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ISSUE 19 | NOV 2014
Boxing is dying:
The arguments
One popular litmus test for the
health of boxing is the status of the
heavyweight division. Today, there
is no champion fighter who really
draws in media attention. The lack
of major talent can be seen in the
ages of many of the candidates. The
preeminent boxers are largely aged in
their late 20s: for example, Deontay
Wilder is 27. Great sportsman tend to
emerge when they are much younger,
and while these fighters have spent
many years training and participating
in bouts to hone their skills, a true
genius will crash into the spotlight
far earlier. Mike Tyson was world
champion at 20.
More evidence for the weakness
in boxing comes from a look at the
books. Major sponsors have been
avoiding the sport for years. Top
Rank Chairman Bob Arum says that
“boxing still exceeds mixed martial
arts and wrestling, as far as the fan
base. But if you look closer, those
figures are distorted by the fact that,
overwhelmingly, Hispanics favor
boxing, as do African-Americans.
“The leaders of industry view it
from the (perspective) that there
is diminished interest in the
white community for boxing. That
permeates everything.”
HBO, the pay-per-view channel that
has been showing matches for the
past quarter century, has found new
subscriptions for boxing hard to come
by, and the demographic average
viewer age is creeping steadily
upwards. Subscribers tend to be men
who are just-sorta-used to watching.
The boxing itself has been
criticised by some. The most
prominent heavyweight from
the past few years has been
Wladimir Klitschko, whose
brother is also a renowned
fighter. Wladimir gained
something in the publicity
stakes by supporting the
protest movement last year in
Kiev. The brothers are heavy
hitters, and have won more
than 100 bouts between them.
Doubters claim that they are
just the best of a weak field,
and that a better range of
boxing talent would not have
allowed them to dominate
as they have done in the last
decade. Others claim their style
is predictable and Wladimir
in particular has a weak chin.
Obviously, with 62 wins (52 by
knock out) and only 3 losses,
Wladimir is not a man that a
nerdy sports writer would want
to criticise too much. But when
compared with the greats,
there is something missing.
So, there is plenty of evidence
that points to boxing being
confused and listless, taking
beatings when it would just
be kinder to ding the bell. But
what are the causes for this
negativity?
Mike Tyson believes there is
a lack of –ahem- fight in the sport.
“I don’t think people are made out
of what they used to be made out
of. When I was poor, when I was a
young kid, I didn’t have any television.
You see people now who are broke
on the welfare system, they have a
television, they may even have a car
and 30 years ago that was totally
impossible. They are not hungry.
They are not willing to even attempt
to die to accomplish their goals. We
are in the era of entitlement. There is
no desire to accomplish great things.
When I was fighting, I was prepared
to die to become champion.”
It is not hard to find examples
of Tyson’s hypothesis. One of
boxing’s most prominent names
is welterweight champion Floyd
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