Thoughts about the current state of boxing
November 21st, 2010
By Ben James: Sorry I have not published any articles recently, I was in a motorbike accident on Tuesday and have just got out of surgery / hospital and this subject I am writing about has been on my mind all week. Please be forgiving if my writing is full of typos or mistakes as I am typing with one hand on some very strong pain killers.
The only mistake I made was giving Audley Harrison too much credit! I knew he would freeze up when Hayes bombs started to fly but I thought he would put in more of an effort to actually throw some punches beforehand. It appears Harrison only turns up to fight against people he is 99% sure he can beat, the atmosphere of the whole event got to him as well. The man is mentally weak and defiantly deluded.
Given Hayes promise to retire at his 31st birthday next year I can must criticize him heavily for wasting precious time and peoples hard earned money for choosing to fight Harrison in the first place, you have really annoyed a lot of people and done great damage to the sport of boxing for what can only be described as the benefit of your ego and greed, you owe the public a proper fight, but no doubt you will opt to fight your mandatory to keep your title no real fan gives a damn about.
It is the mandatory challengers that have been on my mind this week. The governing bodies are the ones preventing the best fights happening. Look at all the losers who have been mandatory challengers in recent years, the worse example been John Ruiz. Why the hell would the WBA make that old has-been the number one contender for their title? What is stopping them making one of Klitschko brothers the number one contender?
Or why not make Haye the number one contender for one of the brothers belts? Force these fights to happen! Give them no choice or chance to milk the public even if it is in your financial benefit.
The same thoughts can be applied to every other division in the sport, just look at how many pointless title defences have happened in the past 20 years.
Governing bodies have the power to make most fights the public want to see a reality, but not all of them. Mayweather / Pacman fight been a great example of this. Mayweather no longer cares about world titles or paying governing bodies millions of dollars to let him defend said titles.
I hope you enjoyed reading this article and I look forward to hearing your thoughts and comments.
Tags: 17 Responses to “Thoughts about the current state of boxing”
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yeah but i dont think mayweather is willing to take a dive to give pack the benefit of winning. just like all these years and hundreds of years when corners have well known sense to give their fighter water. all i have seen was pack putting his opponents in very harsh situations and he has the nerve to not wanna take a simple drug test? come on wit that bs.
i thnk the best, and possibly the only way to get boxing back to where it belongs is by unifying all the belts into one governing body. obviously that’s never going to happen but it would really sort the men from the boys
Stu- well said mate. Im all for debate but dont like to listen to people constantly proclaim the latest ‘death’ of boxing.
To the writer-There’s no place in well constructed articles for labelling a decent man and someone who always gave their best like Ruiz an old has been, try and be a tad more subtle next time. Im English and a Haye fan but you must stop short of insulting former champions. As boxing fans we all want the best fights to happen I apprciate that but as boxing fans we have to appreciate that these things never happen easily. Its part and parcel of the sport im afraid with such big money at stake.
As I advised a few friends last week bemoaning their luck at having paid to watch Harrison V Haye, why not get yourself to a local show sometime, ive seen some absolute thrillers in small halls all over the UK. No TV, no massive purses just two guys going for it- go on you might even have something positive to write after!!
boxing goes the way of the heavyweights. if they are on fire, then theres heat enough for everybody. despite his style vladimir was the champion, nobody doubted it, and when a contender stepped up, it was for all the tinder. he had beaten the best. then vitali came back, he is stronger, meanier, and not nearly as given to hugging. he had put his stamp on it by fighting the former real champion, knocking him around, winning on points, before finally losing the fight. but that the champion wanted no part of a rematch was enough—vitali was the champion. so now there were two disputed champions who would never meet in the ring–brothers. the heavyweights fire started to dim. it does not help that the co-champions are often hard to watch. they seem more like muggings than fights, only vladimir acts like he want to steal their wallet without really hurting them. then there was david haye…the remedy. he made the divison sicker. he turned into another mayweather, except one who doesnt just cherrypick, he ducks all contenders. he fights a punchless, lead-footed bum for a fake title, then defends it against the weak and the old. now we are arguing about who will fight who and when. why do we care? they accuse each other of being themselves. and, to make matters worse, almost all the contenders below these three are only interested in haye’s fake belt, they dont want to fight vladimir or vitali…too much risk. now vladimir and vitali and haye are talking a match again. the 3 stooge on steroids. meanwhile, in the background haye’s manditory is claiming haye is ducking him…that he is impossible to deal with. and now, vladimir, who has fought only credible fighters so far, is acting like haye and taking on a man who is so hapless, he couldnt even put a pub crawler he assaulted in the hospital….if only these were roman times….thumbs down.
