The current state of boxing

[juggernaut666]

If all you're looking at is more people therefore more boxers I don't believe you are looking at enough info. You are assuming boxing to have the same % involved thru the different eras. I don't believe that to be true & I've certainly seen nothing to suggest that to be true. I mean just cuz there was 2.5B people in the 40's & 6B people now doesn't mean there were only ~8,300 boxers in the 40's vs the ~20,000 now.

I'd say boxing is less popular in more parts of the world then it was during previous times. Sure there are some places where its more popular than its ever been, but I think the consensus with most people is that boxing hit its peak in most places for the foreseeable future. That being the case its going to be less popular & therefore have less participants. I also believe there is more competition & easier routes to other sports for athletic young peoples attention who could get into boxing.

Although **** man maybe I'm just biased cuz I'm in the US & I definitely feel like the number of boxers has went down drastically here from its best days with only ~3,000 boxers now according to boxrec.

Boxing if anything has grown globally .Where do you think it was once popular but has declined now? You have to take global size not just in the states? Combat sports continue to increase its active fighters ,boxing is no different . Im not exactly sure what box rec proves or how accurate it is . It doesnt change my mind that statistically it would be near impossible to have less boxers today in contrast with the population .

[Eff Pandas]

Boxing if anything has grown globally .Where do you think it was once popular but has declined now? You have to take global size not just in the states? Combat sports continue to increase its active fighters ,boxing is no different . Im not exactly sure what box rec proves or how accurate it is . It doesnt change my mind that statistically it would be near impossible to have less boxers today in contrast with the population .

I think its grown in its outreach for sure. I don't necessarily agree that that means there are more people in boxing. And I don't see why its inconceivable that there could be less boxers now then when there were half the people. Can't something drop to less popular as it used to be? Surely there are ebbs & flows to anything's popularity thru multiple eras. I mean just cuz there are 2x as many people in the world now vs when The Andy Griffith Show was on TV does that mean that show is twice as popular now to make an easy analogy? Doesn't stuff still gain or lose momentum?

But again maybe I got a biased stance as an American who has seen less & less US boxing & US boxers over the years. And who has heard & read about some of these older eras that I'm bringing up when I believe boxing was among the top sports in the US.

[juggernaut666]

I think its grown in its outreach for sure. I don't necessarily agree that that means there are more people in boxing. And I don't see why its inconceivable that there could be less boxers now then when there were half the people. Can't something drop to less popular as it used to be? Surely there are ebbs & flows to anything's popularity thru multiple eras. I mean just cuz there are 2x as many people in the world now vs when The Andy Griffith Show was on TV does that mean that show is twice as popular now to make an easy analogy? Doesn't stuff still gain or lose momentum?

But again maybe I got a biased stance as an American who has seen less & less US boxing & US boxers over the years. And who has heard & read about some of these older eras that I'm bringing up when I believe boxing was among the top sports in the US.

Boxing Smaller now when its on a more global scale now more than ever ? I dont know any sport that has shrunk in modern times.A sports popularity doesnt mean it wont grow regardless ,people will still do it to make a living ,they are not soley fighting because its the most watched _entertaing sport . IMOP boxing is more popular now and has younger fans now with invention of the world wide web. Boxing sites /forums like Boxing Scene where fans talk daily from all parts is just one thing that was impossible to do the past few decades so what we are doing here shows how boxing popularity is more easily spread these days.

[BattlingNelson]

Bro you posted the #'s of fights yet say the numbers are lying. Okay looking at things right now for sure this decade we are it looks like competition with the 20's-40's period I'll admit.

But riddle me this Batman if there was a billion more people in the 1960's vs the 1920's why is there 2.5x more fights in the 1920's. And don't use the lame excuse of "well people fought more often then" cuz while that is true with the elite caliber guys we both know that 99% of these boxers were part time or part time-ish fighters who mighta had 1 fight more per year back in the day. And if there were less fighters why so many more fights for just minimal more activity by most of the guys counted.

And lets not forget that there are surely a nice % of fights that got lost to time the further back you go cuz no internet so these 1920's-1940's numbers are probably 5%-15% greater I'd speculate just to speculate to further widen the gap.

Its absolutely a valid point that not all fights are registered in boxrecs database and the percentage amount is indeed likely to go up the further back you go.

Whats really striking is that from 1960 to 1989 which is where a lot of top all time p4p'ers fought, the competition was very low compared to the new millenium.

Oh and I wouldnt call it a lame excuse that people fought more often. I have no statistic to prove it, but I would think that because of the relative poverty back then, boxing was probably the only income back then for a lot and the pay was probably relatively lower.

[Eff Pandas]

Boxing Smaller on a more global scale now than ever ? I dont know any sport that has shrunk in modern times.A sports popularity doesnt mean it wont grow regardless ,people will still do it to make a living ,they are not soley fighting because its the most watched _entertaing sport . IMOP boxing is more popular now and has younger fans now with invention of the world wide web.

Okay maybe you are delving into a whole other topic now. I'm talking about professional boxers involved in boxing not the sport of boxing & the people that partake in the sport at some level. I don't really know enough about the amateur impact of boxing on the global scale or the white collar or casual boxers to discuss that very well, but I could see you being correct there.

And randomly I think the fact they've made more regulations to getting a boxing license probably helps limit boxers ability to get into the ring today too vs back in the day when guys could just jump in the ring on a whim or basically a whim.

[juggernaut666]

Okay maybe you are delving into a whole other topic now. I'm talking about professional boxers involved in boxing not the sport of boxing & the people that partake in the sport at some level. I don't really know enough about the amateur impact of boxing on the global scale or the white collar or casual boxers to discuss that very well, but I could see you being correct there.

And randomly I think the fact they've made more regulations to getting a boxing license probably helps limit boxers ability to get into the ring today too vs back in the day when guys could just jump in the ring on a whim or basically a whim.

You stated boxings popularity may flow different one era to the next .With the advanced internet i disagree , and popularity wouldn't effect a sports growth of fighters as stated .Maybe slow it down here and there but pro boxers usually make the decision to be a pro fighter or persue that craft at a young sge .They arent going to wait around to see if its more popular than last year to make that decision! Amatuer fighters dont know whats ahead of them in the pro's ,the era makes itself regardless how many ppl watch.Its not hard to get a boxing licence all i got a MMA/Boxing licence from filling out a simple form/Physical

[Eff Pandas]

You stated boxings popularity may flow different one era to the next .With the advanced internet i disagree ,and popularity wouldn't effect a sports growth of fighters as stated .

Agree to disagree on this.

Its not hard to get a boxing licence all i got a MMA/Boxing licence from filling out a simple form/Physical

I never said it was hard (although in fairness thats relative). Merely harder then it used to be. There are more measures to keep guys out of the ring unlike back in past eras, but specifically those 20's to 40's period of boxing.

Hell did they even had MRI's & catscans back then? Anyone know when they started to be more critical of who they gave a boxing license too?

[Anthony342]

How is boxing more popular now, when the casual fan doesn't even know who the champions are these days, let alone top contenders? For years, people only knew Mayweather and Pacquiao, now maybe Alvarez or Klitschko. In past decades, you could name at least 5-10 boxers whose names everyone knew.