http://thisisgettingold.net/2011/12/27/ ... -from-ufc/

Not sure how much interest there is in boxing but I took another stab at writing a boxing article. If there is interest I might keep it up intermittently.

I really like what NBC Sports is trying to do. HBO and Showtime have helped ruin boxing and putting decent fights on TV is the only thing that will bring the sport back to the mainstream.

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This is Getting Old


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Significant step.

If boxing made some major changes, it would be the second most popular sport in America, in my opinion.

Fighters ability to choose their fight schedule and opponent should be severely curtailed.

Get rid of at least half the weight classes.

One belt per weight class.

Some sort of hybrid BCS/NASCAR point system to determine fights and standings and an every two-years tournament bracket for the belts at each class (year 1 fights to determine standings, year 2 is the tourney, year 3 standings, year 4 tourney, etc).

Universal rules that can't be changed by the fighters.

Cut deals with the usual networks (abc, NBC, CBS, espn). Simulcast on pay per view with enhanced broadcasts.

I could go on.

Make me boxing commissioner and, if I don't get assassinated by shady promoters, I'll have boxing earning triple what it's earning now.

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The promoter system itself is the big problem. Boxing needs a league, and a union.

They could literally just take UFC's system and place it on boxing and it would work great. You could run boxing like the major sports leagues. If you could get past the promoters.

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I'm sorry but the boxing ship has sailed. MMA today is what boxing was back in it's heyday. You have hungry fighters who are part of a fraternity. That being said, we have about 20 years before it follows boxing down the greedy promoter tubes, so I suggest you enjoy it while it is pure and real.

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Let's take them into deep water and drown them.

Ask Troy, he'll be available after he washes his hair.

-Mike Tomlin

They should eliminate head shots. They're dangerous and stuff. Can't have dangerous things in sports anymore, apparently.

Mr. Goodell told me so.

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Not true.

There was a great article at bleacher report.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/8032 ... tting-koed

In 2009 Boxing buys were 3 of the top 5 for the year despite HBO shifting some bigger fights to HBO to help grow the sport.

Fuck De La Hoya vs. Mayweather broke the PPV record, with 2.4 million units sold, in 2007.

HBO Boxing's lowest selling fight was Pacquiao vs. Clottey, which sold 700,000. UFC championship fights average just under 500,000 buys.

And last I saw the top five UFC fights featured Brock Lesnar, three times.

UFC is seem as more mainstream because it is so easily accessible. They have reality shows, and they are on cable channels that people don't have to pay out the nose for. People will still pay for boxing. Hell tickets for that fight in Philly are $45 and $65 bucks. The asylum arena isn't exactly paradise but it will still sell out. Despite there being absolutely no title defense.

UFC is set up well. They don't have a promoter system right now and they are basically the only game in town. They are like the WWE. If you want to get paid you gotta fight for UFC.

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Sham,

Very interesting numbers. I still have a hard time believing that boxing is as popular now as it was when I grew up (in the 80s) watching Hearns, Durango, Hagler, Chavez, and Sugar Ray. I guess maybe it makes more money because of pay-per-view, but in terms of popularity I'm not so sure.

I figured the big boxing tickets outsold the MMA ppvs, but I didn't think the lowest selling ones still outdid MMA. Very interesting.

Personally I find MMA more entertaining, but I guess there is room for both

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Let's take them into deep water and drown them.

Ask Troy, he'll be available after he washes his hair.

-Mike Tomlin

I don't like the either/or shit. I think you can be a fan of both, especially since they are different sports. Sure they involve fighting but that's basically where it ends.

Boxing definitely isn't as popular as the Hearns days, but that was never my arguement.

The best boxers in UFC would get smoked by average professional boxers. The best boxers would more than likely get smoked by average UFC guys.

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This is Getting Old


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I love boxing. Second favorite sport after football. Muhammad Ali is easily my favorite athlete/celebrity of all time.

I can't get into UFC for some reason.

I don't know what it is and I can't entirely rationalize it. I think it's just over my own personal "brute" threshold. Maybe one day I'll be able to articulate it better.

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I agree. Get rid of all the tweener weight classes and have 1 champ per weight class. It's a sad day when the vast majority of people have no clue who any of the heavy weight champs are (ridiculous that there's even more than one). Say what you will about Mike Tyson, the man was known in every area of the planet for the most part. And that was the last time anybody truly cared about boxing on any kind of mass scale. Manny has done a great job of changing that to some degree, but IMO teh heavyweight class is still the sport's bread and butter. You make some other good points as well.