Boxing: A sport in decline

By Boxing News - 05/16/2011 - Comments

By Rafa Garcia: This article is based on the rapid decline of boxing over the last twenty years. I am 35 years old, boxed since i was eight and had my first amateur bout at twelve years old, my career was cut short due to a broken back (car accident). Myself and so many others have a deep and meaningful love for the sport of boxing. Unfortunately fans alike have had to watch as boxing has become a (money machine) driven by greedy promoters and fighters who care only of the finances without the risk.

The modern world has changed things for the better in many ways but boxing is not one of them. Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik “El Terrible” Morales, Edwin Valero R.I.P, Arturo “Thunder” Gatti R.I.P, “Iron” Mike Tyson, Julio Cesar Chavez, Roberto “Hands of stone” Duran, Sonny Liston, Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Nigel “Dark Destroyer” Benn, Chris Eubank, Gerard McClellan, Marvin Hagler. These men shaped the sport of boxing and are the sole reason we loved the sport so much. All had a do or die attitude in rare cases the latter was true (The fantastic Gerard McClellan who I believe if that sad day hadn’t occurred would have gone on to be a boxing great). For these men the main focus was the fight, pitting there physical prowess against another no matter what the outcome was. As a fan you were guaranteed to see a man give his all one hundred percent. The money gained from the fight would be a distant thought. In contrast to that statement some of these men gave there all due to the money and making sure they and there family were provided for efficiently while the next fight arrived. Either way, these fighters are a far cry away from the greedy fighters of today that think only of the million-dollar mansions, big cars and fast women.

I will never take away the achievements of some of the modern day fighters Mayweather, Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, “Dr Steel hammer” Wladimir Klitschko, Lennox Lewis, Vitali Klitschko etc. The facts are the motivation and reasoning for being involved in the sport are questionable. For instance, Mayweather is widely regarded as a fighting genius. I disagree. You are only as good as the people you fight and to be quite honest setting aside Luis Castillo, Diego Corrales and Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd has done nothing special in the sport. What I will say is when it comes to selling a fight and promotional prowess Floyd is the best in the game. Pacquiao as a man you have to love him and to be quite honest I loved him as a fighter up until 2/5/2009 when he fought Ricky Hatton. Pacquiao would have been mentioned with the fighters of old due to his wars with Barrera, Morales and Marquez which will stay long in the memory of boxing fans all over the world. Unfortunately Pacquiao has done a discredit to himself fighting the likes of Hatton, Margarito, Clottey and “Sugar” Shane Mosley. Instead he should have been fighting the U.K welter-weight Kell Brook, Mike Jones, Andre Berto or “Vicious” Victor Ortiz.

Amir “King Khan,” Timothy Bradley, Devon Alexander and the U.K heavy-weight David Haye quite frankly leave a bad taste in my mouth and in my personal view cast the sport in a bad light. For instance, Bradley recently declined a fight with Khan due to the fact the money offered wasn’t enough. That offer exceeded $1,000,000 U.S Dollars and he just recently received a million dollar payday for the bore-fest fight with Devon Alexander. How much money does a twenty four year old want? Khan on the other hand, well if you were new to the sport or new to following the sport you would think this guy was the face of boxing, p4p best and number one cash cow.The demands he makes are absurd and his opponents apart from “El Chino” Maidana are made to fit to say the least.

Finally, Haye, what is there to say Haye has talked, insulted his way to a life-changing payday and a shot at the world championship. The whole fiasco is ridiculous and should set alarm bells ringing regards to boxing’s governing bodies.

I watched a fight recently, which took me back and I’m sure many others to what boxing is all about, and that fight was Berto-Ortiz. It was a slug-fest with two hungry young lions giving there all in the ring. Sadly, these future stars stand little chance of developing as fighters, in my view, and embarking on illustrious careers due to the way boxing is managed and handled. It is quite concerning as we do have some bright stars in the boxing world, such as Ortiz, Brandon Rios, Berto, Brook, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Benavidez. It is down to the boxing public how boxing progresses in the future. If we keep paying for fights that don’t give value for money and lining these promoters-motivation lacking fighters pockets, boxing will not change and we will continue spending more time debating fighters outside the ring antics and diva-like demands on boxing forums instead of debating history making, breathtaking performances inside the ring.



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