Maybe all those obituaries were a bit premature. Maybe boxing isn’t dead after all. It would be a hard case to make after HBO Pay-Per View announced on Wednesday that 2.15 million viewers shelled out the $55 to watch the much anticipated Floyd Mayweather-Oscar De La Hoya mega-bout, breaking the previous record of 1.99 million buys, set during the 1997 Mike Tyson-Evander Holyfield heavyweight title rematch that saw Tyson make a portion of Holyfield’s ear his dinner.
Although those numbers suggest that boxing has not yet taken its last breath, the sport still has a long way to go before returning to its former glory, which is very unlikely unless some drastic changes are made.
Of those 2.15 million viewers, the majority would likely say the bout left something to be desired – too much dancing and stalking around the ring, not enough punches thrown, no real excitement. That’s how everyone I watched the fight with saw it, anyways. Personally, I thought it was a great fight – maybe not living up to all the hype, but a great fight nonetheless. One between two veteran and skilled tacticians in the ring, but I would imagine most of those watching saw it much differently.
Casual boxing fans tune in to see blood, bruises and knockouts. Fights that are determined by a decision are boring. Defense and strategy are for p——. This is what I call the “Rocky Syndrome.” Those suffering from this affliction expect to always see fights with numerous knockdowns, broken facial bones, cuts and eyes swollen shut and ending in a remarkable KO. That’s why mixed-martial arts have replaced boxing as this generation’s favorite fighting sport. Those matches seldom end in decisions and normally supply an ample amount of bruising, blood and broken bones.
The slow and technical fights can’t be helped – it’s just the nature of the sport – but there are many other factors behind the demise of boxing in America.
The beginning of the end for boxing began when network TV stopped televising marquee fights. That’s why the biggest and only fighter most sports fans know is De La Hoya. Most people would be hard-pressed to name five other current fighters.
In boxing’s hey-day, all the great fighters could have been seen on ABC, NBC or CBS. To watch a great like Muhammad Ali didn’t require an HBO subscription or a one-time fee of at least $50 for a fight that could end in 30 seconds. The closest to that today is ESPN’s Friday Night Fights – a show that normally features second-rate boxers who are either just beginning or near ending their careers. Maybe that’s why Mayweather is the best pound-for-pound fighter in boxing, yet is basically unknown to the casual boxing fan. Besides De La Hoya, the most recognizable fighters of today are probably those of “The Contender” fame.
A complete lack of organization also plagues the sweet science. In boxing, there are 17 different weight classes – ranging from strawweight to heavyweight, each of which could have four separate title holders at the same time. This makes things much too confusing.
In comparison, Ultimate Fighting Championship, boxing’s main rival now, has five weight divisions and one title-holder in each, allowing for a true champion. If boxing could somehow unite the four different sanctioning bodies and lessen the number of weight classes, it would be doing itself and its fans a great service by making the sport much easier to follow.
Boxing may never become totally obsolete as some claim it will, but until some drastic changes are made, the sport will continue to lose fans.
Dustin Ensinger can be reached at [email protected].
