Why boxing is dying

No it’s not just the ridiculous scoring and obviously rigged fights. Not even the shady promoters plaguing the world of boxing. I’ve been thinking about why I just don’t ever want to pay to see pro boxing anymore. Max hits the nail on the head. Zero passion. Zero risk taking. Too technical.

https://youtu.be/dNnVOxpGCH4

1 Like

Combo of stuff like UFC and MMA taking away some of the market, no dynamic personalities like Mike Tyson to draw eyes and tickets, and rank corruption by judges.

2 Likes

Boxing is massive and the competition between the two sports pretty much over. For example Canelo Alvarez and Manny Paquiou are massive. It is only in the US , Canada etc where it is not the dominant combat sport. Dana White is now going heavily. into boxing for the money.

1 Like

Manny peaked a long time ago. So did Floyd.

And neither of them have the presence that Iron Mike had. I don’t think we’ll ever see a boxer as massively popular as him again. But if we do then boxing might be resurgent.

People are also sick of all the corruption and paper champs.

Because Iron Mike was American you’re coming from a totally American perspective. There are many many boxing champs practically worshipped in their own countries.

3 Likes

Yep Katie Taylor is very popular too, lots.of iBritish fighters also.
Most of don’t give a shit if it is more or less popular than MMA.
Brazilian JJ was all the rage and now it’s not. Is it dying…no.
Boxing is also quite popular among women now. My arse it’s dying.
But I wouldn’t encourage competitive 'in the ring ’ martial arts for my kids, concussions ain’t good for your brain!

1 Like

There’s a lot of cross-over between fans of MMA and boxing. I prefer boxing because I don’t understand what’s going on when the MMA guys go to ground.

7 of the top 10 PPV fights of all time are boxing, so I don’t think it’s dead just yet.

2 Likes

Have you seen Deontay Wilder fight?

1 Like

Not violent enough.

you can try Vale Tudo in Brazil (no rules in many) , or knife fighting to the death in the Philippines between escrima fighters, or Cambodian kick boxing bare knuckle or go to Ireland and parts of England to fight the Joyce’s or the brain dead McGinnleys
Whatever tickles your fancy there is something for everyone.:sunglasses: Blood Sports will never die

4 Likes

Gladiators like in Ancient Rome? :thinking:

2 Likes

Probably not going to be popular opinion, but MMA loses my interest when it goes to the ground. I wrestled in junior and senior high, in the US, so at first I found Bjj and the Gracies fascinating. Nowadays, though, my eyes just glaze over when an entire 5-minute round is spent with one guy on top of the other. Or even a minute.

In fact, I think the only reason I enjoy watching MMA strikers is because outside a few exceptions they’re all witnesses to the strength of boxing’s technicality. Guys who don’t tuck their chins get KO’d by uppercuts. Guys who bull-rush their opponents get KO’d by their own momentum when they run into a fist. Guys who keep their hands down get KO’d by a hook. Guys who don’t cover up well get KO’d by a punch or a kick to the liver.

Everything seems to reduce to striking, even in MMA.

2 Likes

That’s just untrue. UFC is at least on a level pegging with boxing, if not way bigger. The only markets where boxing is still definitively bigger is the UK and Mexico.

I honestly like both but the UFC is a better product in terms of production values, building exciting cards, marketing and pretty much everywhere else. I watched UFC 244 and then switched over to the Canelo Kovalev fight. Not talking about the fighting, but the production of the boxing just felt like the 90s and the crowds were distinctly older than the UFC.

Its hard for younger people to get into boxing these days as it feels so out of touch. This is not true of the UK, because Eddie Hearn has done a great job, but he has said in recent interview this is because he was studying Dana White and admits trying to copy a lot of what the UFC has done

1 Like

Eddie Hearn doesn’t take on guys from the amateurs who don’t sell tickets. That’s the same for most promoters in the UK . The first question a promoter asks is how many tickets can you sell. Plenty of kids don’t change over and it’s not down to ability.

In terms of actual fights, I think boxing is the best it’s been for years.

2 things which really hurt boxing:.

  1. May Pac was a total letdown and was the last time a real boxing match (not counting mayweather McGregor) dominated the global sporting discourse. A lot of people tuned in, paid money and were disappointed, so Max Kellerman was right kinda
  2. Klitschko Heavyweight Reign in the most important decision turned eyes away from the sport. Heavyweight boxing was global news and big business until the Klitschko’s bored it up. Also not having a decent American heavyweight hurt things as well.
1 Like

Well, speaking as an older fan of both, I also find hammer-fisting a downed opponent distasteful. Seems to happen regularly in MMA.

Guess I’m running in the minority, but I still prefer boxing over MMA. I get the drama of MMA, the potential that one of the two guys could be knocked out by a fist, foot, or a knee - or even possibly submitted creatively if on the ground. That definitely adds interest to combat sports, no doubt.

But at the top levels of MMA it all seems to come down to striking, with the occasional choke thrown in for spice. I guess I still find prizefighting’s likelihood of a very small mistake leading to a very sudden KO more interesting, although I detest decisions in either sport.

1 Like

The most important skill in mma is wrestling. Submissions have become rarer because fighters are savvier to them and everyone knows how to defend the major submissions now.

Boxing and MMA are very different sports and I like both. Boxing has the history and the decades of best practices. When you are watch Floyd or Lomachenko fight, you are watching boxing at almost perfection level. MMA feels clunky and slow , because it’s nowhere near as developed as a sport and the coaching is nowhere close to the level of boxing . That makes MMA exciting to me as well, because we are not even close to the finished product.

But I dont think the problem is the sport itself. Both are exciting. Rather organization , production and marketing wise, the UFC is just miles ahead. You pay for a UFC ppv and you get five fights that are well matched, that actually matter. In boxing, most of the undercards are squash matches.

1 Like

One change I’d like to see in MMA is allowing the fight to go on more frequently after a guy gets knocked down concussed.

The refs often seem to stop the fight too soon IMO.

That’s how people die

3 Likes

Too right about boxing undercards. Most of the fights are mismatches.