Do you make an effort to create *new* boxing fans...?

[Mars_ax]

I just... I'm just done with it to be honest. When it comes to these new flavor of the month "fans".

Boxing has it's casual and hardcore fans, the casuals come and go, but us hardcore fans stick it out to the bitter end. My dad was a boxing fan, which is how I became one, i've been hooked ever since. I would imagine the major boxing networks here in the States, (HBO, Showtime, Top Rank, ESPN, et al, do the best job of promoting the sport, along with 100's of boxing forums like this one.

And sadly the Casual fans are what is going to keep boxing in business... us hardcore fans are a small small bunch and it's a sad reality.

A lot of the casual fans are fanboys who only follow one or 2 big name fighters, like Floyd, Pac, et al. They aren't really fans of boxing, they just idolize celebrities. But yeah, I agree these are the fans who buy the PPV's and keep boxing going.

[Dia bando]

I just... I'm just done with it to be honest. When it comes to these new flavor of the month "fans".

Boxing has it's casual and hardcore fans, the casuals come and go, but us hardcore fans stick it out to the bitter end. My dad was a boxing fan, which is how I became one, i've been hooked ever since. I would imagine the major boxing networks here in the States, (HBO, Showtime, Top Rank, ESPN, et al, do the best job of promoting the sport, along with 100's of boxing forums like this one.

And sadly the Casual fans are what is going to keep boxing in business... us hardcore fans are a small small bunch and it's a sad reality.

A lot of the casual fans are fanboys who only follow one or 2 big name fighters, like Floyd, Pac, et al. They aren't really fans of boxing, they just idolize celebrities. But yeah, I agree these are the fans who buy the PPV's and keep boxing going.

I agree about casual fan's boxing or any sport needs these people casual today hardcore tomorrow
you have to start somewhere.

[Slim the BoxingManiac]

I agree with you guys above. You can't get someone into boxing you can introduce them to the sport, if someone is interested they'll become a fan themselves.

Exactly this. Having been on both sides of the fence I can say this is true.

I hated boxing and remember how offended I used to get when a couple of my friends would stay in on fight night instead of coming out on the pull at some lame club.."You'd rather stay home and watch 2 half naked men fight??", was the dumb response I gave them..(ahh to be young and dumb!)

I was introduced to the sport by a guy called Marshall (trainer at Angel amateur boxing club) when I was a Personal Trainer at Virgin Active. His passion for the sport was so infectious..he did pads with me which I loved and then I just researched to high heaven about boxing.

I'd say within a month or two I was more knowledgable than the two friends who were supposed to be hardcore fans. I was telling them about fighters they had never even heard of.

So I can tell you from experience. I hated boxing until the age of 22 - from then on I've been in love with it. The change can happen!

Bullshit. I have a hard time believe that you're over the age of 16 at the moment.

[Althugz]

I agree with you guys above. You can't get someone into boxing you can introduce them to the sport, if someone is interested they'll become a fan themselves.

Exactly this. Having been on both sides of the fence I can say this is true.

I hated boxing and remember how offended I used to get when a couple of my friends would stay in on fight night instead of coming out on the pull at some lame club.."You'd rather stay home and watch 2 half naked men fight??", was the dumb response I gave them..(ahh to be young and dumb!)

I was introduced to the sport by a guy called Marshall (trainer at Angel amateur boxing club) when I was a Personal Trainer at Virgin Active. His passion for the sport was so infectious..he did pads with me which I loved and then I just researched to high heaven about boxing.

I'd say within a month or two I was more knowledgable than the two friends who were supposed to be hardcore fans. I was telling them about fighters they had never even heard of.

So I can tell you from experience. I hated boxing until the age of 22 - from then on I've been in love with it. The change can happen!

Bullshit. I have a hard time believe that you're over the age of 16 at the moment.

Don't you have another boxing match you should be filming out in the trailer park with your buddies?

[Mars_ax]

I've followed boxing since I was a kid, my father used to talk about Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano and back then you could watch highlights of Marciano's fights before they showed a movie at the local theater. Being the HW Champion really used to mean something back then, Marciano was looked up to like a hero, and you'd never hear Rocky trash talking his opponent.
I grew up watching Louis, Marciano Archie Moore, Patterson, Liston, SRR, Ali/Clay and many others. There hasn't been a year that's gone by in the last 40, that I haven't watched most of the best fights going on at the time.

I'm not saying i'm any kind of expert, still just a fan, but I do believe I qualify as "hardcore".

[Mark TKO]

The only fighters I would try get people interested in are Tyson Fury and Chris Eubank jr who fight on terrestrial tv - to be fair quite a few nonboxing fans have surprised me by saying they tuned into a Fury fight (guess its better than most Saturday night shite tv - and he is entertaning)

No point with anyone else as they're all shown on subscription channels - and lets face it the majority of fight fans now don't have access to them all. Whats point in trying to get someone interested in something they aren't going to see ??

[Manos de Piedra]

I've followed boxing since I was a kid, my father used to talk about Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano and back then you could watch highlights of Marciano's fights before they showed a movie at the local theater. Being the HW Champion really used to mean something back then, Marciano was looked up to like a hero, and you'd never hear Rocky trash talking his opponent.
I grew up watching Louis, Marciano Archie Moore, Patterson, Liston, SRR, Ali/Clay and many others. There hasn't been a year that's gone by in the last 40, that I haven't watched most of the best fights going on at the time.

I'm not saying i'm any kind of expert, still just a fan, but I do believe I qualify as "hardcore".

That is a damn good line up of fighters there.

[ruthless rocco]

boxing's like anal... some people love it but most find it painful, uncomfortable and dirty.

so...you only try to get someone to like it once or twice. if they love it you'll have a special friend for life!

any more than that and you're gonna get annoying.

[Violent Demise]

I've followed boxing since I was a kid, my father used to talk about Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano and back then you could watch highlights of Marciano's fights before they showed a movie at the local theater. Being the HW Champion really used to mean something back then, Marciano was looked up to like a hero, and you'd never hear Rocky trash talking his opponent.
I grew up watching Louis, Marciano Archie Moore, Patterson, Liston, SRR, Ali/Clay and many others. There hasn't been a year that's gone by in the last 40, that I haven't watched most of the best fights going on at the time.

I'm not saying i'm any kind of expert, still just a fan, but I do believe I qualify as "hardcore".

You 100% right. You're not. Not even close

[elcolibri]

I agree about casual fan's boxing or any sport needs these people casual today hardcore tomorrow
you have to start somewhere.

This gets to the meat of it. I personally think it's too hard for the the casuals to even begin to move towards the hardcore. For one, as was already mentioned, there's so much going on that is subtle compared to other sports; in other sports the higher levels of 'fandom' are more easily accessible. Also I think you have to be a bit defensive in general to be a hardcore fan of a sport so far from the mainstream, and I think that puts people off.