Will boxing ever regain the national appeal it once in the 20th century?

Question

....Or will MMA wipe it off the map. I mean, a lack of draws in the heavyweight division and the rise of UFC popularity are killing the greatest sport ever.

Answer 1

I don't think it will just b/c I am not sure that there is enough emphasis put on it and programs available to kids for boxing like there use to be.  I think alot of the would-be heavy weight guys of today and tomorrow are getting into football, wrestling or MMA. I just don't see another superstar heavyweight coming up. And if there is, who the h**l is gonna be out there to really challenge him? What if tyson were around today? There would really be little competition against him except that 7 footer and frankly that would just be an awkward looking fight. I do think middle weight , light weight all that still has some life but it could die down after this crop is gone. I watched some heavyweight c**p last night on CSS. pittiful. they both looked like they wanted to lose

Answer 2

well heavyweight i wont  be upset if it stays the way it is..

mma they say its killing greatest sport ever in some eyes yeah and its all you here about ufc mma but its only here that we see it. if you are from the USA  then they are all ways worryin about it

but the rest of the world its does not count yeah they will put a show on around the world yeah they sell out in a flash.

But i can see  its not done anything at all to boxing one bit around the world as boxing is geting better bigger..

in the uk  there are fights that will get 9000  but there are not  big names  boxing for the british title or english or north england...mexico... puorto rico...europ... aisa...africa....

no it wont wipe it off the map mma has been around for a long time boxing is the 1st ever its still here the USA always have boxers top class boxers so problems they have will work out its self i hope.. yeah heavyweight it was never what i liked tyson time yeah but huging  sweety fat nasty ***** slow dont care...but did see one around xmas andrew glotta that was good eye pie

Answer 3

the heavyweight division doesnt need to carry it anylonger all the best fighters are in lower weight classes anyway and even though MMA is rising i dont think they have alot of exciting fights and rivalries yet that people like to watch

Answer 4

it's just like any sport, it needs a new star to get people's attention and then boxing will be back.

Answer 5

I believe that boxing was to many just a way of seeing people beat each other up. This bloodlust of the general public is now met by many other more brutal and therefore more gratifying sports, hence boxing is shrinking to just the avid fans of that particular sport.

Answer 6

I believe that boxing will get some of the popularity back in the next few years. The promoters are still money hungry but they are trying to fix things now. PPV matches is great for the fighters, but that is what is ruining the sport. Once they start putting more fights on hbo, showtime, and even local networks, that will help the sport rise to the fame it once had.

Answer 7

It could be popular again if the big name fights would return to free tv.  The ppv fights are too expensive and too far in between.  More fights are starting to show up on HBO vs. ppv to get more viewers and draw a larger audience.

Answer 8

Boxing goes through these "Lulls" every generation. Eventually all the box office smashers retire or get beat and people start to think boxing is on its way out.

But then a new star comes into the mix like a Mike Tyson and people start getting together and ordering up the PPV's again. And out of the 10 Tyson type fans that are just there to watch Tyson, you'll get a couple of guys that watch the under cards and get to know the talent in other divisions and once again the sport is back in the lime light.

Because of the Tyson,Ali or Marciano type fighter allot of other fighters get recognition as well, then the guy who beats the box office smasher then becomes a box office smasher himself and so on until someone like Lennox Lewis comes along and wipes out the division and retires. Then the lil scavengers come out to grab the scraps from the table the last great fighter left behind and people say that boxing sucks again.

But the true fans will still be watching all the talented greats in the lower weight classes and so the cycle will go until the sport is outlawed and turns to a form of underground fighting or migrates to China.

Fact is though that boxers are still the highest paid athletes per event in the world. Top boxers still make more in one fight then baseball players, Football players and Hockey players make in a season. (give or take)

And like the guy above my post said, it would help if broadcasts like CBS,NBC OR FOX would start having their weekly boxing events again

Frank -  I put a thumbs down On your thing there, I meant to give it a thumbs up. I think it is true that the fans, that Tyson's brutality in the ring brought into the sport,  are the same fans that are abandoning it now. Ive always called those people Tyson fans and not boxing fans. Good point dude.

If your looking for an exciting up n coming heavyweight check out  David "Nino" Rodriguez. Big punching heavyweight who can move well and has good speed. He has no promoter or manager right now so he does not seem to be going anywhere, take a look at him and start spreading the word so someone gives this guy a shot, of course none of the current champions are going to want to have to fight this guy so he may have trouble getting a title shot.