The sport of boxing ‘had’ mass appeal. Why I use ‘had’, I will come to later. First to the ‘appeal’ part. Long before cable TV hit India, Doordarshan regularly brought us the best professional bouts in the world, albeit recorded and telecast a few days later. This distinction was shared only by the likes of cricket, tennis, hockey, International football, the Olympics, the Asian games and other events staged in India. Even my mother knew about Mike Tyson, and the Rocky movies were breaking box office records in Hollywood.
Now to the ‘had’ part. Just answer a simple question. Name the current world heavyweight champion? Well, I can’t and I bet you can’t, unless you are a real boxing aficionado. I do happen to know, though, that there are quite a few of them. Yes, there are multiple world champions and you will come to know why, pretty soon. Now tell me, when was the last time you heard or saw boxing related news, which had nothing to do with Mike Tyson? Got you once again. Okay, enough of the difficult questions and now time for some simple answers – why boxing’s future is as bright as Mike Tyson’s
Professional boxing has no central governing body. There are about ten independent bodies and you can form a new one as long as you know a new synonym for either ‘World’ or ‘federation’ (Council, Association, Federation, Organization and Alliance are already taken by the way). Every body has their own charter and world champion. The end result is mass confusion and chaos.
Boxing has very few marquee fights. Fans have historically flocked to boxing to enjoy gladiatorial contests. Boxing’s popularity grew most in the 70’s when the great champions (Ali, Foreman, Liston, Spinks, Holmes and Frazier) dueled regularly. Today’s champions refrain from fighting each other to protect their titles (remember we never got to see Riddick Bowe and Lennox Lewis fight, in spite of the massive public interest). The absence of a central authority has helped them get away with it. As the big fights have dwindled, so have the fans.
The ban boxing campaigns. Boxing has always had its fair share of deaths and injuries. The numbers, though, are far less than those of other sports like racing, mountaineering and gliding (as shown by various studies). Nonetheless, the sport has been increasingly victimized (owing to its physical and violent nature) as being too dangerous for human beings. Consequently, more and more parents dissuade their children from taking up boxing – drying up the talent pool for young fighters.
The collective punch has been too much for boxing to handle. It lies slumped on the ropes, and as time ticks away, the knock-out is near
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