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Back in the days of Jack Dempsey, boxing was arguably the most popular sport in the world. It's been all downhill since, a slow decline that turned rapid right about when Mike Tyson went cannibal on Evander Holyfield.
While some have claimed this has to do with changing attitudes toward violence in the ring, that doesn't explain the sudden popularity of mixed martial arts (MMA), which has clearly replaced the sweet science in the hearts of younger sports fans.
Although that wasn't the case this past Saturday night, when Twitter and Facebook buzzed with excitement about the charismatic Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao. Our friends at With Leather report that's because Pacquiao beat Miguel Cotto mercilessly on his way to capturing his record seventh title in seven different weight classes.
The rumor is Pacquiao's next opponent will be HBO villain Floyd Mayweather Jr. If that fight does go down, it might be the kind of appointment television that Ali and Sugar Ray once demanded. But will one epic matchup turn a generation that gets their blood lust from more full-contact fighters, like Anderson Silva, back to boxing? Or has that fight already been called?
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Tuesday 17 November
By surfyngirl
Gee, did it occur to you to word the survey in a way that could be answered seriously? Did it also occur to you that MMA might have alot of popularity because a lot of the good belt matches are shown on standard cable networks live for everyone to watch. No good boxing match is affordable the average fan. That's why I quit following it. I used to be a huge fan. What fun is it when I can't afford it. Yeah yeah, I know we are a capitalist society, but that doesn't help me. I do enjoy watching the classic boxing matches they are broadcasting now, because I don't know the outcome of those anymore since I was a teen for most of them.
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Friday 18 December
By Vince
Man... boxing sucks because of the promoters and trainers. This coming from a 23 year old former boxer who had I not broke my hands countless times would still be fighting. It's a shame that the stars won't fight for less than 5 million. The best fights are most of the time are between two guys you and I have never heard of in your life.
And who would want to be a boxer and get your face beaten in and risk brain injury if you've a heavyweight? I would love to see Lebron James just quit basketball for a year, train for six months and I would bet the bank he'd be able to win the World Title in his first match.