R.I.P. boxing 1867-2011

[TheBranMan]

I believe it's getting worse with giant sums of money at stake in the casinos and more corporate propaganda fueling fights. The high profile fights like never rigged to this extent in the recent Leonard/Hearns/Haggler/Duran era.

People say that boxing is dying because of the recent pimping of glamorized MMA/UFC, but in days past I could never see how the sweet science could be lost to a recent cagefighting fad... then I remember how boxing is killing itself with a ridiculous host of governing bodies and corporate fraud and aggrandizement. Pity for such a beautiful and honed sport to be lost to greed.

The sport hasn't been honed enough with regards to the way judges score rounds. Same scenario with MMA (though I think MMAs still have it worst with their judging system, but you can't blame them since they're still an "infant combat sport" compared to boxing). It's a system that's old and haven't yet caught up with the modern times.

Applause to changes they've made with regards to taking into account replays when it comes to fight ending fouls but the judging is still too subjective and the system so flawed that irresponsible judges gets away with poor calls without any infractions. Politics still play an important role in the way decisions are made and I know I'm being a bit paranoid here when saying that the reason why dramatic changes in the system still haven't been made because "the powers that be" won't allow them to be implemented in the first place.

Oh the judging and governance of the sport is far from honed or modern - it's pretty much stone age (and I agree with your stated reasoning - "the powers that be"). The honed side is a system of fighting within a ring, utilizing age-old training methods and techniques designed for this specific (and ever-evolving) sport. It is second to no other sport in a historical richness that not only encompasses the greatest sportsman of all time but extends all the way back to the ancient Greeks. That is what is being lost to corporate greed.

[arcanum26]

I believe it's getting worse with giant sums of money at stake in the casinos and more corporate propaganda fueling fights. The high profile fights like never rigged to this extent in the recent Leonard/Hearns/Haggler/Duran era.

People say that boxing is dying because of the recent pimping of glamorized MMA/UFC, but in days past I could never see how the sweet science could be lost to a recent cagefighting fad... then I remember how boxing is killing itself with a ridiculous host of governing bodies and corporate fraud and aggrandizement. Pity for such a beautiful and honed sport to be lost to greed.

The sport hasn't been honed enough with regards to the way judges score rounds. Same scenario with MMA (though I think MMAs still have it worst with their judging system, but you can't blame them since they're still an "infant combat sport" compared to boxing). It's a system that's old and haven't yet caught up with the modern times.

Applause to changes they've made with regards to taking into account replays when it comes to fight ending fouls but the judging is still too subjective and the system so flawed that irresponsible judges gets away with poor calls without any infractions. Politics still play an important role in the way decisions are made and I know I'm being a bit paranoid here when saying that the reason why dramatic changes in the system still haven't been made because "the powers that be" won't allow them to be implemented in the first place.

Oh the judging and governance of the sport is far from honed or modern - it's pretty much stone age (and I agree with your stated reasoning - "the powers that be"). The honed side is a system of fighting within a ring, utilizing age-old training methods and techniques designed for this specific (and ever-evolving) sport. It is second to no other sport in a historical richness that not only encompasses the greatest sportsman of all time but extends all the way back to the ancient Greeks. That is what is being lost to corporate greed.

Definitely agree with you with the sport in its purest form being honed since its existence and couldn't agree more with boxing being lost to corporate greed. The sport (2 guys boxing in the ring) has definitely evolved through the years, it's just that the outside factors that influence the all important decisions haven't really changed much and their outmoded system is achingly prone to errors.