Anyone remember Boxing ???

[Raider Ronnie]

Is it me or did Mike Tyson & Don King ruin/kill professional boxing.

[PRBuzz]

They did a good job killing the sport. Loss of personalities like Ali and Sugar Ray L from the sport didn't help. Neither did the likes of Mike Spinks. The biased calls of the refs: loss of Hagler to SRL (just like OJ not guilty)......and don't forget the G Foremen...but nothing as stimulating as the 3 Ali-Frazer fights.

[Raider Ronnie]

Is it just me or is the sport dead ?
I can't remember the last time there was a good fight ?
Maybe Holyfield or Lennox Lewis ?

[fishbones]

The problem now is that there are no good US born heavyweights. For that matter, the only decent heavyweights now are the Klitschko brothers from Russia. The heavyweight division is the most popular and people want to see US born boxers fighting for the championship.
That being said, there are some great boxers in lower weight classes out there who put on very exciting fights. Pacquiao, who fought the other night is a beast. Bernard Hopkins, Mayweather, Jr. and Shane Mosely can still fight along with Miguel Cotto. One of the more up and coming guys who I love to watch is Kelly Pavlik at 160. He puts on a great fight. A lot of the smaller guys can hit hard and take punches, too. If you like exciting boxing as opposed to slow, big fat-asses, throwing 10 punches a round, check out some of the guys I listed. I watch more boxing now than I did 10 years ago.

Ronnie, if you want to see good fights, get copies of the Micky Ward v. Arturo Gatti fights. They put anything Holifield or Lewis did to shame.

[SurfCaster413]

boxing is dead to much fun and talent in mma espically the ufc

[The Dad Fisherman]

The real problem is its now all Pay per View.....gone are the days of Boxing on Wide World of Sports or on a Friday Night on TV......so much less exposure for the sport so nobody watches it.

[afterhours]

not quite sure why it died....used to love watching the marvelous one. his 4 rounder vs tommy hearns was super. that loss to srl was a sham...ali vs frazier fights were right up there...thriller in manilla...it's a different world now ( not all for the better).

[PRBuzz]

Not sure why even though there are great fighters in the lower weight classes it was/will always be the heavyweights that carry this sport.......needless to say why boxing is now dead! Maybe it really was S Stallone's Rocky that killed the sport (ha ha)...

Has pro boxing gone the way of (pro) wrestling? I do hesitate to call wrestling a sport, at least the televised version. I used to love going to college wrestling matches (Iowa State national champs) and watching Dan Grable and Cris Taylor to mention 2 of the greats.

Forgot to mention: I live boxing every day with pictures of the great Rocky M surrounding me on the walls of my house.

[afterhours]

never saw rocky m live - saw some film though- he was special!

[fishbones]

Originally Posted by The Dad Fisherman

The real problem is its now all Pay per View.....gone are the days of Boxing on Wide World of Sports or on a Friday Night on TV......so much less exposure for the sport so nobody watches it.

Check out Friday Night Fights on ESPN. Not a lot of recognizable names, but some very good fights with guys trying to move up the ladder and some guys trying to keep their careers alive.

ESPN Friday Night Fights Schedule 2010

HBO also has some good fights and some good coverage leading up to the big fights, but it's a subscriber service. Pavlik v. Martinez coming up in April should be a great fight. Also, Cotto v. Foreman in June should be a good one on HBO.

Showtime has some decent fights too, but I don't subscribe so I'm not sure what's on their schedule.

[The Dad Fisherman]

I don't have HBO....that's part of the problem.

[FishermanTim]

With the increase of "extreme" sports, and the multiple "mixed fighting tatics" federations that there are, boxing will lose out because boxers ONLY use their hands.
Everyone else gets to punch, kick head-butt, bite scratch, suplex, break body parts, and just about kill their opponents.

In other words boxing has gotten run over by a steamroller.

I would rather watch a boxing match, which requires skill AND stamina than any "combined" fighting where there are fewer rules than a street brawl, and even fewer skills than kangaroo boxing.

Boxers would spend their entire career for a shot at the champ, whereas the mixed-sports fighters are more pro-wrestler than athlete.

Sure, they may know martial arts, and be a big name in their field, but these mixed-sports contest look like a ramped up WWE.

Bring back good old boxing!

[Mike P]

Boxing died in the US because there are easier ways for kids to fight their way out of poverty in this country nowadays, and American boxing fans only pay to watch heavyweights.

The growth of football over the last 30 years has done as much to stop the development of good American heavyweights as anything else.

[Clammer]

I use to be a big fan ;

I use to follow Hagler to his fights if they were within driving range ;;;;;;;;;;;;;; after the f #^&#^&#^&#^&#^& he got with the SRL fight .. I lost all interest ;;

[Joe]

I guess most of us grew up in the late-golden age of boxing and took it for granted.....I don't think we'll see that many good fighters at one time for quite a while.

