Is Boxing Dead?

[-Z-]

Boxing has slowly been fading from the lime light for years, while MMA continues to grow consistently. Will boxing survive? Can anyone save the sport?

[chitownmscle]

Nope, boxing is dead. At least to me anyway. I find MMA more appealing. Boxing is filled with a lot more jokers then MMA is.

Was a big boxing fan in the late 80's then I got my hands on some tapes of guys like Royce Gracie and Shamrock fighting in Japan and I have been hooked ever since

[-Z-]

I don't think there is much hope, unless a very appealing fighter comes along, soon.

[DannyG]

I don't think there is much hope either unless another guy can come along and tear up shit like Tyson did back in the day.

[Lucas]

I like pacman alot, find him an entertaining dude...Same with Douchebag Mayweather. That being said...boxing has been dead for a while, anything seen now is like visiting the grave.

[DCHMUSCLE88]

boxing is dead.

[Sugan]

Boxing ain't dead yet. Someone must care because the purses for the top guys still make UFC pay look like chump change. That said, the number of great fighters and fights is diminishing. The heavyweight ranks are shit. Boring Russians. When I was in my teens and twenties the heavies were still full of names like Tyson, Holyfield, Ruddock, Holmes, Bonecrusher Smith, Lewis, Moore etc. I even saw a few Ali fights in the late 70's and early 80's. I don't remember watching a good heavyweight title fight since Holyfield Tyson #1. The days of Sugar Ray, Hagler, Hearns, Duran are long gone too. There are still some good fighters out there but the showmanship is gone. I think boxing also may have tightened up on the stoppages too much as well. We live in an increasingly violent spciety and MMA brings it up a notch , even though it's historically safer than boxing.
Boxing can come back but MMA has all the momentum right now. I still prefer boxing for a few reasons and I can't get into MMA too much. If i ever see MMA pull off a Gatti - Ward battle then maybe.

[-Z-]

Boxing ain't dead yet. Someone must care because the purses for the top guys still make UFC pay look like chump change. That said, the number of great fighters and fights is diminishing. The heavyweight ranks are shit. Boring Russians. When I was in my teens and twenties the heavies were still full of names like Tyson, Holyfield, Ruddock, Holmes, Bonecrusher Smith, Lewis, Moore etc. I even saw a few Ali fights in the late 70's and early 80's. I don't remember watching a good heavyweight title fight since Holyfield Tyson #1. The days of Sugar Ray, Hagler, Hearns, Duran are long gone too. There are still some good fighters out there but the showmanship is gone. I think boxing also may have tightened up on the stoppages too much as well. We live in an increasingly violent spciety and MMA brings it up a notch , even though it's historically safer than boxing.
Boxing can come back but MMA has all the momentum right now. I still prefer boxing for a few reasons and I can't get into MMA too much. If i ever see MMA pull off a Gatti - Ward battle then maybe.


Good post.

[Ibarramedia]

Boxing is alive and kicking. The lower weight classes are where the action is right now. The Heavyweight division does not represent boxing as a whole. There are many weight divisions.

[chitownmscle]

Boxing is alive and kicking. The lower weight classes are where the action is right now. The Heavyweight division does not represent boxing as a whole. There are many weight divisions.

While this is true the majority of people are more interested in the heavyweight division then any other

[Rattbones]

Boxing is alive and kicking. The lower weight classes are where the action is right now. The Heavyweight division does not represent boxing as a whole. There are many weight divisions.
true, Heavyweight was very big in the US for a long time, but most of those who would be heavyweights in the US play football now. The lighter weight classes are far more popular in central and south America, and are far more popular then MMA.

[Sexybeast777]

You should all see me boxing and then you'll know that boxing is still alive

[SpeedoGuido]

It'll be back if a couple of badass superstar heavyweights suddenly appear........




.

[chitownmscle]

It'll be back if a couple of badass superstar heavyweights suddenly appear........


But where are they going to come from. not here in the US, more and more kids are being exposed to MMA and are going that way. I think boxing is still more popular in countries like Russia, Poland, and a lot of South America. But Americans are not going to watch boxing unless there is a big badass heavyweight American knocking people out left and right like Tyson used to.

