fights.

When it is clear that a fighter has the potential to become a champion, care can be put into the his development. More often than not fighters with great potential get matched too soon with more mature fighters early in their careers and careers are destroyed by too many blows to the head. This was not the case with Mayweather Jr as he was matured and taught to avoid taking blows. In his case, I think the pursuit of money and potential for earning money can be translated into fear. Weather or no it is actual fear can only be known by himself.

Looking at fighters like Marquez and Pacquiao, neither carry the image that they are afraid to lose a fight, thus take on the best or a fighter that earns them the most money with little regard if they will lose.

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Originally Posted by Kel

All the best fighters lose because they fight the best available opposition. An undefeated record does not mean too much unless you have eliminated all the top opposition available.

I do love to see two undefeated guys go at it though, it's more marketable for a start and it makes it more exiting.

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Then I guess it would be safe to say that's why Mayweather isn't the best? Because he did'nt exactly go out fighting all the best or let's say he left some doubts.

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Originally Posted by Danny_G

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Originally Posted by Drago

i had a flick thru a MMA magazine & there was an article saying that boxers in general are scared to death of losing there unbeaten records & this ruins the sport, i believe this is true & as far as i can remember there has been an obsession with being unbeaten! most of the best of all time have been beaten on numerous occasions!

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Being undefeated gives a certain thrill to the any sport but boxing has to be the worst. Speaking of MMA, I am still waiting for someone to beat Anderson Silva or at least give him a good fight. Silva has been owning people in several divisions a la Paul Williams ;D

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akiyama is going to put an end to anderson silva ;)

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Originally Posted by Drago

i had a flick thru a MMA magazine & there was an article saying that boxers in general are scared to death of losing there unbeaten records & this ruins the sport, i believe this is true & as far as i can remember there has been an obsession with being unbeaten! most of the best of all time have been beaten on numerous occasions!

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You cant just say you had a flick through an mma magazine. Thats like having a "flick" thru a male pornography magazine and just apssing it off as casual interest ;D

I think it's cause people are fickle, especially in a sport where a lot of the time they have to drop $50 to see a fight.

I think the importance depends on the type of fighter. If a fighter is a straight boxer/technician without power than the 0 holds some importance because it gives them something big to lose.

Other fighters, it doesnt matter how many losses they have. I don't think hattons loss to PBF effected his standing among his fans. Oscar's losses never hurt him. Cotto's loss hasnt effected his standing. It also depends how you lose and what effort you give. If Floyd jr. ever lost than it'd likely be bye bye for fan interest.

Easy answer to this question.. it's all about marketability.. How cool is it to say no one has beaten you? watching an undefeated fighter fight, there is always the chance that THIS IS THE TIME the fighter will get their first loss.