Boxing’s Big Problem.. Viewers Prefer Circuses To Serious Fights

By: Sean Crose

Boxers have tended to come from tough upbringings. There’s exceptions to the rule, of course, but generally speaking, professional boxers have come from humble backgrounds. Therefore, it’s difficult to fault a boxer for wanting to make as much money as possible. In truth, it’s hard to judge most anyone for wanting to make as much money as possible. With that being said, there are signs that boxing truly is becoming a circus, at least as far as the general public is concerned. Perhaps even more strange, the public likes the fact that boxing is becoming a circus. Novelty bouts, not fights between the best, are the big attentions these days.

Don’t don’t believe it? Look no farther than Jake Paul and Gervonta Davis who will be squaring off in November despite the fact that there is an over 50 lb weight difference between the two. Let’s not even think about the height discrepancy. Paul is so much bigger than Davis that the whole thing appears to be completely absurd. Even if the fight, which is being promoted as a exhibition bout, is entertaining, it’s still going to be absurd seeing someone that big fighting someone that small. In short – no pun intended – this bout will most likely be a farce.

Again though, people want to see the farce. It’s basically now the only kind of boxing the general public wants to watch that doesn’t involve Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano. Interesting enough, Dana White of the UFC doesn’t allow these kinds of fights in his organization. Paul and Davis may make more money or bring in more eyeballs than any UFC fight this year, but White’s organization will still hold on to its athletic integrity. The fact that White is also getting into the boxing business should make this contrast of mindsets interesting as well.

Yet the UFC is a private entity. Professional boxing is not. It’s an international sport where certain promotions can essentially do what they please. That means the era of novelty fights isn’t going anywhere. At least not anytime soon. The fact is people should be paying more attention to Terence Crawford’s upcoming battle against Canelo Alvarez than they are going to be paying attention to Jake Paul and Gervonta Davis. They likely won’t be, though. This is at least partially due to the fact that Paul and Davis are colorful characters, whereas Canelo and Crawford are more serious minded.

Paul has non boxing fans which view his fights in droves while Davis has a strong fan base of his own. That means it will be hard for this fight not to be a success…which means more fights like it are on the horizon. The truth is, boxing has a problem when it’s successful only as a lark. This is a dangerous sport after all, one where people can get killed. It also requires an enormous amount of talent, discipline and skill to succeed. Or at least it used to. In short, boxing deserves better than being the punch line of the sports world.

The question is, what can be done about it?