[Raider Ronnie]

Originally Posted by Clammer

I use to be a big fan ;

I use to follow Hagler to his fights if they were within driving range ;;;;;;;;;;;;;; after the f #^&#^&#^&#^&#^& he got with the SRL fight .. I lost all interest ;;

I saw Marvin a week before that fight in a night club in Randolph Ma. ( would see him in there quite a bit back in those days)
The drinking & drugs he did that night wasn't exactly what I would call training for a fight !

[luds]

I agree that it's dead other than the occasional gem. I hope we get to see Pacquiao vs. Mayweather. That could be a great fight.

I'm not inot ultimate fighting but it has absolutely passed boxing in popularity.

[eastendlu]

Way too many boxing titles (organizations) not just one champion anymore.Pay per view also a cause as it took it away from the general public and occasional fight watcher.I also think the corruption in the sport finally took its toll on many.

[american spirit]

did the pac man win saturday night??????

[MarshCappa]

I was a big Marvin Hagler fan. I used to worship him.. Boxing now a days is pretty watered down. No big rivalries now. Hagler vs Hearns, classics. I liked Paz as well.

[fishbones]

Originally Posted by the_shocker

did the pac man win saturday night??????

Pacqiao won 34 out of 36 rounds on the 3 judges score cards and he should have won all 36. Clottey kept his face covered for most of the fight because he was scared if he moved his hands he'd get beaten into submission.

[Mike P]

Originally Posted by Clammer

I use to be a big fan ;

I use to follow Hagler to his fights if they were within driving range ;;;;;;;;;;;;;; after the f #^&#^&#^&#^&#^& he got with the SRL fight .. I lost all interest ;;

The big problem was that Marvin needed the fight and the payday more than Leonard, and he and the Petronellis were treated like challengers by Leonard's people and the promoters.

From the site of the fight (Vegas where he knew he couldn't win a square decision, and where he got hosed before with the Antufermo "draw"), to the the weight of the gloves and the size of the ring, and the referee and judges, Leonard got everything he wanted..

Hagler and the Petronellis were "outsiders", not part of the Arum/King/Lee clique that ran boxing right down the line. Arum "owned" the WBA, King "owned" the WBC, and Lee "owned" the IBF.

Hagler would not have got the decision against Hearns if the fight went the distance--you could bank that.

[afterhours]

Originally Posted by Mike P

The big problem was that Marvin needed the fight and the payday more than Leonard, and he and the Petronellis were treated like challengers by Leonard's people and the promoters.

From the site of the fight (Vegas where he knew he couldn't win a square decision, and where he got hosed before with the Antufermo "draw"), to the the weight of the gloves and the size of the ring, and the referee and judges, Leonard got everything he wanted..

Hagler and the Petronellis were "outsiders", not part of the Arum/King/Lee clique that ran boxing right down the line. Arum "owned" the WBA, King "owned" the WBC, and Lee "owned" the IBF.

Hagler would not have got the decision against Hearns if the fight went the distance--you could bank that.

that's exactly the way it was.......

[EarnedStripes44]

Looking forward to the Mayweather- Mosley fight.

[Dad 818]

Originally Posted by The Dad Fisherman

The real problem is its now all Pay per View.....gone are the days of Boxing on Wide World of Sports or on a Friday Night on TV......so much less exposure for the sport so nobody watches it.

Remember sitting in the living room watching Wide World of Sports with my dad. Seemed like there was a fight on almost every weekend. Holmes, Mancini, Dokes, Weaver.

[fishbones]

Originally Posted by EarnedStripes44

Looking forward to the Mayweather- Mosley fight.

This fight should have happened years ago, but it should still be pretty good. If Mayweather fights his fight, he should win pretty easily. But Mosley hits harder and if he lands a couple big shots, he could win in an upset. I'd rather see Mosley win because he'd have a more exciting fight with Pacquiao. They'd stand toe to toe for at least a few rounds before Mosley got his head knocked off.

[Dad 818]

Originally Posted by Clammer

I use to be a big fan ;

I use to follow Hagler to his fights if they were within driving range ;;;;;;;;;;;;;; after the f #^&#^&#^&#^&#^& he got with the SRL fight .. I lost all interest ;;

So did he. Loved watching Marvin fight.

[fishsmith]

Good heavyweights are a rare breed.

Lightweights are great fights, but don't offer the beloved knockout as much.

Arturo Gatti vs. Mickey Ward were great fights.

It's to bad Gatti took his life, he was the best fighter as of late.

[Mike P]

Rumors abound of another Tyson/Holyfield bout

[eastendlu]

Originally Posted by Mike P

Rumors abound of another Tyson/Holyfield bout

They will both fall over if it goes two rounds.