How do you feel the state of boxing is now?

Question

Leaving out Dr. Lamehammer, the Holyfield - Tyson possible fiasco and the exploits of Mayfeather, I feel boxing is doing great right now and is having an infusion of talent I haven't seen since I was a kid. Saturdays Vazquez - Marquez fight still has me in awe (and my ears ringing). Hopkins - Calzaghe is coming up, Pavlik vs. anyone will be great, De La Hoya is gonna fight a couple times b4 hanging them up, Mosley - Judah should be a great fight, Pacman vs. Morales will be great, Ricky Hatton is fighting in May, the winner of Macrenelli vs. Haye will probably move up and make some noise in the heavys. And every week a new fight is announced! So whats YOUR feeling on the state of the sweet science? I feel the best is yet to come!!!!!!!!

And for the M.M.A. crowd, your ''sport'' is a fad and it sucks, I used to watch it when Ken Shamrock was the king of the hill so I know the ''sport''. Dana White is a Don King wannabe.

Answer 1

Boxing is in good shape today, thanks largely to the "little guys."  And now that the lower weight divisions are drawing so much attention, more American boxers are coming into the sport (or so it appears to me) and that ensures boxing's future here in the U.S.A.   A good athlete at 250 pounds may have a choice between boxing and football, but at less than 150 pounds he has very few big-money options -- and boxing may be the best one.

I didn't get to see Roberto Duran, Jose Becerra or Eder Jofre (among others) in their primes because the lighter weight guys were not welcome on TV back then.   I had to rely on RING Magazine to find out what they were up to.

We WILL see their likes again.

Answer 2

Very positive, everything below the heavyweight division is exciting and the potential is limitless.  As poor as the Heavyweight division is talent wise, with the unification of two of the meaningless belts, even that is a positive thing.  Thumbs up to Mrraravis, the Lampley quote is priceless, and for once I have to give Jim Lampley his due, I agree with him.

Answer 3

It could be better if the heavyweight fighters would put on more entertaining fights and fight in the USA, but because of the other welterweight division, boxing is better than it has been over the past 10 years.  Also the retirement of the old guard is stemming new growth within the sport.  I love the great fights that Showtime, ESPN, and HBO are doing that are not on PPV.  I have seen more good fights on BAD and ShoBox than on PPV.  Also, it seems as if boxing is putting together more entertaining fighters.  So anyway, although, the heavyweight division is filled to the brim with boring fighters who won't fight in the USA, it is exciting because of young fighters and the welterweight division.

Answer 4

Boxing is in a great position right now, with the exception of the Heavyweights (which i think it's as bad as it has ever been) boxing has gotten stronger the past year or two, the Vazquez-Marquez fight was great, i wasnt as close to the ring as i usually am but i was close enough to still enjoy it, than we have the Pacquiao- J.M. Marquez fight coming up and Mosely-Judah and Hopkins-Calzaghe, De La Hoya-Mayweather than theres also Juan Diaz who's close to unifying the lighweight division, also dont forget the Cotto-Mayorga fight in July. than there is a whole bunch of youth coming up and with that alone, boxing is a in a great position, i see people compare MMA to Boxing which is a total crock, i wont go as far as to say that it's just a fad but at the same time i dont think it'll be as big as boxing EVER!!! MMA should be more compared to wrestling, why else do you think they have MMA payperviews the same nights as boxing? they cant develop a fan base of their own so they have to try and take boxing fans, Boxing has survived many things before and it'll still continue to grow.

Answer 5

Boxing will always have it's ups and downs like any other sport.  Today all of the superstars are below the Heavyweight division, where in the past the Heavyweight Champion was alway the celebrity of Boxing.  Boxing will always have it's place among sports fans, you cannot talk about MMA with the same zest as Boxing, there is a legacy, every fight has a predecessor, for example, the Marquez vs Pacquiao may remind people of the Chavez vs Taylor fight there is nostalgia there and where there is memories there will always be fans.

Answer 6

I agree, boxing is completely destroying MMA,UFC,WEC, UPN, UPS,MCI. What a h**l of a fight on Saturday between Marquez and Vasquez.

Boxing will never die out, only the NFL rejects and Arena Ball rejects go to the MMA. They just dont have the skill to get in the ring.

Answer 7

What a great time to be a boxing fan! I think we've been spoiled for some time now the last couple of years.The thing that angers me most is the media's total lack of coverage of the sweet science.We just witnessed one of the greatest fights in the history of our sport and most media outlets either ignored it or gave a lackluster mention of it.Disgusting.Even Yahoo's home page had results for saturdays mma fights,but nothing on this epic bout.I don't need a news agency telling me what I should be interested in,but the more coverage means more fans (even if they are casual) which means more dollars in the sport ;and maybe a motivator for those atheletes choosing  other sports.( by this I'm saying we could expand our talent pool) Great answers everyone! Also I'm sick of hearing the media mention "Is boxing dying" everytime they do decide to cover our great sport.Just enjoy the ride.And what a ride it's been!

Answer 8

I just wanted to add something that Jim Lampley said. It was something to the effect pointing to those who say that boxing is dieing. "Well yes that is nothing knew boxing has been dieing for 100 years and it will be dieing for a 100 more."

Those that are true fans can't get enough. The big George Foreman/Muhammed Ali, Tyson/Holyfield and Lewis/Klitchko matches draws all the crossovers and sure when the heavyweight division doesn't have the dominant stars the crossover sport people go back to their basketball, hockey and golf but the boxing fans will stay where they are and continue watching the Pavlik's, Vazquez's, Darchinian's, Calzaghe's, Pacquaio's, Hatton's and Arce's as well as all the other exciting matches.

2007 was one of the best boxing years of the decade and 2008 is continuing with the same great matchups You are right ACEMAN, there is nothing wrong with the state of boxing today.

Answer 9

I just wanted to chime in and agree with Woody.........I also think all the talk about boxing on the decline is from people that exclusively focus on the Heavyweight division........the state of boxing has been great..........I think the state of any sport is determined by the quality of the product and boxing really hasn't lost that.........if you continue to put a good product out then your sport should be OK...........the fanbase might wane a bit but if you continue to put good fights on then they'll always be new ones.

My brother used to host these Tyson fight parties back in the day and he never watched the little guys..........at the same time i was lucky enough to be tuned in when they televised the first "Boxing after Dark" with Marco Antonio Barrera........in either his next fight or the one after I got my brother to watch with me and the rest is history..............now i believe that when he talks of the greatest fight that he's seen he says "Barrera vs Morales".     I'm positive there are many more boxing fans out there just like this...............we just have got to help them a bit.  

Woody is absolutely correct...........the Heavyweights will be back...........there's no doubt about it...........heck...........it wasn't too long ago that I personally(and pretty much everybody)thought that the Cruiserweight division was terrible...........now it puts on great fights!!!    

At this exact moment in time........if you cut out the Heavyweight division then I think that almost every other weight class has got good talent...........and good matchup possibilities.

Answer 10

Boxing was in a good state decades ago. Boxing is in a good state today. Boxing will continue to be in a good state for several more decades, if not longer. Personally, I'm enjoying what I see today.

I think the problem is that since many think one division (heavyweight) loses its prestige from years ago, then the entire sport is dead. Well, there are other divisions in the sport that keeps it alive. People just need to understand that there are constant changes. Some negative changes leaves openings for positive changes else where. I see it as a big cycle and who knows.... one day the heavyweight may actually get SOME of its prestige back.

Anyway, BOXING LIVES ON!!!!