I've contemplated the recent fate of boxing. With the introduction of MMA, it seems more young people are starting to watch boxing over MMA. Aside from it being a different style of fighting, I thought of a few other reasons. Thought I'd toss them out.
1. Name recognition. I recently checked out the list of current champions on ESPN. While I'm not the most ardent fan, I've watched a decent amount of boxing. I don't recognize hardly any of those names. Heck, I can't pronounce half of them! Do you think the lack of home-grown American talent and American fighters has inclined viewers to look elsewhere? Is internationalization good for the quality of boxing, but bad for keeping a high viewership in the US? It seems that during the peak of boxing's popularity there was not much international participation...
2. Lack of Charisma. Gone are the days of Muhammad Ali and Tyson. While there are some somewhat charismatic figures, its hard when using a translator, and the old "stand nose to nose, then shove someone in the press conference" type act gets old. It more often that not seems just a ploy to drive up interest.
3. Draw of other sports. Aside from MMA, boxing now has competition from the NFL, MLB, NASCAR, Hockey and other sports. Where should boxing fit in? If I recall, at its pinnacle, it was a very popular sport.
4. High school. I played a bit of football. It helped me understand and enjoy watching the game. If I had participated in boxing as a child/young adult, I might have watched it more. I don't know many high schools that offer boxing as a sport. Should that change? Would that more incline the next generation of children to watch it?
5. Pay for view. While it has its merits I suppose, I'm not going to pay to watch some guys I don't know fight. Fights used to be on the big local channels, so anyone could see it. Now you have to shell out $50 for a good fight or get premium channels like Showtime to watch mediocre fights. You could watch ESPN's Friday Night Fights, but you need cable/satellite and you don't get to watch super-stars that want that huge paycheck.
Comments, or additions?
1. Name recognition. I recently checked out the list of current champions on ESPN. While I'm not the most ardent fan, I've watched a decent amount of boxing. I don't recognize hardly any of those names. Heck, I can't pronounce half of them! Do you think the lack of home-grown American talent and American fighters has inclined viewers to look elsewhere? Is internationalization good for the quality of boxing, but bad for keeping a high viewership in the US? It seems that during the peak of boxing's popularity there was not much international participation...
2. Lack of Charisma. Gone are the days of Muhammad Ali and Tyson. While there are some somewhat charismatic figures, its hard when using a translator, and the old "stand nose to nose, then shove someone in the press conference" type act gets old. It more often that not seems just a ploy to drive up interest.
3. Draw of other sports. Aside from MMA, boxing now has competition from the NFL, MLB, NASCAR, Hockey and other sports. Where should boxing fit in? If I recall, at its pinnacle, it was a very popular sport.
4. High school. I played a bit of football. It helped me understand and enjoy watching the game. If I had participated in boxing as a child/young adult, I might have watched it more. I don't know many high schools that offer boxing as a sport. Should that change? Would that more incline the next generation of children to watch it?
5. Pay for view. While it has its merits I suppose, I'm not going to pay to watch some guys I don't know fight. Fights used to be on the big local channels, so anyone could see it. Now you have to shell out $50 for a good fight or get premium channels like Showtime to watch mediocre fights. You could watch ESPN's Friday Night Fights, but you need cable/satellite and you don't get to watch super-stars that want that huge paycheck.
Comments, or additions?
