How can boxing be considered a more relevant sport in society today?

Answer 1

All sports have an attached enigma and history to make it attractive to present and future generations, it's their marketing point. The NBA, NFL and NHL and many other sports organizations are always trying to improve the image of their respective sports from top management down to individual athletes' actions, on and off the field/court/ring etc. Top management wants to have respective people representing their organizations and most of the time vice versa.

In the past decade or three, boxing has not had its honor and pride intact as enjoyed in past history. Instead, corporate sponsorship, cronyism, corruption and barbarism occupies top management and given way to the Don King types and Mike Tysons; in place of Ali types and many others. This is extremely evident on how boxing pulls it's revenue. It's through pay per view. And most likely gambling in a location that's not exactly known for it's honest integrity: Las Vegas.

True, boxing is a very tough and disciplined sport, but egoism has taken over. A cinderalla situation needs to happen quickly.

In this day and age, with so many new political and corporate scandals coming out every so often, people want to escape a lot of that mentality. Today's boxing does not embody an honorable sport as it once did. You have convicts and thugs representing the sport's history close to three decades. Olympic contenders can't compete with the thugs that sell in Vegas. Take the short term loss to restore boxing and its glory.

In a sport where it's common knowledge that a lot of the people who are involved with the behind-the-scenes, from top management to promoters to individual athletes, most are known stereotypically for just seeking a quick buck. Boxing has become more than just the two fighters in the ring.

Change the mentality of those representing the sport, or replace them and restore boxing's image pronto. Clean out management and replace them with people who are truly passionate about boxing and can promote it as such, not as a means of income.

The all out fights, no holds bar UFC and all the other organizations have established a cleaner and more earnest image of winning, management and fighters who are not commercialized for all the wrong reasons: Financial profit and glam.

As a legitimate business, evolve ahead of the competition in short, medium and long term plans or lose the remainder of the waning fan base. Market the boxing organization, whatever it is. I myself and others know of nfl.com, nba.com and etc, but what is boxings? There seems to be a lag in up to date marketing. I'd be willing to watch a local guy on local t.v. for free and you can market to me when I see the website.

Financial profit to Vegas, pay-per-view types and atheletes just interested in lining their own pockets essentially turn the average blue collar consumer off and kill interest in the sport.

Answer 2

In order for boxing to become a more relevant sport a few things need to happen. First and foremost the quality of fighters has diminished over the last 10 years. Yes, there are a few boxers that are excellent fighters but as a whole, there are less good fighters today than there were 25 years ago. Second, it is up to the IBF and the USBA to do a better job in promoting the sport. When you look at other sports you see a ton of advertisement and marketing dollars being spent on their respected sport. Some people could make the argument that because its an individual sport that it's up to the boxer to promote the sport. This isn't the case though because over the past 20 years golf has been placed on the map by the PGA, LPGA, and equipment companies.

For those people who think boxing is not a sport you are fooled. Boxing is as much of a sport as football, baseball, hockey and basketball. Boxing is as strategic as any other sport if not more. There are tons of hours spent in the film room looking over competition and finding the opponents weak spots. While it looks like they are in there beating each other senseless unless you have been in the ring I would beg to differ.

The main reason people don't consider boxing a sport is mainly because they have never been in the ring. I always think its funny when I'm out and I'm watching a sporting event, when someone yells out at the TV stating that the players suck or they should be doing something different. These are typically those individuals that have never played the sport, or if they did its at a much lower level.

Lastly, for those people who think athletes are paid way too much money, if you were an athlete you wouldn't being saying that, trust me. An athlete regardless of the sport puts their bodies and mind through punishment the good part of the year.

Too get back to the question though, how can boxing be considered a more relevant sport in society today... More exposure through better advertising and marketing, the ability to recruit kids into the sport at a younger age, and the boxing association must do a better job promoting the SPORT!

And remember folks before you start beating up the sport understand what it takes to be a professional boxer!

Answer 3

Hopefully. Im a young kid and i hope to make it to the professional ranks one day and i hate to see so many people not interested in boxing. I mean I'm 15 years old and i know more about the sport then most people do. I watch it everyday and i used to train for about 2 years and i'm about to start again. I developed a love for boxing at a very young age and since then i've learned everything about it that i can and watch it and do it whenever i get the chance. I'm obsessed with the sweet science. I don't think any other sport can compare to it because its one on one and pits 2 men against each other, literally the best man will win. No teams.

