Boxing woes....

[icehog3]

5 of the 10 headlines on ESPN.com's boxing page right now.

Former champ Hearns holds auction to pay debt.

Ex-world champ Tapia back in New Mexico jail.

Valero enters rehab center under court order.

Calzaghe says he's used cocaine since retiring.

Gatti's widow gets $100K from boxer's estate.

:rolleyes:

[hotreds]

I still remember when it was the "sweet science" and the heavyweights weren't just fat slobs like this Butterbean fella.

[icehog3]

Have you ever seen the Klitschko brothers?

Or since Butterbean's departure, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Shannon Briggs, David Hayes, etc? They are hardly "fat slobs". :2

[montecristo#2]

I think MMA and the UFC have really hurt the popularity of boxing. That plus the lack of prominent fights, it is kind if sad.

[hotreds]

Have you ever seen the Klitschko brothers?

Or since Butterbean's departure, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Shannon Briggs, David Hayes, etc?

None of the above. I pretty much gave up on boxing turn of the millenium. Hey- I just noticed a new smilie!:=:

[icehog3]

I think MMA and the UFC have really hurt the popularity of boxing. That plus the lack of prominent fights, it is kind if sad.

Most of the great fights of last several years are in the lighter weight classes it seems. I am still a fan of good toe-to-toe boxers though.

[icehog3]

None of the above. I pretty much gave up on boxing turn of the millenium. Hey- I just noticed a new smilie!:=:

How's that ADD treating you, Hugh? :r

[St. Lou Stu]

Have you ever seen the Klitschko brothers?

Or since Butterbean's departure, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Shannon Briggs, David Hayes, etc? They are hardly "fat slobs". :2

They made heavyweight boxing worth watching after Tyson's .... well... whatever that was.

[hotreds]

Damn Nurse Ratched didn't give me my meds tonight!

http://sportschump.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/nurse-ratched-louise-fletcher.jpg

[TheRiddick]

Most of the great fights of last several years are in the lighter weight classes it seems. I am still a fan of good toe-to-toe boxers though.

Emelianenko?

[icehog3]

Emelianenko?

I was focusing on boxing here...I know Fedor is an MMA beast. :tu

[MedicCook]

What has hurt boxing is it is not available on tv anymore. Other than ESPN a couple times a month where else can you see it without paying for a premium channel or PPV?

[icehog3]

What has hurt boxing is it is not available on tv anymore. Other than ESPN a couple times a month where else can you see it without paying for a premium channel or PPV?

But MMA is thriving, and the top UFC fights are mostly PPV. I do agree, wish there was more boxing on TV, Ryan.

[montecristo#2]

But MMA is thriving, and the top UFC fights are mostly PPV. I do agree, wish there was more boxing on TV, Ryan.

Yeh, but it seems UFC is always on Spike these days. From UFC Live to replays of older fights to the Ultimate Fighter, you can watch MMA 4 or 5 nights of the week.

Sometimes you only have to wait a couple of months to see the recent PPV events as well. I know this has really got me hooked on MMA recently.

[icehog3]

True, but I have no real interest in watching a lot of the fights they show on Spike, Aaron. Lots of them are years old. I like the hype leading up to a big match, and watching it without already knowing the result.

[Bigwaved]

if you get hit in the head enough your thinker may malfunction more than normal

[St. Lou Stu]

Nothing like the old HBO Friday night undercards leading up to a Klitchko beatdown. :tu

[MedicCook]

I miss watching Tyson in the old days.

[icehog3]

I miss watching Tyson in the old days.

Some of the best 90 second fights ever. :r

[St. Lou Stu]

I miss watching Tyson in the old days.

Some of the best 90 second fights ever. :r

Yeah, that last Tyson/Holyfield fight was a real doosey. :rolleyes:

[icehog3]

Yeah, that last Tyson/Holyfield fight was a real doosey. :rolleyes:

Old days, Tim...old days. Simmer down now. :r

[St. Lou Stu]

Old days, Tim...old days. Simmer down now. :r

Ohhhhhh, you mean when he was good..... mkay, I remember now.:D

[MedicCook]

The Pre-Rapist days.

[icehog3]

Ohhhhhh, you mean when he was good..... mkay, I remember now.:D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_nfLatI5Qc Rap NSFW

[St. Lou Stu]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_nfLatI5Qc Rap NSFW

Nice!
But it is disturbing that I don't remember all of those hits after the call and while dudes were on their way down.... clearly. It mostly happens in the later fights... dude is/was disturbed... and powerful.

Compact power too. I've never seen anyone hit so hard from so close.

[icehog3]

Nice!
But it is disturbing that I don't remember all of those hits after the call and while dudes were on their way down.... clearly. It mostly happens in the later fights... dude is/was disturbed... and powerful.

Compact power too. I've never seen anyone hit so hard from so close.

Yup...Mike was not just a boxer, he was an angry young man.

[montecristo#2]

True, but I have no real interest in watching a lot of the fights they show on Spike, Aaron. Lots of them are years old. I like the hype leading up to a big match, and watching it without already knowing the result.

That is true. Although I do like watching older BJ Penn fights. All I know, it is a lot easier to find MMA on television than boxing these days.

UFC 111 was the first one I have watch in real time since UFC #1 (which we got back in HS on PPV) - I do have to agree, watching it without already knowing the result is definitely more exciting and tense.

[icehog3]

The current Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel on HBO profiles Arguello, Gatti and Vernon Forrest.

[GreekGodX]

It is very disappointing not having big name heavyweights to watch. I do love watching the lighter guys go at it but I want to see the heavyweight division get some elite talent. I would imagine MMA is taking some talent away from boxing but I don't really get the lure of MMA. I would rather see a slugfest between 2 guys in the ring rather than some MMA match.

[mash]

Boxing has been hurt by corrupt promoters, who don't care about the sport or the fighters, only the money. Don King has been a cancer to the sport.
If only it was all about the boxers.

[shilala]

I miss my boxing. I haven't had HBO since I changed providers and just plain quit watching. It was getting pretty thin, though. That's evidenced by the never-ending "out of retirement" marquee bouts that were far short of spectacular.
The Klitshco's are like watching boxing at the gym. Neither are graceful fighters, and neither are much fun to watch, at least to me.
The whole thing kinda bums me out. I love good boxing. It'll come around, it's been an ebb and flow sport for the last 30 years. They'll find a few good kids to spark interest that will pound their way through three weight classes and rejuvenate the sport.
Seems like innovation pretty much ceased and boxing just got stuck in the "glory days", trying to revive what was already said and done. I thought Pretty Boy was really going to change the pace of things when he began promoting, but I quit following that story. Don has everything tied up pretty tight, there isn't much room at the trough.

[blugill]

The best fights I believe I've seen were the trilogy of fights between Irish Mickey Ward and Arturo Gatti.
That might have been boxings last great stand.

MMA is likely the future of combative sports while boxing has done everything it could to kill itself off.

The great fights, for example Jones - Hopkins was fifteen years too late and irrelevant when it could have been great.

[The Poet]

I miss watching Tyson in the old days.

I miss watching the likes of Rocky Marciano and the REAL Sugar Ray on the Gillette Friday Night Fights.


When it comes to boxing, you young farts missed it.