Monday, April 9, 2012

Goodbye Boxing


     If you’re like me, a sports fan who also dreams of being rich, then you have thought too about someday having the opportunity to win a million dollars.  This is how it goes.  I imagine myself on a television game show and I am down to my last question and it’s for a million dollars.  Oh, and guess what the category is.  That’s right, it’s boxing.  This is great!  I am a huge sports fan and I have seen many of the best, world championship boxing matches of all time.  I am already thinking about how I am going to spend my million dollars, and then the question comes.  Who is the current, undisputed heavyweight boxing champion of the world?  I suddenly break into a sweat as I try not to blurt out “Mike Tyson”, because everyone knows he has been retired for several years now.  My heart hurts with disappointment because I was so close to getting that cherry red convertible corvette that was going to massage me through my mid-life crisis.  How could I miss that question?  Then I realize that I can’t remember the last time I watched boxing on television.  What happened to the sport of boxing that we all used to love?  Where did it go?

     The heavyweight boxing champion of the world used to be the most glamorous and coveted title in all of sports.  Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and George Foreman are just a few household names.  These fighters are considered legends but have been retired for decades now.  Can we name any current boxers?  Outside of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, there seems to be little interest in contemporary boxing.

     One of the theories as to what may have led to the disappearance of boxing is summed up well by Jon Saraceno of USA Today.  “Pro boxing once was one of America’s most popular sports.  But the public’s confusion with multiple alphabet-group champions and anger at controversial decisions weakened a tenuous infrastructure.  As advertisers drifted off, so did network television exposure” (Saraceno, p. A01).  I have friends that subscribe to this theory.  The problem is that they are in denial and have a short memory.  They would rant and rave about how their favorite fighter got “robbed” by a controversial decision and they were never going to watch boxing again.  But the very next time there was a big fight on television, we would once again gather at one of our homes for a “fight night” with all the boys.  Although this theory is reasonable and probably did contribute to the decrease in the popularity of boxing, I believe there is something else that has directly led to the disappearance of boxing in our hearts and on our television sets.

     This big, bad, bully pushing boxing out of American sports consciousness is known by three letters, MMA.  Mixed Martial Arts has captured the imagination of disgruntled boxing fans as well as the average American sports lover who has a deep, dark fear of being locked up in a cage with another human being that wants to rip their head off.  “Boxing has historically provided youths an escape, discipline and a way to stay off the streets.  But over the last several years the sport’s popularity has faded in the face of rising interest in mixed martial arts, which uses a variety of fighting techniques, including grappling and striking” (Ahmed, p. 1).  I don’t know if my friends, who are huge boxing fans, even realize it or not, but the last five “fight night” gatherings we have had were all centered on MMA fights.  I am a little hesitant to admit it, but we had a great time and boxing was never even talked about.

     “For the younger generation of fight fans, MMA is quickly becoming the only sport that matters” (Webster, 2009).  This is the unfortunate part.  Boxing just doesn’t matter anymore.  Who is going to put up a fight to bring boxing back to the forefront of American sports? Maybe it will be the alienated boxing fans who have felt betrayed by countless controversial decisions.  I think not.  Maybe it will be the new generation of fight fans who have been mesmerized by the raw, gladiator excitement of MMA.  I think not.  Maybe boxing will help itself by the promoters and sanctioning bodies figuring out a way to revive their sport.  Yeah, you’re right, probably not.  So, I guess this is goodbye then.  Sorry boxing, we have somebody younger, better looking and a lot more fun than you.  And she treats us with respect.  Maybe you can start dressing up the fighters in bright yellow spandex so you can try to compete with professional wrestling.

References



Ahmed, A. (2009, Rocky days for boxing; the fight game may be losing ground to mixed martial arts, but purists are confident the sport can regain its swagger. Chicago Tribune, pp. 1.

Saraceno, J. (2004, De La Hoya gives boxing punch of respectability; champion fighter hopes to revive faltering sport. USA Today, pp. A 01.

Webster, R. (2009, The main event: Mixed martial arts is gaining a rabid following in New Orleans. New Orleans City Business,

No comments:

Post a Comment