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It seems boxing is on the up or at least holding its own in most parts of the world but in the USA which used to be the leading country in producing top boxers it has been in decline for a long time.:-\
America as far I can see has no new boxing stars of the future coming through the ranks and the game is viturualy ignored by most sports fans.:p
Can boxing ever be a major sport in the USA again?:confused:
tbh i think the east is gonna be producing the next stars of boxing in there labs :-\
Nope.....not till every other god damn fight isn't on ppv.
It starts and ends with the fascination of the heavyweight division in America.
The hw division is considered to be boring and lame with no true exciting fighter in that division. Yes the Klitscho brother are dominant, but not exciting, it says something when HBO and Showtime do not want to air the #1 and #3 fighter duking it out.
In fact there will be a major interest in boxing again in America when an exciting HW and dominant champion is there, he doesn't even have to be American since we live in an more tolerant and globalised society.
The HW division has always been considered to be the life line of the sport for a reason. The 1 true HW champ is considered to be the face of boxing to Americans. And America is considered to be the mecca of boxing, in terms of money, coverage, etc.
Boxing was always a popular sport in America during the days of Dempsey, Louis, Ali, Tyson, Holyfield, and then when Lennox Lewis was the reigning champ, most Americans got turned off and it has nothing to do with him not being American, but boring and same thing is applying to the Klit Brothers.
yeah, thats what it comes down to.. we really need ONE american star to be a heavyweight, and there will be SOME interest..Quote:
Originally Posted by generalbulldog
none of my friends know who paul williams, juan marquez, zab judah etc etc are.. Besides the names they have heard or maybe saw in video games they have no idea..
it's weird cause we'll play fight night and they will know maybe 4 or 5 current fighters.. "who is pernell whitaker?" MY GOD!
That didn't stop boxing for being so popular in the 80s with Mike Tyson being on PPV. And people were excited to see the Duran, Hagler, Leonard, Hearns and other superfights on PPV. Same thing in the 90s with Tyson coming back from prison along with other superfights that had Holyfield, Bowe, Foreman and the Oscar DLH fights did extremely well also with Trinidad, Whittaker, Chavez, etc.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mar
Boxing was wildly popular in the 80s and 90s with other sports fans and the general public. But it was backed up with an exciting HW champion that was leading the popularity, for he is the face of boxing to Americans.
When you have a boring champion like Lennox Lewis and the Klit brothers being the face of boxing with their mundane style, Americans aren't going to want to see that.
Boxers typically have come from lower economic means. Boxing gyms are closing in a lot of places near me especially in inner cities. Young men and kids are choosing other sports. Boxing requires a tremendous amount of time and effort for a kid/teenager compared to basketball/football. Combine that with a lack of local boxing gyms it is not suprising American boxing is falling off. Sure a HW superstar and more top boxing on free TV would help infuse interest but American Amateur Boxing needs to get out and help open gyms and support the ones that are still around as well as promote amateur boxing in communities across the nation.
America doesn't have to have an American fighter to support boxing.
Strong Post. But, even in its dilatory state, USA still has top performers in each weight class.Quote:
Originally Posted by VanChilds
It also has to do with marketing. Paul Williams is fun and exciting to watch. But, do you see him on Nike or Adidas billboards? The Pacquiao-Bryant Nike commercials should do a lot for boxing. Watch.
It doesn't take a genius to see that boxing promoters/industry heads etc should target certain communities. Billboards and such advertising boxers in Mexican-American communities. Paul Williams is from South Carolina - how about an Everlast billboard in Charlotte? A Paulie Malignaggi board in Brooklyn with an Italian Flag as the background? You get the point - appeal to ethnic groups.
I forgot about the boxing gyms closing down too, but this has been happening in the last 7 or 8 years when boxing was on it's downside and it still is on it's downside. And someone here also mentioned marketing also plays a role to attract new fans to the sport.
Of course it starts with amateur boxing to bring in the exciting new talent. It's a damn shame that the high schools in America doesn't have some sort of amateur boxing program to attract the talent that football and basketball does.
i suppose they dont make them like they use to, its probably like alot of people say that all the next top heavyweights are all in the nfl or nba. im sure some special fighters will come thru eventually. its too big a country not to produce special talents.
to be honest i think no. NFL MLB and NBA have taking over. boxing can make all the biggest fights happen but it wont be a major US sport again. :(
And when was the last time you beat your wife?
