Boxing's Painful Death

by Scott Simone

With the surge in popularity of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, it’s reasonable to ask, ‘Is boxing dead?’

It seems as though the sport of boxing has already seen its heyday come and go. Gone are the days of Ali and Frazier; will we ever see two men with a pure hatred for one another, which was always hashed out so spectacularly in the ring? Gone are the entertaining days of Mike Tyson; will we ever hear another boxer so eloquently scream out at his press conference “I’ll fuck you till you love me, faggot?”

(Gone are the days of blockbuster rivalries like Ali/Frazier.)

The sport of boxing has just inhaled its last breath. Recently, Floyd Mayweather was arrested and charged with eight offences resulting from a domestic dispute with his girlfriend. This came after months of failed talks between himself and Manny Pacquiao for a fight, which may have been boxing’s biggest purse ever and perhaps the lifeline boxing needed. But it seems Mayweather would rather fight women than Pacquiao. On the other side, Pacquiao would rather be in the political ring than in a boxing one, opting to dabble in the Philippines’ political world.

(Any hope of a Mayweather/Pacquiao fight has been put on hold for now.)

Couple that with last weekend’s hyped-up fight between Sergio Mora and Shane Mosley. In front of a packed Staples Center crowd, the two boxers boringly fought to a draw. The crowd was so displeased with the performance that they booed after every single round. After the fight, Mora said that both fought very hard and called the draw a good decision. According to Mora, he did come to win the fight but he couldn’t get into the fight because of his respect for Mosley. Really? If this is the future of boxing, boxing has no future.

(Don't mess with MMA fighter Randy Couture.)

The younger audience will continue to be drawn to the more violent, and thus, more entertaining sport of Mixed Martial Arts. Why watch 12 rounds of boxing with two fighters barely punching when you can watch three action-packed, head banging, blood soaked rounds in the UFC? I think it’s safe to say, go gently into the night, boxing, and rest in peace.