Is Mayweather ruining the sport of boxing?

[JazMerkin]

Absolutely fucking ridiculous thread. Anyone who thinks either Mayweather or Pacquiao is ruining boxing is a pretentious idiot who doesn't understand that both these guys bring more fans into our sport than almost all other active fighters combined. You also can't say that neither hasn't fought their way to the position they're now in. Both have fought at least 5 or 6 HoFers each & they are both now solid bets for doing consistently over 1m PPVs. Regardless of recent events being bad for boxing's image, it has raised the hype & has got everyone talking about boxing. If they both win their next fight, they will almost certainly fight later in the year & the fight will be even bigger.

One thing that has pissed me off is how every Tom, Dick & Harry has been going on about how Mayweather/Pacquiao think that they're bigger than the sport & are making their own rules etc etc. Newsflash! The guys at the top of the sport have been doing it forever. Ray Leonard frequently did it & far worse than Mayweather, as has Oscar when he was on top. But, here's the thing, the man who really outdid them all for making his own rules was Sugar Ray Robinson. He would constantly make all kinds of demands on his opponents, read his biography (the one with his family's approval) he would try & control everything in negotiations. The top fighters have been doing it all the way back to the days of Gentleman Jim Corbett, so read up on your boxing history & stop pretending it's some modern phenomena. The thing with boxing is that the more it changes, the more it stays the same.

[JonnyFolds]

Absolutely fucking ridiculous thread. Anyone who thinks either Mayweather or Pacquiao is ruining boxing is a pretentious idiot who doesn't understand that both these guys bring more fans into our sport than almost all other active fighters combined. You also can't say that neither hasn't fought their way to the position they're now in. Both have fought at least 5 or 6 HoFers each & they are both now solid bets for doing consistently over 1m PPVs. Regardless of recent events being bad for boxing's image, it has raised the hype & has got everyone talking about boxing. If they both win their next fight, they will almost certainly fight later in the year & the fight will be even bigger.

One thing that has pissed me off is how every Tom, Dick & Harry has been going on about how Mayweather/Pacquiao think that they're bigger than the sport & are making their own rules etc etc. Newsflash! The guys at the top of the sport have been doing it forever. Ray Leonard frequently did it & far worse than Mayweather, as has Oscar when he was on top. But, here's the thing, the man who really outdid them all for making his own rules was Sugar Ray Robinson. He would constantly make all kinds of demands on his opponents, read his biography (the one with his family's approval) he would try & control everything in negotiations. The top fighters have been doing it all the way back to the days of Gentleman Jim Corbett, so read up on your boxing history & stop pretending it's some modern phenomena. The thing with boxing is that the more it changes, the more it stays the same.

Wonder how this "rediculous" thread got so much attention....

Regardless of whether you think there is merit or not to Mayweather ruining the sport, you can still attest that fans and non-fans are hearing about what is going on. There is good attention and bad. Ultimately this is bad publicity for boxing in my opinion. Fighters only need enough time to recover and train for their fights. Now we have to deal with guys who want ALL of the attention they can get in and out of the ring.

I just think the theatrics are going way overboard. Hype can make any person like a matchup who knows little or nothing about boxing. I prefer a good fighter with the ability to overcome adversity. Isn't that what this great sport is all about?

[Chino]

cotto/pac did better coz people want it.. Mayweather/Mosley will do more than Pac/Clottey coz both PBF/Mosley are AMERICANS while both Pac/Clottey are outsiders

Not sure if being american or not really has anything to do with selling out venues and being a good PPV draw. Julio Cesar Chavez, at his prime, sold out venues in the USA and did good PPVs even when he fought other non-american opponents.

[JazMerkin]

Absolutely fucking ridiculous thread. Anyone who thinks either Mayweather or Pacquiao is ruining boxing is a pretentious idiot who doesn't understand that both these guys bring more fans into our sport than almost all other active fighters combined. You also can't say that neither hasn't fought their way to the position they're now in. Both have fought at least 5 or 6 HoFers each & they are both now solid bets for doing consistently over 1m PPVs. Regardless of recent events being bad for boxing's image, it has raised the hype & has got everyone talking about boxing. If they both win their next fight, they will almost certainly fight later in the year & the fight will be even bigger.

One thing that has pissed me off is how every Tom, Dick & Harry has been going on about how Mayweather/Pacquiao think that they're bigger than the sport & are making their own rules etc etc. Newsflash! The guys at the top of the sport have been doing it forever. Ray Leonard frequently did it & far worse than Mayweather, as has Oscar when he was on top. But, here's the thing, the man who really outdid them all for making his own rules was Sugar Ray Robinson. He would constantly make all kinds of demands on his opponents, read his biography (the one with his family's approval) he would try & control everything in negotiations. The top fighters have been doing it all the way back to the days of Gentleman Jim Corbett, so read up on your boxing history & stop pretending it's some modern phenomena. The thing with boxing is that the more it changes, the more it stays the same.

Wonder how this "rediculous" thread got so much attention....

Regardless of whether you think there is merit or not to Mayweather ruining the sport, you can still attest that fans and non-fans are hearing about what is going on. There is good attention and bad. Ultimately this is bad publicity for boxing in my opinion. Fighters only need enough time to recover and train for their fights. Now we have to deal with guys who want ALL of the attention they can get in and out of the ring.

I just think the theatrics are going way overboard. Hype can make any person like a matchup who knows little or nothing about boxing. I prefer a good fighter with the ability to overcome adversity. Isn't that what this great sport is all about?

The worst threads always do and then the thread starter always tries to justify it by saying 'look how many replies it got'

Those good fighters you talk about will always be there, but the Yonnhy Perez' of the world don't bring in the casual fan. Still those same fighters are still there. The key point I'm making is that the guys who've been at the top of the sport have long denied us the fights we want because of their egos. Those who transcend the sport will always make demands on their opponent, but none of Leonard, De La Hoya, Hagler or Robinson ruined the sport in doing so & neither are either Mayweather or Pacquiao.