The Rise and Fall of Professional Boxing

Reports have come out that the recent Floyd Mayweather-Andre Berto Pay-Per-View fight card only generated between 400,000 and 550,000 buys and the crowd at the MGM was well short of sellout capacity. In the end, the overall event did not net a major financial profit despite this supposedly being the “Money Mayweather” final fight. Despite all the hype from Showtime and other media outlets, the collective sports world did not put their money up to see Floyd Mayweather dance in circles and play his counter-striking game one last time.

Whether you are a fan or hater of Mayweather, there is a reason he has the nickname “Money” because he has been very profitable for himself and his promoters for over a decade. Despite the 49-0 fight record, the truth is that it does not stack up against the likes of Mohammed Ali, Rocky Marciano, “Sugar” Ray Leonard and “Sugar” Ray Robinson. Furthermore Mayweather’s career is arguably a weak overall resume compared to contemporaries Andre Ward and Oscar De La Hoya in the fact that Floyd never won an Olympic Gold medal. Over the last 55 years all the great boxers from Ali to Joe Frazier to Leonard won Olympic Gold medals. Mayweather supporters would say he was “robbed” at the 1996 Olympics but most of Floyd’s life has been mired in controversy. From the domestic assault charges and convictions to being stripped of his WBO championship title to him hand picking fights with guys who are “past their prime”; some people say Floyd Mayweather has done more hurt the reputation of Professional Boxing than any other fighter.

But I contend Mayweather is just a bi-product of what big time Professional Boxing has become: A convoluted mess. From the alphabet soup of organizations to corrupt promotors to judging controversies, Boxing over the last 30 years has fallen from its pedestal as one of the premiere sporting events. Even the skills of Olympic Boxing competitors has dropped off during the last few Olympics. Let us also not forget that according to the online Journal of Combative Sport 2007 research since 1960 over 667 deaths directly resulting from boxing related injuries in the USA alone. The sport known as “The Sweet Science” sure has left a sour taste for many over the years.

Still, millions of dollars are made every year off a sport whose fighters lack the refined skill of years ago. Men such as Jack Johnson, Joe Louis, Ali, Frazier and Leonard were considered among the greatest athletes of their generations. In today’s world the greatest athletes are training to be the best in other sports. You see phenomenal athletes playing sports such as Football that would have been found fighting in the ring 30 years ago. That is because boxing was considered a way out for those who came from working class or poor economic backgrounds. These men would channel their anger and rage against the world into hours at the gym in order to exact that violence on another man to make the money they couldn’t get working at the factories and warehouses across America. In today’s world many great athletes who come from the same backgrounds look to the NFL and NBA to raise themselves and their families out of poverty.

Also the rise of Mixed Martial Arts has drawn men who would have gone to the boxing gym into the local kickboxing club or convinced young kids to wrestle in High School and College. Anyone who has watched MMA champions such as Cain Velasquez, Jon Jones, Nick Diaz, and Connor McGregor know that they have the natural skills needed to potentially be championship Boxers. Instead Jones and Velasquez were amateur wrestlers; Diaz trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu since his mid-teens; McGregor has formal boxing training but found professional MMA more appealing so he later trained in Kickboxing, Taekwondo, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Furthermore, MMA is overall a less brutal violence sport than Boxing. Many MMA fights are ended via submission or Technical Knockout via referee stoppage. Even though MMA is a fairly young organized compared to Boxing, we have not seen older or retired MMA fighters suffering from the same psychological and money issues as retired boxers. In fact, there has been only one Professional MMA injuries related death and that was because that organization did not have their fights or fighters sanctioned and overseen by a reputable Athletic Commission. After that incident, that commissioner was removed and there was an overhaul in that state’s MMA regulations.

But still Professional Boxing generates hundreds of millions of dollars every year while MMA grosses out only a quarter of the amount only thanks to television contracts.  Boxing has been making a dent into the television market but many of the cable television fight cards are relegated to average TV slots or they are stuck going head to head with more popular sporting events like the NFL or College Football. The UFC, who is the king of Professional MMA, has a multi-year TV deals with three different media companies internationally and those deals total around a billion dollars. MMA has not been able to draw the casual or hardcore boxing fans mostly because these people do not find the submission and grappling aspects of MMA appealing.

The truth is that the casual boxing fan tunes in for the excitement or violence of the sport.  Similarly to the people who watch sports because they have money invested, these watchers do not appreciate the game or skill involved, they want their money’s worth whether that is made off winning a prop bet or seeing the explosive entertainment they expected. The reality is that most of the people who watched the Floyd Mayweather fight just wanted to see him win or lose and cared less about the rest of the fights on the docket that night.

If Floyd Mayweather is truly done with boxing, it will be a blessing and a curse for the sport. While he made many promoters and opponents money, he also lost many people money and cast a dark shadow over the sport. Mayweather was a counter-striker with great speed who outside the ring had numerous domestic violence charges who promoters and the media turned him into a money making villain. Gone are the days of Bernard Hopkins, Roy Jones Jr., Oscar De la Hoya, and Mickey Ward giving the fans an event to tune in for; without Mayweather, Boxing potentially sees their last cash cow walk away.

The future does not look very promising for the professional ranks of “The Sweet Science” with the numerous other sports options out there for people to take interest in and spend their money on. The mainstream sports media has Football, Basketball and Baseball deals that produce money and drive ratings.  Also media corporations such Fox Sports, NBC Sports and Viacom have invested a lot of money into the UFC, World Series of Fighting, and Bellator MMA already, so you know those events will get publicity and marketing dollars. NASCAR is another sport growing in popularity, getting big advertising dollars and TV contracts. Let’s not forget that the NHL and college sports conferences like the Big Ten, PAC 12 and SEC now have their own television networks. 