I hope the De La Hoya Mayweather fight at least brought a few new fans into the sport. I wish boxing would go back to its glory days where everybody watched it and knew who the champion was. I think it could help if there wasn't so many sanctioning bodies and so many weight classes. Everywhere you look theres super this, mini that. The alphabet soup of the santiong bodies. IB this, WB that. Its crazy. I think as long as the best keep fighting the best, it will grow into the sport it once was. Boxing was, and will never die, but its hurt right now. Someone or something always comes along and revives it each time it "dies" and now theres so much competition with the UFC and all the new MMA sports coming out. I don't think any of that can replace the classic sport of boxing though. All i think is boxing needs more exposure. It needs to be mentioned more. That alone will help the sport out alot. If it gets on more sports stations and more news shows more people will hear about it, and more people will become interested making it "a more relevant sport in society today". Also though, it shouldn't be overexposed because that has hurt the sport before. If the best fighters keep fighting the best fighters and more people gain interest boxing will be revived in society.

Really it all boils down to exposure. Public interest will never be gained if they never watch it. Theres Friday Night Fights and Wendsday night Fights on ESPN every week. Alot of people don't know that. The Contender airs every Tuesday at 9. They just aren't advertised enough. Also theres a very shalow heavyweight division right now so alot of people don't watch it but what they don't see is the tons of talent pouring into the lower weight classes. I really hope something changes. Before this last super fight, 90% of my school didn't know who Floyd Mayweather Jr or Oscar De La Hoya were. Now almost everybody does. That goes to show you how much just one fight could do, now imagine if the best kept fighting the best and it kept getting the promotion that this one did. If that were the case, boxing would be guranteed to become an extremley popular sport maybe even bigger than it ever was.

Answer 4

he De La Hoya Mayweather fight at least brought a few new fans into the sport. I wish boxing would go back to its glory days where everybody watched it and knew who the champion was. I think it could help if there wasn't so many sanctioning bodies and so many weight classes. Everywhere you look theres super this, mini that. The alphabet soup of the santiong bodies. IB this, WB that. Its crazy. I think as long as the best keep fighting the best, it will grow into the sport it once was. Boxing was, and will never die, but its hurt right now. Someone or something always comes along and revives it each time it "dies" and now theres so much competition with the UFC and all the new MMA sports coming out. I don't think any of that can replace the classic sport of boxing though. All i think is boxing needs more exposure. It needs to be mentioned more. That alone will help the sport out alot. If it gets on more sports stations and more news shows more people will hear about it, and more people will become interested making it "a more relevant sport in society today". Also though, it shouldn't be overexposed because that has hurt the sport before. If the best fighters keep fighting the best fighters and more people gain interest boxing will be revived in society.

Answer 5

Every now and then when you have talented fighters they should always fight the best. The rewards are there so why not. Roy Jones was the best but there were fighters that he either avoided or never fought and its a shame because his record could have been so much better. Outstanding fighter how history will judge will depend on the generosity of the individual.

Promoters are not doing their job or the fighters are avoiding each other. Over the last 10 - 15 years the heavyweight division has gone done the tubes which has put the spot light back on the lighter weight fighters. It's time for the lighter weight fighters to take up the challenge because the window of opportunity will only last for so long.

How can it be relevant more super fights along the lines of Oscar De La Hoya vs Floyd Mayweather. More meaningful super fights or fights in general, they will return the public back to the turn stills. There's nothing like a great super fight for the general sports fan who has a fleeting interest in the sport. There is nothing bigger in sport than a super fight. For the fight fan better match ups to get the interest back up. Regular fights champions fighting other champions or top contenders.

Answer 6

Personally I love boxing.

It takes great skill to be a great boxer, its not just about bopping each other in the head for those people that dont know about the sport. There is strategy involved and it takes skill as well as hard work.

Anyways what I think would make the sport more relevant are shows like 24/7 that show the boxers personalities, as well as some of the training they go through. It allows the audience to get to know the boxers, to have a reason to love or hate the boxers.

Also get rid of having 3 different damn belts per class, make 1 champion the champ of each weight class. Have some sort of ranking system that allows more fighters to get cracks at the championships. And if the Champ doesnt want to fight the top contender then they forfeit the belt and a tournament to crown the next champ should take place.

We need more Superfights, boxing was hot several years ago when Dela Hoya, Trinidad, Vargas, Mosley, Wright, and the likes were going at it and not running from each other.

I mean Floyd Mayweather talks about being the greatest boxer ever, but how? Not when Oscar is his toughest opponent a 34 year old ex great that fought 3 times in 2 years. He needs to take on guys like Cotto, and Mosley as well. Take on all challengers.

We dont get enough mega fights, corruption is running rampant, and the public doesnt know enough about a fighter until they some how are thrust into championship fights.

