Is boxing dying?

Well, looks like we have a new WBC heavyweight champion on our hands. Mike Tyson managed to show some actual life in that final round after eleven incredibly dull rounds, finally rattling Zabit Samedov enough to snag the decision from two of the judges. The scores were 112:112, 112:116, 112:116.

I feel like I’ve already spent way too much time talking about Samedov’s style, so I think I’ll skip over the "missing link" argument this time. I’ll just say that Tyson is a much better talker than he is a fighter. He’s got the mouth for it, if only his hands could sting like a bee.
God, is it really that hard to put together even one decent scoring combination per round?😕🤷

And then people act surprised when the UFC starts pulling all the viewers and the money away from them.🙄

Tonight was an absolute disaster.

We just watched a challenger spend over eleven full rounds running circles around the ring.

And then? Some fluke shot. A total lucky punch.

Boxing is a joke right now. Not this version of it, anyway.

Honestly, boxing is kind of a mess right now, especially since the heavyweights are just totally underwhelming at the moment.

The absolute best fights are happening in the welterweight division (you've got guys like Miguel Cotto, Manny Pacquiao, Cameron Judah, Edwin Valero, and Shane Mosley... plus, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is back in action too!).

Jason Campbell70 said:Tonight was an absolute train wreck.

The challenger spent more than eleven full rounds just running circles around the ring.

And then—out of nowhere—some fluke shot that I’d call a pure lucky punch.

Boxing is garbage. At least, the version we're being served right now.

+1
Total waste of time. Unwatchable.

+2
The only part actually worth watching was that final round. After the fight wrapped up, I had to go watch that documentary on Mike Tyson just to remind myself what boxing is really all about 😁

I spent about half the fight looking at other things around my apartment or scrolling on my computer—honestly, just to avoid watching that absolute torture... but hey, it was alright.
At least Mike Tyson showed a little bit of life in that final round...

So, what's the point of being a world champion if you spend 99% of the fight running away? 🤮

It is my firm conviction that boxing, in its purest essence, has fallen into a state of profound crisis. The prestige of championship titles has largely evaporated, and modern fighters—particularly in the heavyweight division—seem far more preoccupied with avoiding injury than with mounting a meaningful offensive. Furthermore, the financial landscape has shifted significantly; unless you are an elite figure like Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Oscar de la Hoya, who were recently pulling in upwards of $20 million per bout much like the legendary heavyweights of yesteryear, the money has become relatively insignificant.

Regrettably, many fighters from Eastern Europe, despite being impeccably trained and possessing exceptional fundamental skills, fail to capture the public's imagination because their style is overly technical and lacks flair.

While Mike Tyson was certainly a formidable talent, his offensive output lacked the necessary aggression; in fact, I would argue that the great Evander Holyfield accomplished much more during his encounter with Nikolai Valuev than he did in other instances, yet due to various external interests, the title eluded him once again.

It is truly a lamentable situation.

Isn't Mike Tyson at least a bit of a breath of fresh air in this otherwise dull "boxing world"?

I am looking forward to him starting his verbal war against the Klitschko brothers soon...

Manny Pacquiao absolutely crushed Miguel Cotto (fighting for the WBC welterweight title)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3SwXqHUUkc

Samuel Scott54 said:Manny Pacquiao absolutely dismantled Miguel Cotto (fighting for the WBC welterweight title)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3SwXqHUUkc

Really solid fight.

Pacquiao’s been sitting on seven different weight class titles since Saturday night...
He's easily the best pound-for-pound fighter out there right now...
I mean, just look at what he did to De La Hoya and Hatton...
And I won't even get started on the rest of them...👍