Some claim that boxing was once the most exciting sport on the globe. However, some believe the sport’s popularity has greatly declined since it’s hayday.
Boxers such as Sugar Ray Robinson and “Iron” Mike Tyson dominated the sport. People once watched it to witness skills like Evander Holyfield’s.
“The popularity of boxing has slowly been dying since the 90s,” D.C. native Calvin Knox said. The period of time when boxing’s popularity began to diminish is debatable. However, few dispute the fact that boxing isn’t nearly as popular as it once was.
Many sports analysts and critics cite four major reasons for the decline of boxing’s popularity. One factor is the lack of big names in the sport as there once had been.
“Today’s boxers are like Floyd Mayweather, Roy Jones Jr. and Manny Pacquiao,” California native Omar Bethea said. “Now compare these boxers to the likes of Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Mike Tyson. Some feel there’s no comparison between them and boxers today.”
The increase in popularity of other sports may be a factor in the decrease in popularity of boxing. Sports such as soccer, football and baseball draw the attention of fans during the fall. Basketball and hockey dominate during the winter months. Golf, track and tennis are played during the spring and summer seasons.
“I think growing up it’s just so much easier to play sports like baseball, soccer and basketball with parks and gymnasiums being so assessable,” club boxer Gary Banks said.
“However, there is a challenge finding a ring or a gym with a ring for boxing, so it’s difficult to attract people to boxing at an early age. This hurts boxing as a sport in the long run.”
Boxers may only fight once or twice per year, significantly less than the 162 games per season in Major League Baseball and 82 games during the NBA season.
“People have to settle for watching boxers that they do not care for unlike other sports where people can see their favorite team and athletes at least once a week,” junior computer science major Jamaal Gray said. “Plus, it takes too long to get to the main event. No one wants to see the no name fights prior to the main event.”
Boxing’s marquee events are televised, but can only be seen on Pay-Per-View at a cost of $50 for non-subscribers, which can be very expensive for people who want to tune in.
“I think that being on Pay-Per-View hurts boxing, because every other sport is funded by major cable networks and boxing isn’t. It would be much more convenient and affordable to have [boxing] on regular television,” junior sports medicine major Mamadou M’Baye said.
Regardless of the reason, it seems that boxing is losing its appeal.
“It’s kind of sad that not many people really care about boxing. The sport has a very rich history and has had some big name athletes,” Knox said.
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