Answer 7

Today's boxing does not have some of the great Ambassadors other sports have such as Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, or Lance Armstrong, not only incredible athletes but rather humble superstars that are the best in their fields. Boxing has Mike Tyson part buffoon and side show freak and that is what he will be remembered sadly enough not for what an awesome figure he was in his prime as a boxer.
So you want to bring back the spot-light back to boxing , I think Dela Hoya is a good start he could be a very good Ambassador to represent the new age of boxing. I won't even go into how corrupt some of the Boxing councils, or promoters are, but they also take the fun out of watching the sport. I don't mind paying for the privilege to watch boxing, lets just not have 5 different boxing federations or councils with each one being represented by a different boxer, sort of takes away from the creditability.
You should unite all the titles to one and put your best foot forrward with finding a Great representative for boxing

Answer 8

ate sponsorship, cronyism, corruption and barbarism occupies top management and given way to the Don King types and Mike Tysons; in place of Ali types and many others. This is extremely evident on how boxing pulls it's revenue. It's through pay per view. And most likely gambling in a location that's not exactly known for it's honest integrity: Las Vegas.

True, boxing is a very tough and disciplined sport, but egoism has taken over. A cinderalla situation needs to happen quickly.

In this day and age, with so many new political and corporate scandals coming out every so often, people want to escape a lot of that mentality. Today's boxing does not embody an honorable sport as it once did. You have convicts and thugs representing the sport's history c

Answer 9

The relevance of the sport is as individual as tastes in food. Often, what entices someone to watch and then follow a fighter in any combat sport is their persona. The reality show aspect is what people latch onto, either loving or hating a fighter - thus watching to cheer for them or hope to see them get their just deserts and lose. That plus people love to watch an action fighter who guarantees such by simply appearing in the ring.

The main reasons boxing is perceived as in need of validation and relevance in society today is because (A) Rankings are manipulated more than a ventriloquist's dummy. That results in so many top fighters NOT facing off against one another, and so many unfounded ranked fighters on marquis networks, end up fighting opponents where the odds of them winning are less than the odds that they become Pope. (i.e. Manfredo vs. Calzaghe) -- and secondly,(B) For the mainstream, meaning those most associated with terms like 'society' - not the hardcore boxing fans - the Heavyweight Division is the public ambassador for the sport of boxing. And it just so happens that the American Heavyweight talent pool has greatly dried up in recent years. So...as a result of the public failing to see a prime Mike Tyson or comparable character and talent, the perception is that the entire sport is in the gutter. It's simply not true. Just south of 175 there is a ton of top notch talent in boxing.

Perhaps it can eventually be that both Boxing and MMA coexist as two separate sports that share some similarities.

Answer 10

I think that one of the things that contributed to boxing's downfall is the lack of coverage on network television. In the 70s and 80s, anyone could watch a top contender on CBS or NBC. I clearly remember the Tyson - Berbick fight. With the advent of pay-per-view, and shady promoters trying only to fill their own pockets, boxing was lost to the average person, who most likely was the most knowledgeable fan.

The next thing is the lack of a dynamic personality. There are great boxers, and great showmen, but rarely are they one in the same. Muhammad Ali was the best at combining both of these elements. He was charming, eloquent, handsome, and a superior boxer. I can think of maybe three others in the past 30 years that had been the same, and none of them were heavyweights.

The lack of name recognition is the last thing I can think of. If you were to ask who the heavyweight champ is in the WBA, 8 out of 10 people would not know. Combine these elements with a society that is starting to be turned off to controlled violence, and you have the decline of a sport. Every generation before had a sort of ambassador that the fans could support, and act as a voice for the masses. Take for instance, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Floyd Patterson, Ali, and to some extent, Mike Tyson. If a boxer now could be a boxer, crusader, public figure, and a voice of the people, someone in the public eye, without the negatives that haunt sports today, boxers, and boxing would be more widely accepted.

Answer 11

Boxing took a turn for the worse when almost all fights were relegated to pay per view. There was a time when the average person could view very good fights on national television, and this was the heyday of Boxing. We saw premier fighters such as Muhammed Ali, Joe Frazier, ect. and learned about them and they became our heros. Now we do not know much about the fighters, so why watch?
Boxing is an excellent sport and can attain those heights again, but only by learning from the mistakes of the past.
If there was a show with such premier fights that we could see weekly, perhaps paired with a reality show where unknown fighters are found and groomed just like "The Ultimate fighter" we could learn who they are and they will become part of our reality. I would suggest such a show, as well as a new offshoot of boxing where fighters have 5 rounds to win or lose. This will all lead up to the occasional free title event, and frequent pay for view events. What I am talking about is a better way of marketing boxing.