[brd]

I would not say dead, however, boxing can definately take some lessons from the UFC. The 18 thousand belts and sanctioning bodies need to go first off. Scumbag promoters like Don King need to go, and the sport needs to be remarketed. There are still tons of guys out there fighting that are not inclined to go the route of MMA. I would also trim down the number of belts. All the junior and super classes should be merged. For example, middleweight (as opposed to junior and super) and within that class expand the weights a few pounds in either direction. Make a title fight truly a title fight. Ditch cruiserweight which will help out both light heavy and heavyweight. Single linear champions, much the way Ring does their rankings would be ideal. The idea would be less fights overall, but higher quality. I think the inundation through the 70's-90's sort of made the sport passe' along with the widespread corruption and the imbecile matchmaking in the name of money. I also like the added drama of elimination fights, similar to the heavyweight elimination fights they used to do. The best time this was utilized was the scramble for the title when Holmes defeated Norton. I think that brings some added prestige to some of the fights especially if classes are pared down...

[chitownmscle]

I would not say dead, however, boxing can definately take some lessons from the UFC. The 18 thousand belts and sanctioning bodies need to go first off. Scumbag promoters like Don King need to go, and the sport needs to be remarketed. There are still tons of guys out there fighting that are not inclined to go the route of MMA. I would also trim down the number of belts. All the junior and super classes should be merged. For example, middleweight (as opposed to junior and super) and within that class expand the weights a few pounds in either direction. Make a title fight truly a title fight. Ditch cruiserweight which will help out both light heavy and heavyweight. Single linear champions, much the way Ring does their rankings would be ideal. The idea would be less fights overall, but higher quality. I think the inundation through the 70's-90's sort of made the sport passe' along with the widespread corruption and the imbecile matchmaking in the name of money. I also like the added drama of elimination fights, similar to the heavyweight elimination fights they used to do. The best time this was utilized was the scramble for the title when Holmes defeated Norton. I think that brings some added prestige to some of the fights especially if classes are pared down...

In other words boxing is beyond dead cause while these are all great ideas, no one has the balls or the financially backing to make this all happen

[Dr Pangloss]

boxing will never die completely. It may continue to shrink some in terms of television/ppv dollars, but it will never die as a sport.

it's essential to mma. it's half of human fighting.

[brd]

In other words boxing is beyond dead cause while these are all great ideas, no one has the balls or the financially backing to make this all happen


The $$$ is there and there are a lot of marketable fights and fighters, mostly at middle and below, but until a stupid group of core people realize they have to work together instead of against one another, nothing is going to get accomplished and boxing will continue to stagnate. The promoters are still making money, so why change? The sanctioning bodies are still making money, so why change?

That's the mindset that is driving this trainwreck. It's really a shame...Balls is an interesting and fitting word. Probably the only institution with the balls is the Govt and I am not sure I want them messing around with boxing...

[chitownmscle]

The $$$ is there and there are a lot of marketable fights and fighters, mostly at middle and below, but until a stupid group of core people realize they have to work together instead of against one another, nothing is going to get accomplished and boxing will continue to stagnate. The promoters are still making money, so why change? The sanctioning bodies are still making money, so why change?

That's the mindset that is driving this trainwreck. It's really a shame...Balls is an interesting and fitting word. Probably the only institution with the balls is the Govt and I am not sure I want them messing around with boxing...

Well why not have the Govt get involved with boxing. They are trying to run every other aspect of sports. They are trying to get involved with college football and the BCS, what about the Govt with Baseball and Steroids, how about the Govt and the NBA and gambling. Govt involved in boxing, probably couldn't do it any worse then what they have done to themselves....lol

[Shadow]

I've been asking myself this question for a while now. Like a lot of people have said, I don't think it is dead, or will ever really die. But I think it's definitely gonna start losing money to MMA...if it hasn't started to already. I remember when I was younger seeing this boxer or that boxer going against the other plastered all over commercials. Now it's all MMA stuff, and if you happen to see something related to boxing, it's a cheap commercial late in the day.

[Sensei]

Boxing is pretty much dead but will always be around. No 1 or 2 fights are going to bring it back its seperate from MMA. But boxing is boxing, MMA is Fighting!!!