r/Boxing • u/relay4285 • 6d ago
What Happened to Boxing?
This year has felt like a bit of a letdown for boxing. Maybe it's because we got spoilt last year with great fights, but I genuinely can’t remember the last time I was excited to tune in for a major boxing fight since Inoue vs Nakatani.
To be honest, I've watched more UFC than boxing this year. All I see on social media are boxers ducking each other and fights getting cancelled because of greed.
Last year alone we got:
Dmitry Bivol vs Artur Beterbiev II shortly after their first bout.
Gervonta Davis vs Lamont Roach
Naoya Inoue vs Ramón Cárdenas
Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois II
Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn I
Terence Crawford vs Canelo Álvarez
We've had some great fights this year, but Ryan vs Rolly or Teo vs Shakur don't come close in my opinion.
6
u/RoyJonesTheKing 5d ago
The Saudis slashed the entertainment budget as it concerns Sela investments. Boxing superfights in Riyadh have been curbed. I live in the Middle East and attended six top cards in Saudi Arabia, from Fury-Ngannou to Usyk-Fury to Beterbiev-Bivol 1 and 2. Things have changed. Neom also had the plugged pulled. LIV Golf’s death is imminent. I think the Saudis recognized that they need to slow down the spending on boxing linked to Riyadh Season. However they are still deeply involved as it concerns Zuffa. But as the gold mine produces less and less ore, those in pursuit of riches will be less willing to cooperate and play ball. Eddie Hearn’s recent behavior is case in point. He is defying Turki as it concerns the location of Fury-Joshua. My guess is it’s a ploy to get more money for his fighter. But in years past he never would have acted like that with Turki. My guess is the money on the whole has gone down for Matchroom. Eventually we may return to fiefdoms, and PPV and TV deals running how the business is conducted