I’m having my doubts about the future of the sport.
Combat sports have become PPV attractions.
After Manny and FLoyd retire, I don’t see any other stars out there that can carry a $55 dollar PPV fight.
I mean, Sergio Martinez is making a strong case for himself, but he only has a couple fights left.
I think the powers in boxing are gonna have to take a page out of MMA’s book.
Put more fights on regular TV and stack the hell out of PPV fight cards.
They should also put on more sanctioning body tournaments that feature the belt holders of each weight to determine one true champ.
Well then all i have to say is that we, the boxing fans should stop recognising these pointless deluded sanctioning bodies.
I understand they have selfish reasons for not doing what i think they should do. My point is they have the power to do something but dont.
So instead of insulting me, try actually explaining your opinions with rational debate.
MR. BEN JAMES YOU HIT THE BULL’S EYE
THE MAIN CULPRIT TO ALL BOXING MESS IN TODAY’S MATCHUP IS THE WORLD BOXING COMMISSION. THE COMMISSION IS OBLIGATORY TO DEVISE, TO DEVELOP TO PROMOTE AND REGULATE BOXING RULES AND REGULATION IN ALL WEIGHT DIVISION FROM TOP TO BOTTOM WITHOUT EXCEPTION OR EXEMPTION.
WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW, THE BOXING COMMISSION CONDONES AND APPROVES ALL MATCHUPS IN TODAYS’ BOXING. IT IS NOW HIGHTIME FOR THE WORLD BOXING COMMISSION TO ADOPT A SYSTEM OR RULES AS GUIDELINE IN PROMOTING HIGHLY ANTICIPATED MATCHUP THAT IS MORE COMPETITIVE FREE FROM CRITICISM AND DOUBT FROM BOXING FANS WORLDWIDE.
MR. BEN JAMES I SALUTE YOU FOR HAVING THE NERVE TO DISCLOSE WHAT YOU FEEL IS RIGHT FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND.
audley’s purse should be taken off him and given to a good cause like The scared rabbit foundation and if he ever has his boxing lisence renewed then surely im intittled to a license to fly a space rocket.get well soon ben spot on with the artical
@ Stu: Well said. Most of these so called boxing fans are a disgrace to our sport. They’re know nothings talking about something completely abstract to them and yet when you read some comments you’d think they’re the second coming of Howard Cosell, at least the first two or three words and then it’s all nonsense. Oh well…
david haye sucks, agree with u mate.
Glad you’re doing well. I’m glad someone on here isn’t afraid to tell it like it is. David Haye is a chump, point blank.
as pacman fan, we are really happy that you are fine! wishing you to have fully recovered. even sometime your article really mean or un fair to pacman.
get well soon and more power to you. and wishing you to be fair all your article. god give you a chance!
@ Ben James. Just like your motorbike,your article is a total wreck.
stu dear are you on your period?
“What is stopping them making one of Klitschko brothers the number one contender?”
if you’re really asking that question then i don’t know what to tell you.
you know what i think is wrong with boxing? too many dumba** fifteen year old “fans” who think they know everything & do nothing but b*tch & whine like pubescent girls who got sand in their v*gina during their first period.
you all pick apart peoples records, call pro boxers cowards or duckers or chinny or some other bullsh*t, play imaginary matchmaker like you actually understand how boxing works…just shut up cos you don’t know sh*t.
try to enjoy boxing. or f**k off & stop watching if you don’t like it. no-one will miss you whining little b*tches.
Yep the governing bodies need to get their act together. Its the only sport i know where challengers can drag their feet ot just walk away from challenges, challenges they should be taking.
There is quality fights between opponnants in every single division that in any other sport would be already competing against each other, only 1 can be the best, yet here in boxing you can have 4 or even 5 different people walking around claiming to be the best but no so willing to prove it.
Good article!Keep using that very strong pain killer.