Posted on 08/17/2024 11:14:11 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
They were like gods. John L. Sullivan. Jack Dempsey. Joe Louis. Rocky Marciano. Muhammad Ali. Joe Frazier. George Foreman. Larry Holmes. Mike Tyson. Evander Holyfield.
There was a time when the heavyweight champion was the most famous man on the planet. They were bigger than kings and more instantly recognizable than presidents. At the peak of his fame, Muhammad Ali could’ve traveled to the farthest corners of the world — some remote hut in the middle of nowhere — and somehow, every villager would know his name: “Ali boma ye!”
Today? Do you even know who the heavyweight boxing champion is?
To appreciate just how dramatically boxing has fallen, consider this: At one point, boxing was THE most popular sport in the United States. Boxing was our passion!
Sure, foreign competitors occasionally popped up. Argentinian Luis Angel Firpo famously knocked Jack Dempsey clear out of the ring in round one. Dempsey viciously KO’d him in round two. Max Schmeling of Germany had a classic two-fight rivalry with Joe Louis. Ingemar Johansson of Sweden treated us to a trilogy with Floyd Patterson in the late 1950s and early 1960s. And English folk hero Henry Cooper flattened a young, cocky kid who was still known as Cassius Clay in the fourth only to get stopped on cuts in the fifth.
But boxing was universally perceived as an American sport. Almost without fail, for 100 years, the world’s greatest boxers were Americans.
During the first half of the 20th century, boxing was ubiquitous on radio and television. Every major newspaper had three or four full-time boxing writers on their payroll. It was in our blood: Boxing was far bigger than football, exponentially bigger than basketball and hockey, and even bigger than baseball, our so-called “national pastime.”
And today?
(Excerpt) Read more at pjmedia.com ...
Decisions by judges got sketchy 10-15 years ago and it became unwatchable.
Professional boxing wasn’t displaced by MMA. It was displaced by pro wrestling — because fans found that more entertaining once they came to the realization that they were watching staged events anyway.
My father told me 60 years ago that boxing -- along with many other sports -- was rigged.
Everybody knew, even back then.
Going exclusively pay-per-view killed boxing. I grew up watching boxing with Howard Cosell. Boxing threw away it’s longterm future for a short term paycheck.
I Coulda Been a Contender - On the Waterfront (6/8) Movie CLIP (1954) HD
I’d say that the infinite numbers of “official” boxing organizations probably helped to end the romance as well. At any one time, there could have been too many “heavyweight champions” (as well as “champs” in all the other weigh classes) to count, most of which couldn’t compete with those of the halcyon days. This also contributed, in my opinion, to the sudden appearance of mountains of flab in the upper class.
Last boxing match for me.
Sorry, but its ‘contenda’
Thank you.
I grew up in the Fifties.
Boxing and bowling were big on television.
Friday night fights sponsored by Gillette and Don Dunphy did the announcing and Johnny Ady announced the fighters in the ring.
My grandfather favored Willie Pep and Carmen Basilio in particular.
Friday night fights, the Gillette cavalcade of sports, shown on the big projection tvs of the day at your local watering hole, and the place was packed.
“...
Do you even know who the heavyweight boxing champion is?...”
I had to look it up....
Oleksandr Usyk (I have never heard of him)
A multitude or organizing bodies cause the belts to replicate. The move to PPV. Don King’s influence cause premier events to happen only every couple of years with ridiculous purses for both winners and losers.
Boxing is alive and well.
Used to love boxing. Used to have ppv parties too. But I saw one too many fights with rigged judges.
I think perhaps if they visually show judges scores round by round they may have a chance at a comeback.
RE: Boxing is alive and well
Alive, yes. Well? It depends on your perspective.
Most people knew Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman and even Mike Tyson during their heyday. Do most people know or even care who the current heavyweight champion is?
“I’d say that the infinite numbers of “official” boxing organizations probably helped...”
Yes, there is no focus, like runners not having a finish line.
“Going exclusively pay-per-view killed boxing.”
absolutely ... and that SHOULD be a lesson for NFL and NCAA football, both of whom want to go exclusively to PPV ... BUT they WON’T learn that lesson, will go to PPV, and that will be end of football in America, because folks will find other things to do ...
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