 Iron Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, these are some of the names that come to mind when I think of boxing at its prime. I remember being a little kid staying up late to watch the fights on HBO, ordering the Pay Per Views, and thinking this sport could never fail.
Well I was wrong... boxing has hit an all-time low in the past ten years whether it’s failing to deliver fights that fans want to see, having the weakest heavyweight division in the history of the sport or just plain getting destroyed in the ratings by UFC. Boxing has numerous problems one is the 354 titles, I do not think there are that many boxers any more. Another problem falls on, the lack of Heavyweights. In the 60's, 70's, and 80's it was about the biggest guys throwing those hard hits, now you get a jab fest in boxing which amounts to nothing but 10 to 15 rounds of love taps with the winner usually being the one who threw the most. When boxing failed to deliver us a great heavyweight we went to middleweights and lightweights. There we had guys we could root, cheer, rally behind, but then the promoters decided to take the two best fighters Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather and tease us with the fight of the century. To no avai.... from boxers not wanting to take a drug test, to the money not being right, and even letting the boxers control who the other should fight, so we never got to see the fight. So we turned our heads to the UFC. Ex-boxing promoter Dana White took saw boxing was at an all-time low and capitalized by making every division hard-hitting, adding kicks and grappling into the mix, and having premier fighters we can rally behind. Will boxing ever regain success I know like most people? I hope so. I miss the days of thrilling uppercuts, courageous left hooks, and a jab that only followed up with a right cross heard from around the world. There is a lot of work to do boxing get to it. -Stephen Moul |
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