Boxing: Entertainment or Sport?

[holmcall]

With the onset of PPV, mega-fights, mega-purses, and 24/7 productions, boxing seems to have become more than a sport. It used to be that the best would fight the best (as in the '80s and '90s) but now cherry picking has become a major factor in who fight who.

Has boxing become more entertainment than sport? I really don't know but I want to sort this out and then perhaps write an article about it.

What do you think?

[BoomBoom]

Well, really its both. As a fighter, you want to entertain the fans and be watchable, but your priority is to win. On the outside of the ring its entertainment, on the inside, its a fight. But from a broader standpoint, boxing is a business.

[Britkid]

With the onset of PPV, mega-fights, mega-purses, and 24/7 productions, boxing seems to have become more than a sport. It used to be that the best would fight the best (as in the '80s and '90s) but now cherry picking has become a major factor in who fight who.

Has boxing become more entertainment than sport? I really don't know but I want to sort this out and then perhaps write an article about it.

What do you think?

For a sport to work on TV, it needs to be an entertainment.

I would disagree with your best fighting the best in 80s/90s. The fact they did not, led to it meaning more when they did.

Now a days top matches happen almost instantly and with little to no build up.

Take an 80s match in Hagler/Hearns:

Tommy could of easily filled the void once Ray announced his 82 retirement and set up a match with Hagler.

But no, Tommy continued rebuilding his career following his 81 loss, and put in some awesome punching displays making an 1985 match up a Superfight because of a three year build up.

Top fighters seemed obsessed with moving up in weights today, and dramatically changing the boxing landscape every six months. But in the 80s boxing was more stable, which brought in fans, because as a rule people do not like dramatic change.

And in the 80s, because it happened so rarely a top fighter moving up in weight was a bid deal. But if Paciquao this time next year is challenging a Middleweight, will anyone be that surprised?

[generalbulldog]

All sports are suppose to be entertaining and boxing have always been about entertaining. The boxing ring is a modern day Colliseum where people pay to see a blood bath. Whether it was Sugar Ray Robinson beating the crap out of people or Antonio Margarito inflicting a massive beat down with blood all over Cotto's face. That's what people come to see, 2 gladiators beating the crap out of each other.

And I wouldn't say the 80s and 90s guys always fought each other. Take Chavez and Whittaker, that fight should never have happened at Welterweight but at lightweight, where imo both were at their best, but disputes over purses and the promoters got into the way until the superfight finally got made in the early 90s. Or how about Roy Jones Junior not fighting Benn, Michalczewski, Eubank? This all happened imo when PPV came into the picture in the early 1980s.

[Fenster]

In boxing the best fight the best when the money is best.

So i'd go with boxing is a buisness.

Every other major sport, even without money being on the line, the top guys would still do it - Tiger Woods would play golf, Nadal would play Tennis, top footballers would still play football etc

What boxers would fight without money being the no.1 incentive?

[Britkid]

What boxers would fight without money being the no.1 incentive?

The mad and the mad rich ones!

[Fenster]

What boxers would fight without money being the no.1 incentive?

The mad and the mad rich ones!

Yes.. although even the mad rich ones wouldn't continue for anything less than mad riches.

By the way - Pac at middleweight is a bit of a stretch. Although Pac-Pavlik? I got Pac.

[paddy448]

its both

[The Rela]

It is both.

Some of it I love, some of it I don't love.

I don't love bullshit. The kind of prizefighting stuff that goes on a lot these days.

For example, boxers get easy fights, get hyped up beyond belief and will fight some 38 year old legend who is way passed their best and carry on like they are the greatest boxer of all time.

[Britkid]

By the way - Pac at middleweight is a bit of a stretch. Although Pac-Pavlik? I got Pac.

Me too!