Who can forget the days when Muhammad Ali dominated the ring, Larry Holmes retained his championship, or Sugar Ray Leonard razzled and dazzled the crowd? It seems like yesterday when Mike Tyson was knocking out everybody and nobody could beat him. People looked forward to “The big fight” and couldn’t stop talking about it.
Those days are gone. If you were to bring up any of the fighters today, nobody would know what you’re talking about. The biggest money making fighter today is Floyd Mayweather Jr. Even though a lot of people know who he is, the general public doesn’t care to watch him because they see how he is outside of the ring due to his legal troubles.
The heavyweight division is unknown to most. People in America do not know who Wladimir Klitschko is, and none of the American heavyweights even stand a chance to beat him right now. That’s why when the sports segment comes on the evening news, boxing is almost never brought up.
If you were to even wonder why this is, you can go right back to Mike Tyson’s heyday. When Tyson became champion, the downward spiral began for boxing. Due to his verbal outbursts outside of the ring, people lost interest in having a heavyweight champion like that. People liked to watch him fight as a fighter, but really did not like him as a person. Up to the early 1990’s he was hard to stop until his rape conviction in 1991. He was in prison until 1995. When he got out in 1995, he was never really the same. As his career winded down, people lost interest.
Oscar De La Hoya drew the most interest in the 1990’s for American boxers. He presented a good guy image and never seemed to get in trouble outside the ring. He generated more money than any other boxer in the history of the sport with an estimated $696 million dollars in pay per view income. He started his career on a good note and ended it on a good note and never created any waves. De La Hoya kept the interest going in America during this time.
By the early 2000’s there really wasn’t any other fighters besides Oscar De La Hoya that kept the American public interested. The hard work and discipline doesn’t seem to compare to the fighters overseas. It seems as though a lot of American fighters think that they should get the money now and ride in the limousines before earning it. No American fighter has risen with any substance. What makes things worse for boxing, the sport is taking a backseat to mixed martial arts. If boxing wants to stay alive in America, a fighter needs to come out that’s appealing to the public.
Another reason boxing is on the decline is because of the corruption involved. People are turned off when they see a fighter lose a fight and he winds up winning. Most of the time, when a fighter is backed by a promoter of a fight, he usually wins even when he loses. People want to see two fighters fight with the better man winning. A good example is when Lennox Lewis fought Evander Holyfield back in 1999. The fight was declared a draw when Lewis clearly won. One of the 3 judges had Holyfield winning one of the rounds when he got knocked down in that round. People have seen this over and over again and they’re fed up.
Today the bigger fighters are from other countries, and most of the big fights are held overseas. There are some big fights here in America, but people care so little. It’s just not like it used to be.
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