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Congratulations, Timothy Bradley (and possibly the judges). You may have just killed boxing for good.
By winning a very controversial split decision over Manny Pacquiao on Saturday night, the undefeated 28 year-old Bradley became the new WBO Welterweight champion of the world. He also severely damaged the legend of one of the only two boxers anybody even cares about, while the other – Floyd Mayweather – is currently incarcerated.
Soooo…. what happens next?
Anyone who follows boxing (and even many of those who don’t) wanted nothing more than to see the Pacquaio-Mayweather fight. Both men have been regarded as the best pound-for-pound pugilists on planet earth, and both men have enough out-of-the-ring personality to make for an intriguing subplot. But political hangups, fight dodging, accusations of steroid abuse, out of the ring distractions and, now, prison time, have all gotten in the way of the potential fight of the century.
The question now is: will anybody still care about Manny after he just lost to someone you’ve probably never heard of?
It doesn’t help that Manny’s recent awakening as a born again Christian has lead him to alienate himself from some fans by taking hardline stances on major social issues, most notably his passionate denunciation of homosexuality. It also doesn’t help that Floyd Mayweather has found his way to jail. With both fighters in the situations they are currently in, the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight is losing it’s appeal by the day.
It was supposed to be a matchup of two of the greatest boxers on planet earth. It was supposed to be the fight to save boxing. But now Pacquaio-Mayweather is starting to look more like just a battle of two different types of crazy. And not that awesome, Mike Tyson, “I’m going to eat your children” kind of crazy, either. The fight only works if both men are clearly atop the boxing mountain, and that is no longer the case.
So whether you blame Timothy Bradley or the judges in his last fight, boxing is now in more trouble than ever before. Maybe Manny can come out in their rematch and make a statement by avenging his loss with a knockout, thereby reinvigorating interest in the Pacquiao-Mayweather contest. Maybe Timothy Bradley becomes more explosive and exciting as his career progresses and ends up as the savior of the sport. More likely, however, is that boxing continues to become more and more irrelevant, until truly nobody cares.
Personally, I’d say it’s about time for boxing fans to start following MMA.
Do you think boxing is dead?
# 31
DIRRTY30 @ Jun 13
Boxing died a while ago. The heavyweight division is where the money is, and currently, there isn't anybody in that division that the average person could name. You don't have guys like Holyfield or Tyson to draw people in. That, and the history of corruption and promoters gumming up the works have pushed the casual fan away. Hardcore boxing fans will still be boxing fans, but your average Joe isn't going to pay $50 or $60 to watch two no-name guys fight, or watch a big time guy beat up on somebody just to earn a quick check.
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