Are PPVs ruining boxing?

[generalbulldog]

When Floyd and Pacqiao retires, they both will take a lot of revenues and whatever little interest that is in boxing with them. I can't wait for that day. Boxing has to really hit rock bottom for a lot of reformation to take place. It has to get really worse before it gets better. Problem is will boxing rebound with MMA now being the top combat sport in terms of participation and viewership?

[cyclone]

When Floyd and Pacqiao retires, they both will take a lot of revenues and whatever little interest that is in boxing with them. I can't wait for that day. Boxing has to really hit rock bottom for a lot of reformation to take place. It has to get really worse before it gets better. Problem is will boxing rebound with MMA now being the top combat sport in terms of participation and viewership?

MMA is not the top combat sport and you know it..

If they are why aren't they making top money...like boxers...?

[Beanflicker]

If they are why aren't they making top money...like boxers...?

Well that's a big advantage that boxers have over UFC guys, that there's more than one big game in town and they have more bargaining power to get the big fights.

But if you're talking public perception, what the mainstream is interested in, it's all MMA.

Before MMA, the heavyweight boxing champion of the world was considered the baddest man on the planet. Even though an elite HW kickboxer probably would have put him in the hospital, kickboxing never took off in a significant way and was never able to compete with boxing.

MMA has stolen boxing's luster. Cain Velasquez would put any top HW boxer in a coma in a real fight, and the public knows this.

Young kids who have dreams of fighting for a living and being the toughest guy on the planet are not flocking to boxing gyms anymore, they're going to MMA gyms.

MMA is taking away public interest and it's stealing a lot of kids who would be potential boxers.

[Beanflicker]

List of UFC events - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Check out the upcoming UFC events.

Note the global expansion - Germany, Brazil, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, China, Japan, Sweden, Mexico, Turkey, England, Scotland.

Note how many free shows they pack in between PPVs. They have 28 future events scheduled, and 19 of them will be available on FREE TV. They are getting their PPVs in there, but they are also putting their product on free TV and introducing the public to their fighters.

This is what one of the big companies in boxing should be doing. But instead, it's just PPV after PPV regardless of quality, cash grab after cash grab. Gimme gimme gimme, let's squeeze every dime we can out of this event then pack up and leave like a travelling circus.

[IamInuit]

When Floyd and Pacqiao retires, they both will take a lot of revenues and whatever little interest that is in boxing with them. I can't wait for that day. Boxing has to really hit rock bottom for a lot of reformation to take place. It has to get really worse before it gets better. Problem is will boxing rebound with MMA now being the top combat sport in terms of participation and viewership?

Believe it or not I got an ominous feeling in the pit of my stomach when a buddy and I paid 25 bucks a pop in 1981 to go watch Leonard/Hearns in the old Calgary Corral hockey arena. Of course the outcome of the fight fueled that dread.

Leonard in many ways started the whole ppv era and was the first 100 million dollar fighter. The Tyson era took it to a new level and you could almost see the corner where the accident would happen on. There were times when I thought they might do a ppv of him going to the toilet. I think Floyd is the end of the ppv era and I've thought for years now that boxing would have to implode in order to get on track and that it would be brutally painful at times along the way. Many fans will leave but then they were not really fans to begin with. I think the pain will be long time gain but also that history will repeat itself just because of the very nature of the sport. I think its going to become more fringe and I think that's ok. It may resurrect the real meaning of risk and reward. Boxing will never die anymore then prostitution will.