Boxing has changed into a mega-purse entertainment business, but it has not gone down. Has it changed for the better. No, in my opinion.
i also feel that boxing is struggling, in the Uk the prob is that the tv stations are not backing this great sport, its a real shame because when on terrestrial tv the viewing figures are really good. I do believe that we need a really good american heavy to sort this mess out, i mean if david haye wiped out all the heavyweights in spectacular fashion i still dont think even with he can turn this around. i agree that athletes would prefer to go into other sports because boxing is such a tough lifestyle & i couldnt think of any other sport that u have to have such a strict dedication to.
i feel boxing tho is losing the battle:(
Boxing is still 2nd most popular around the world and on ESPN they are showing a lot more Boxing and talking about it a lot more than they have in the past. Just last week they showed highlights of a Cruiserweight, and Flyweight fight that I didn't even hear of. Then on saturday they talked about the Ortiz-Maidana fight and the JuanMa and King Arthur fights. It was on the bottomline and they showed highlights. Boxing is picking up again in the U.S.
good news! we all need cheering upQuote:
Originally Posted by "The L.A. Earthquake"
I think boxing is probably done being a major sport in America. Pay per view, which is a great idea for big fights and was a great idea back when it started, is the downfall of boxing in America. Promoters and fighters don't care about the sport's health in the US enough to take the necessary measures to bring boxing back to the forefront in the US. Boxers and promoters are pretty much only worried about money.
Boxing won't be a mainstream sport anymore but boxing will never die. Boxing will always be somewhat popular, and whenever there's a truly big fight, it will probably be the highlight of the sports weekend and a big money making event. But it's never gonna be like it was in the 80s and early 90s unless a bunch of stuff changes.
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Originally Posted by "The L.A. Earthquake"
If you mean that boxing is the second most popular sport, sadly that's not even close, boxing isn't even in the top 10 most popular sports either in viewing figures, money generated or number of participants.
:dontknow: I saw a poll on ESPN...or some sports outlet a few weeks back, so pretty recently, and they had Boxing as the 2nd most popular sport worldwide and that poll had about 800,000 people vote.Quote:
Originally Posted by BilboQuote:
Originally Posted by "The L.A. Earthquake"
If you mean that boxing is the second most popular sport, sadly that's not even close, boxing isn't even in the top 10 most popular sports either in viewing figures, money generated or number of participants.
lol an ESPN poll like the viewers of that American Channel make up the whole world :pQuote:
Originally Posted by "The L.A. Earthquake":dontknow: I saw a poll on ESPN...or some sports outlet a few weeks back, so pretty recently, and they had Boxing as the 2nd most popular sport worldwide and that poll had about 800,000 people vote.Quote:
Originally Posted by BilboQuote:
Originally Posted by "The L.A. Earthquake"
If you mean that boxing is the second most popular sport, sadly that's not even close, boxing isn't even in the top 10 most popular sports either in viewing figures, money generated or number of participants.
The whole world is a big place my friend and you'll suprised what some of these countries like to watch.
The most popular sport hands down is football (soccer).
Then follows Cricket, Hockey (field hockey suprisingly), tennis and I believe volleyball.
Also increibly popular are Formula One, Table Tennis, Basketball, Horse Racing, Rugby etc.
I imagine every single one of those sports has far higher viewing figures around the world than boxing, Formula One aside more people play those sports too, and most of these will gross more money annually as well.
Judo is I believe the second most popular sport in terms of participation as well.
Not exactly sure what it needs to rise from.Boxing has been back seated for some time now compared to the days gone by when it was a constant feature on the front pages and prime time matches aired by the networks.I honestly think its more of a media over population and the rise and consistency of many other major sports....NBA...NFL...MLB not to mention the never ending popularity of collegs sports and more bowl games than one guy can count than it has to do with lack of U.S talent.Boxing in the U.S is not going anywhere....and will be here prior to and after MMA has maximized its popularity blowup Imo.The last decade and a half has seen the sport become massivly global and internationalized with the internet and other technologies and to pigeon hole it might result in missing the bigger picture and the sports over all reach now compared to years gone by.
