The state of Boxing

[Hughesd]

This could all be hype but through various sources I have heard that in a few years boxing could be on its way out due to the increasing popularity of UFC. Surely this would never happen. Thoughts ?

[Tysonbruno]

Can't see UFC replacing boxing

[Dizaster]

The "sweet science" factor will always keep boxing on it's pedestal...

But if people continue to thirst for more passion out of their sport, and boxing continues to get swept in the ppv era of more money and less heart, I think more people will turn over to the lesser known sport where fighters really HAVE to hang it all out to win a fight and take the credits.

[Beanflicker]

People who say MMA will kill boxing are crazy. You're talking about a sport thats survived for well over 100 years, thats survived the great depression and pro wrestling in all its most popular years, now suddenly a sport (mma) thats been popular for only 2 years or so is suddenly going to kill boxing? No way.

The day that A-level boxers start jumping to MMA to make a living, thats when boxing is dead.

[meowza]

MMA will never replace boxing completely.
But maybe the declining popularity of the sport is what's helping to cause some of the fine name match-ups we've had this year and have still to go in 2007.
Maybe a little tough love is what she needed.

[The Rookie Fan]

There is nothing better for any organization than good stiff cometition. MMA will only make boxing shine all the brigther.

[El Kabong]

UFC has no history when compared to boxing. Sure boxing has done wrong but someone eventually will right the ship.

[Jimanuel Boogustus]

UFC cant replace boxing. Its just on a totall differnt wave length.

[Canvasback]

The casual fan may be the savior of boxing. Unless you really follow MMA most people can't appreciate some of the ground work and submissions. When people go to a boxing match it's pretty easy to tell who is dominating the action or winning the fight. I know a lot of people who will watch the occassional boxing match on tv but will not watch MMA because they either think it's too bloody and violent or they don't understand what's going on. Just my humble opinion (I figure if I put this after each post people will be less apt to rag on me). Just kidding, have at it!!!!!

[Kev]

The casual fan may be the savior of boxing. Unless you really follow MMA most people can't appreciate some of the ground work and submissions. When people go to a boxing match it's pretty easy to tell who is dominating the action or winning the fight. I know a lot of people who will watch the occassional boxing match on tv but will not watch MMA because they either think it's too bloody and violent or they don't understand what's going on. Just my humble opinion (I figure if I put this after each post people will be less apt to rag on me). Just kidding, have at it!!!!!

I have to disagree here. Almost without exception all of my mates prefer MMA (and by that I only mean UFC) to boxing.

To most casual fans UFC is more entertaining than boxing not less, because of the kicks, body slams and more no holds barred approach.

I'm honestly really worried about the state of boxing right now. The UFC is just hipper, cooler with the younger generation and more media friendly.

They have more personalites, know how to best market those personalites and because one team controls the whole of the UFC (and now Pride) they make sure the best matchups get made.

If your'e a young fan following the sports now which is going to be more entertaining to you?

A sport hosted by popular comedian Joe Rogan who also really knows his MMA or a sport hosted by ancient veterans like Lampley and Merchant who have never boxed in their lives?

Who are the cooler promoters, Dana White who pays his fighters $20,000 bonuses whenever they fight on the UFC if they get the best knockout or submission, who trained 6 months to fight one of his old stars in Tito Ortiz and who goes out of his way to make sure the best fights happen, or do you prefer Bob Arum and Don King, ancient fossils whose only interest in the sport of boxing is in making as much money for themselves as possible and preventing any big fights taking place so as to preserve their own golden geese's unbeaten records?

Boxing is in a massive decline right now and people who talk about MMA as if it's a passing fad seriously have no clue.

Unless something drastic happens in the next 5 years or so boxing will become secondary as a PPV and mass media appealing sport to the UFC specifically and MMA in general.

Boxing's image is all rooted in the past, in it's heritage, history and tradition which although great means jackshit to the younger generation of fans who want to see the best fights made and made now.

People may knock the UFC for pandering to the media and being a purely commercial product, but at the end of the day for any sport to survive and prosper it has to appeal to as big a fanbase as possible.

The UFC right now is huge. You could almost imagine there being toys of all the main fighters, Lydell, Rampage, Couture etc and kids wanting to play with them. You just couldn't even conceive of that happening with boxers.

You may scoff at this but ultimately it IS important. Right now the UFC is perceived as hip, cool, trendy whatever, whislt boxing continues to spout out crummy phrases like tradition, sweet science.

People tradition means fuckall in today's world, just look at the British Monarchy. They have more tradition, heritage and history than any other institution in the world but the vast majority of Brits believe (foolishy imo) that they are outdated and should be abolished.

Today's generations care nothing for tradition!

If boxing is ever to recover from its slump it needs to find a way to appeal to the younger audience, and that means looking to the UFC for guidance I'm afraid.

[eagle]

Cant ever see a MMA fighter being as popular as ali!

[Kev]

Cant ever see a MMA fighter being as popular as ali!

Can't ever see another boxer being as popular as Ali either

[Unknowndonor]

Boxing will never go away. And Vince Mc, oh sorry, Dana White, can do whatever he wants, but it will never be enough to take out boxing. I love MMA, but I love Boxing, and it will never die.

[Kev]

The UFC last year totalled PPV sales over $200,000,000 dollars, which surpasses the record ever year for boxing PPV sales, (1999) by $20,000,000.

So you could argue that the UFC is already bigger than boxing, certainly it is when you consider total PPV sales.

At present it's clear that the really big boxing fights will do better than the really big UFC fights, Mayweather De La Hoya took 2,000,000 buys compared to Lydell vs Ortiz 1,050,000 PPV buys.

But it is a worrying trend for sure.

People cannot seriously dismiss MMA now as a passing fad. It's a huge sport, bigger commerically than boxing already, and growing fast.

With the momentum it currently has who knows where they will be in 10 years time, but it is certainly safe to say that the boxing world needs to wake up to the reality of MMA.

I expect that within 5 years combined boxing/MMA events will be commonplace as boxing seeks to use the popularity of MMA to bolster sales of their own fights.

Right now though the UFC, whatever you may think of it is simply blowing the boxing world out of the water.

Once De La Hoya and Jones Jr have gone there won't be a single global star left in the sport. Unless a new star is found in the heavyweight division boxing will continue to slump.

[Scrap]

Judo Karate and all the marshall arts have more in common with MMA than Boxing. There are a lot more people practice them nowadays than Box, theirs a clue there somewhere.