My thoughts on…the downfall of boxing
September 12th 2006 -
I was watching Spike TV the other day when I saw the ad for OLN Fight Night. I had seen dozens of times, but this particular time made me think about boxing, and what has happened to the once proud sport. From that random thought, this post was born. Boxing has taken a blow over the years, and has greatly declined in popularity. You can tell because those old drunks at bars have stopped talking about the fights. I used to watch the fights on HBO every chance I got, basking in the glory of men relentlessly beating the crap out of each other. Now I don’t even know who the Heavyweight Champion of the World is, and I bet you don’t either. Boxing seems to have lost it’s glory somewhere between Ali and Tyson. What happened? I blame Mike Tyson. It’s not like me to simply assign to blame to any one person or thing, and you probably expected a more elaborate explantation, but Tyson has done a lot of damage to the sport.
How so, you ask? His crazy antics. The rape, the biting, the tattoo, the bankruptcy, all of it. Since he was the champ at the time, he was a sort of representative of the sport. And a poor one he was. He disgraced the sport and took the honour, fair play and all that noble stuff out of it, and without that, all that’s left is two guys punching each othger in the face. The media focused more on his antics than the sport itself. But even today’s sensationalist media can take so much, and they got tired of Tyson, and let’s admit it, so did we. Once Tyson became lame, the sport, by association, became lame as well. Nowadays people who want their fight kicks turn to MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) such as UFC and Pride FC. Oh, and I looked up who’s the current Heavyweight Champ on Wikipedia. It’s Oleg Maskaev. Yeah, I don’t know who he is either.
Related Posts:
- My thoughts on…Mike Tyson: Male Gigolo
- My thoughts on…really stupid sports
- My thoughts on..the West Indies’ victory against Zimbabwe
Mike Says:
September 12th, 2006 at 1:50 pm
Boxing was at its zenith in the 70’s. Mike Tyson is a douchemonkey and has disgraced the sport, as well as mankind.
El Gonzi Says:
September 12th, 2006 at 2:16 pm
Hi Leon. Thanks for visiting my blog eventhogh it is not in English.
I have a good concept about Jamaica as some years ago I met a beutiful and wonderful lady of your country in an international training my ex-company sent me. As in that years there were not emails or Internet was not widely used as it is now, we lost touch but I remember her.
Regards.
Alfredo
Cuppojoe Says:
September 12th, 2006 at 2:51 pm
While I whole-heartedly agree that Tyson is about as bad an ambassador of the sport of boxing as one could ever imagine, I think that the growing popularity of mixed martial arts is actually the cause, and not a result of, the decline of boxing.
The joy of watching guys kick the crap out of each other is an addiction and, as with any addiction, the addict needs a stronger and stronger dose to reach his high. It’s just not enough to watch 2 guys dance and jab for 12 rounds when you have the option of watching a potential bloodbath in the octagon!
Melody Says:
September 12th, 2006 at 5:22 pm
Let’s see, names that come 2 mind immediately: Mike McCallum (way back!), Sugar Ray Leonard, Shrimpy Clark — but den de names from other sports come rushin’ in: Bertland Cameron, Flo-Jo — that’s it! Ah guess there were no women at that level in those days, & by de time Ali’s daughter stepped in it was like 2 little 2 late.
Teenage Perfectionist Says:
September 12th, 2006 at 7:50 pm
you have an amazing blog, check out mine.Link me.:)
Dr. D. Says:
September 12th, 2006 at 9:25 pm
I still watch boxing on HBO and Showtime..it is still one of my favourite sports to watch with bredrin(s) while drinking some lika and cussing some claat as they lick the ra$$ outta each odda!
aarond Says:
September 13th, 2006 at 1:41 pm
Too EZ to blame Tyson, honestly he has just been made the scapegoat - remember that for awhile Tyson was off the scene and Lennox was dominating and we were all still watching. Much of Boxing’s problems have come from its marketing and its desire to spread the wealth too much. Oleg is a champ but he is only one of FOUR. There are 4 heavy weight champs and they all reside in Russia, there are too many belts and too many champs not willing to fight each other so the fight game has become diluted.
MsDemmie Says:
September 13th, 2006 at 1:42 pm
Money and the cult of celebrity taking over from personal excellence at your chosen sport.
Mindless Dribbler Says:
September 13th, 2006 at 2:48 pm
I think the dirty politics in boxing has finally caught up with the sport…too many bad characters, too few good fights, and no razzle dazzle like before.
I’m like you Leon, I could care less about it anymore.
Ricardo Says:
September 16th, 2006 at 1:12 pm
I haven’t seen a good fight on HBO for a good long time Leon. It’s really too bad how far this sport has fallen. I don’t see any rebound in sight.
Mad Bull Says:
September 17th, 2006 at 6:47 pm
Doesn’t seem to be much fighting going on. Thats what killed the sport. At least, not by anybody of note. One thing with Mike Tyson, he used to fight fairly regularly. Nowadays it seems no one fights unless they are out of money.
Anonymous Says:
September 21st, 2006 at 12:19 am
Personally, I blame Don King. He was the puppet master for the whole sport losing its class.