The one pet peeve and worry I have though is the emphasis and ever growing rush to make these 'mega super name event' matches for the juggernauts of the cable world.The division leaping is mind numbing.I think we loose sight of alot of 'lesser' known fighters .....actually stifle learning-discovering or bringing them to casual fans.....and fights that should happen that go by the wayside in a networks clamour to bank on a certain cash cow(s).
I would say that many newspapers choosing not to have a specific boxing beat writer is pretty indicative of the sports drop off.
Boxing can make a rise again in the USA if it can somehow entice the talent into it and it starts at the youth level. It's a damn shame as I've said that there aren't any boxing programs at the high school level. Because the American youth is being enticed into basketball, football, baseball.
Of course the hippies will say boxing is too dangerous for it to be part of the regular sports curriculum in high school, but they will ignore about football. In fact I'm pretty sure there have been more football deaths at the high school level than in amateur boxing.
Might say as much about the future of print media...?Think eventually newspapers as we know them are going the way of pay-phones and being phased out.Quote:
Originally Posted by VanChilds
Like a tired old erection, inspired by Viagra, boxing shall one day rise again!
I agree on that. Who wants to pay $50 for a couple hours of entertainment. I'd rather pay $50 on the street with a hooker for a half hour of fun.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mar
Soccer I do agree with, it was number 1 in that poll and Soccer is number 1 around the world. Cricket, Field Hockey, Tennis, and Volleyball I can't see.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bilbolol an ESPN poll like the viewers of that American Channel make up the whole world :pQuote:
Originally Posted by "The L.A. Earthquake":dontknow: I saw a poll on ESPN...or some sports outlet a few weeks back, so pretty recently, and they had Boxing as the 2nd most popular sport worldwide and that poll had about 800,000 people vote.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bilbo
The whole world is a big place my friend and you'll suprised what some of these countries like to watch.
The most popular sport hands down is football (soccer).
Then follows Cricket, Hockey (field hockey suprisingly), tennis and I believe volleyball.
Also increibly popular are Formula One, Table Tennis, Basketball, Horse Racing, Rugby etc.
I imagine every single one of those sports has far higher viewing figures around the world than boxing, Formula One aside more people play those sports too, and most of these will gross more money annually as well.
Judo is I believe the second most popular sport in terms of participation as well.
I see Cricket like Baseball it's very popular, but around the world I don't think it really is. Field Hockey I doubt because I've never even heard of it and it doesn't sound like a year around sport and some countries couldn't play it because of weather and other circumstances, same with Volleyball.
Horse Racing isn't popular like it once was, F1 is very popular around the world, but I think Boxing is more popular...F1 was 5th most popular in the poll, Rugby is like American Football here in the States...it's not really worldwide, but Rugby is more worldwide than Football though. Basketball I would say is more popular than Boxing, but in the poll Basketball was 3rd, shockingly.
Short, sweet... and it sums up nicely exactly what I think also.Quote:
Originally Posted by ER-101
If you mean in popularity, I doubt it will ever get to how it was in boxings heydey when entire countrys would tune in for fights on the radio and such. The quality of fighters from the US is still very high and more competitve than most if not all other countries. This also seems a bit like a needy thread, wasn't 2008 one of the best years of boxing recently, 2007 wasn't too shabby either....rise again...it just hit a lull.
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Originally Posted by No Contest
World boxing is on the up and there have been some great fights over the last couple of years but where are the American stars?
Apart from Mayweather are there any American boxers who you would consider a superstar in there own country.:confused:
:confused:Cant think of any? (this does not make me happy,but its just a fact)
The sports I listed wern't my opinon, they are simply the facts if you check out statistical websites.Quote:
Originally Posted by "The L.A. Earthquake"Soccer I do agree with, it was number 1 in that poll and Soccer is number 1 around the world. Cricket, Field Hockey, Tennis, and Volleyball I can't see.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bilbolol an ESPN poll like the viewers of that American Channel make up the whole world :pQuote:
Originally Posted by "The L.A. Earthquake"
The whole world is a big place my friend and you'll suprised what some of these countries like to watch.
The most popular sport hands down is football (soccer).
