What the hell happened to professional boxing?

I'm 38 years old,,, I missed the great era of heavyweights but I was a teen when the awesome middle/welter/light-heavyweight battles were fought (Duran, Leonard, Hagler, Hearns). Anyone else remember Hearns v Hagler? The Duran v Leonard fights? If you don't,, take it from me, they were incredible.

Back then, boxing was big,, real big,, the talk of bars and watercoolers around the world. Everyone knew who the pugilists were in the next big fight. It was awesome,,, seems folk got much more fired-up about those bouts than almost any other sporting event.

Then we had the Mike Tyson Era,, which was great,,,, then it all just died.

Was it the move to pay-per-view from Network TV that killed it? Or was it the infinate number of different governing bodies that sprang-up? (IBF,WBA,WBC,IBO,WBO etc etc). Or what?

Apart from the occasional little distraction like Nigel Benn, Camacho, Naseem Hamed or De La Hoya in the last 10 years,,, noone seems to make the headlines anymore,,, I couldn't tell you the name of one current championship-holding boxer.

OK,, rant over. I miss those big fights.

I agree, very annoying. Add to that that the boxing is generally on at obscene hours here, it's very difficult to keep up with.

Ain't it the truth. From Ali, it's been mostly downhill, Tyson was an embarrassment, though I wouldn't say it to his face.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

Ha ha... don't blame you ...

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its back to where it was before Ali. a bunch of thugs and crooks.

for about fifteen years i used to watch it on tv ALL the time. one day after watching a bloody mis match that should have been stopped much earlier than it was i just stopped watching it altogether.

tom w

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

We have a boxer from town here who is stirring up interest. He is a genuine good, honest guy who truly puts his heart and soul into the profession. You may hear more about him.
http://www.brianmintoboxing.com/brian_minto

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Yup,, but he sure was entertaining.

yeah ya might lose an ear!!

damn, I wrote a long response and it didn't post. Anyway, I boxed from 13-20 and had to quit when my septum got smashed for the third time (first two, not boxing related). I blame all of this mixed martial arts and UFC crap for killing classic boxing. Goes right along with the shock/reality tv mentality. Redneck dojos are popping up all over the place where I live and bar fights have increased significantly. I wonder if they teach these baddasses to catch bullets in their teeth? Several months ago, these two twenty something *******s got into a gay fight during the broadcast of a UFC fight and were yelling "tap out" "tap out" while embracing and rolling on the floor. I am representing the owner who fried both of them with a one million volt taser.

I saw Tyson in Memphis a few years ago and was underwhelmed. My alltime favorite fighter is Chavez. I saw him in Atlantic City when I was 14 and he had the highest landed punching ratio of anyone I have ever seen live or on TV. I don't think people who have never tried it have an understanding of how difficult it is to actually land a punch. This is the reason for the scoring system and also why boxers seem to tire so quickly because it is much harder than it looks.

One positive thing about Black History Month was all the re-runs of great fights and biographies of Ali/Frazier/Haggler/Douglas/Forman and other black fighters on ESPN Classic.

I still go to an occasional fight in Louisiana when I am there, but it is hard to find people that want to go, outside of folks who just want to bet.

I meant to add that I think Mancini had a chance to be great but can understand and appreciate why his heart wasn't in it after Du Ku Kim.

that was tragic for everyone involved.

i liked ray too.

tom w

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.