The market share for Boxing is shrinking with the all the other options out there and most people have no idea who Gennady Golovkin or Roman Gonzalez are, yet both men are undefeated champions. How can Boxing keep the money train going without the recognizable names to sell tickets and PPVs to fans? How will they keep the financial commitments from media outlets and advertisers? The clock is certainly ticking on that conundrum.  

Ronda Rousey: Making Sense Of An Enigma

UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey will be facing Former WBF Boxing Champion Holly Holm, January 2, 2016, at UFC 195 in Las Vegas.  This announcement comes as a surprise since UFC President Dana White had stated weeks ago that Rousey’s next opponent would be former Strikeforce Women’s Champion Miesha Tate.  Tate, who is on a four fight winning streak, has faced Rousey twice before and is the only woman to take a fight last beyond the first round (UFC 168) versus Ronda.

Rousey will be defending her title for the eighth time at UFC 195 and she had dominated her competition over that time.  With a career record of 12 wins and 0 losses, many claim Ronda Rousey is the greatest Women’s MMA fighter on the planet.  This claim is disputed though, by Christine “Cyborg” Santos-Justino, the current Invicta FC Women’s Featherweight Champion.  “Cyborg” has not lost a fight since 2005 and has talked publicly about fighting Rousey in the UFC.  Since UFC parent company, Zuffa, also owns Invicta FC, there is nothing legally or contractually holding this match up from happening.

What is holding the fight back is the lack of agreement on the when and how to make the matchup happen.  “Cyborg” has fought at 145 lbs for most of her career and UFC President Dana White has said that she needs to cut down to 135 lbs to fight Rousey.  This issue has put the potential women’s “Superfight” on the back burner. It doesn’t help that Rousey has no willingness to make an attempt at compromise, saying the fight “should” happen at 135lbs.

While Rousey is a great fighter, the “Dog and Pony Show” from her and the UFC is getting old.  Almost every opponent for Rousey is billed as “the most dangerous opponent yet” and Rousey typically talks about how hard she is preparing for the fight knowing how she must be ready for anything.  Then fight night comes along and she dominates, walking away with her title again and again.  This is by no means a disparagement of her opponents, who all are talented in their own right.  Top tier MMA fighters such as Cat Zingano, Miesha Tate, Liz Carmouche, and Sara McMann all presented unique challenges for Rousey, but no one has yet to figure out the enigma that is Rousey in the octagon.

While it is true Holly Holm is a dangerous fighter, what makes her such an underdog against Rousey is the same as most of Rousey’s opponents over the years: Rousey is a former Olympic Silver Medalist, Holm is not.  Yes, Holly Holm has won six different boxing championships during her pro career as a fighter, but she has never faced a fighter of Rousey’s pedigree.  The truth is, very few women’s MMA fighters ever have seen anyone like Rousey until now.

What makes Rousey great isn’t her undefeated record; instead it is how she got to this point and what sustains her.  She is not motivated like most athletes, because most athletes could never compete in the Olympics.  In order to be an Olympic athlete, that individual must work their way up the ladder of competition for years, preparing for the chance to be able to go to Olympic Trials.  At the Olympic Trials the athlete must compete for the chance to represent their country at an elite competition that is hosted every four years.  Once chosen, that athlete then goes to the Olympics and has to compete against the best every nation has to offer, all who have spent many years preparing themselves for that moment.  In that moment, all those years of preparation can either prepare that athlete for victory, or compromise them, leading to defeat.

Rousey won the Bronze Medal in Judo at the 2008 Olympics. Judo is a Martial Art discipline that is equally a demonstration of mental chess match as executing physical technique. Most of the women who comprise the professional MMA landscape have Wrestling, Boxing, Muay Thai or Kickboxing as their fight game foundation.  These four fighting disciplines test mental toughness while requiring physical endurance and fluid execution of technique.  Fighters with years practicing these disciplines faced issues decades ago when Royce Gracie won 11 straight fights utilizing a Martial Art discipline similar to Judo: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.  Like Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is as much of a mental competition because both involve the manipulation of the opponents’ momentum, joints, and offensive mentality.  Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu are counter-offensive disciplines based in strategic defense.  When you have a fighter who has been trained for years to take advantage of opponent’s aggression and weaknesses, that fighter has a built in advantage in competition against fighters are not trained with the same mentality.

Like Ronda Rousey, Royce Gracie seemed invincible early on, even when he was in trouble in a fight, he would find a way to walk away with a victory.  But will history view Rousey as they do Royce Gracie twenty-two years later, as a legendary pioneer yet as a fighter who was outpaced by competition that evolved their game plans?  The greatest difference between Ronda and Royce is that she has worked tirelessly to improve the weak areas in her fight game instead of being overly dependent on her strengths. Rousey on many occasions said her goal is to finish her career undefeated, whether that happens or not only time will reveal.

Is Holly Holm the most dangerous opponent Rousey has ever faced?  The argument can be made since Holm has competed as a professional fighter for 10-plus years and has won multiple titles.  This championship fight at UFC 195 is the classic “Striker versus Grappler” matchup, but both fighters are working with coaches who are skilled at the all-around Mixed Martial Arts game plan.  The fighter who comes into the matchup most prepared to handle their opponent’s strengths and can execute properly, that fighter will walk away with the UFC belt.  Rousey’s “legend” only grows with each win, but it is her background as an Olympic Judo fighter that has laid the foundation for her excellence in the UFC Octagon.