Then follows Cricket, Hockey (field hockey suprisingly), tennis and I believe volleyball.
Also increibly popular are Formula One, Table Tennis, Basketball, Horse Racing, Rugby etc.
I imagine every single one of those sports has far higher viewing figures around the world than boxing, Formula One aside more people play those sports too, and most of these will gross more money annually as well.
Judo is I believe the second most popular sport in terms of participation as well.
I see Cricket like Baseball it's very popular, but around the world I don't think it really is. Field Hockey I doubt because I've never even heard of it and it doesn't sound like a year around sport and some countries couldn't play it because of weather and other circumstances, same with Volleyball.
Horse Racing isn't popular like it once was, F1 is very popular around the world, but I think Boxing is more popular...F1 was 5th most popular in the poll, Rugby is like American Football here in the States...it's not really worldwide, but Rugby is more worldwide than Football though. Basketball I would say is more popular than Boxing, but in the poll Basketball was 3rd, shockingly.
You're only thinking about US but we are talking the whole world.
I have never seen a field hockey match, its not even played in the UK but around the world its tremendously popular, I guess in Asia.
A poll on ESPN doesn't mean anything, the results arn't down to individual opinion they are tested by hard data in three areas.
Global Viewing figures and match attendance More people watch cricket, tennis, rugby, golf, table tennis and field hockey around the world than watch boxing maybe suprisingly.
Revenue, those sports turnover more annually.
Participation, Virtually all of those sports have more actual people who play them.
Boxing is way dow the list according to all those criteria.
I do imagine though that boxing IS more popular than a lot of these sports in terms of what people would LIKE to see. I mean given the choice of table tennis and field hockey or live free screenings of all Manny Pacquaio's fights I'm guessing the Asian's would rather have boxing.
And in the UK sports like cricket, rugby and snooker are watched by more people probably because thats all our tv companies have the rights to.
Unfortunaley PPV has marginalised boxing to a massive degree. A large majority of casual fans simply don't watch it or get opportunity to. And being a full contact, dangerous contact sport particpation in it is never going to high either.
I mean Judo for example I think is one of the world's most popular sports according to participation, millions take part around the world in it. It's not watched on telly in the Western World though, but how do you determine popularity, what people watch or what people actually take part in?
To be honest, HW is not a real problem: in Quebec, boxing is HUGE, really, more entrance at the gate for some matches than in NY or Las Vegas for some of the big events and we have absolutely no good Canadian HW, at least, nothing that really flashes. Why does it work? There is a few little shows that you can watch for free on T.V and the sports network are covering it nicely, the sport restaurants (like la Cage aux sports) sponsors big time boxing, especially as Eric lucas owns 2 of it and as he did a partnership with Jean Bedard, one of the owner of la Cage aux sports. There is a couple of matches broadcasted for free and the covering is good.
The lack of big HW in the US is easily explained by the fact that it is easier to be financed at school doing some basketball or football so athletes chose that path instead of boxing but as for the interest, the problem is not in the HW, I really don't think so. Make a few more free matches, talk about it in the medias (not only the specialised ones), spark the interest and it will raise up in a matter of months.
[quote="The L.A. Earthquake";756273][quote=Bilbo;755849][quote="The L.A. Earthquake";755843]
"I see Cricket like Baseball it's very popular, but around the world I don't think it really is. "
India loves Cricket they have a population of about 1 Billion, add to that England & Wales, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, The West Indies, South Africa, Bangladesh, New Zealand and Zimbabwe where Cricket is huge and then about 30 odd other countries where the game is widely played and i think it's fair to say that cricket is very popular around the world.
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Originally Posted by Greenbeanz
Good point.
Yea, I tend to think as most of us generally don't get to see the world, and spend any time in it's many corners, we often see things through our own personal prisms of understanding. Hockey is huge here where I live, so it is fairly easy for me to see it that way, and wonder what the silly game I occasionally see on tv with the weird sticks, and running back and forth called "Cricket" is about, and just assume it is obscure. Meanwhile, you can be fairly sure most anyone from Sri Lanka, or Zimbabwe, when happening to randomly catch some highlight, is also wondering, what sort of obscure game that is, with the weird sticks, and skating about, and so on called, what was it again, oh yea, "Hockey".