Quote Originally Posted by holmcall View Post
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?