Came across this on sherdog, by Rossen
Thursday, September 24 1:14 am PT: I’ll explore the joys found in a site named BallerStatus.com later: at the moment, my attention is on their interview with boxer James Toney, an accomplished heavyweight preparing to make a comeback.
And since you can’t interview a boxer anymore without bringing up mixed martial arts, Toney was helpful enough to introduce the topic on his own.
“[Boxing’s] gone downhill because look at the fighters we got,” he said. “Everybody is scared to fight each other. That's the main reason why people are going from boxing to MMA, because MMA is putting on the fights that everybody wanna see….My daddy was one of them MMA guys. I love it. I like watching it. They putting on the best shows. That's why the boxing people get mad because they getting all the fans. They're giving the fans all the good matches, which should be done in boxing. I watch it, but they can't mess with me…I like Rampage [Jackson]. I like watching ... not Brock Lesnar. He's phony. Fedor Emelianenko, he aight. Georges St. Pierre.”
Boxing’s problems are well-documented by now. If you want a big fight, be prepared to wait 2-10 years for it to cut through the bureaucracy of promoters. At least Toney is honest about it.
I like watching ... not Brock Lesnar. He's phony
LOL
"Fedor Emelianenko, he aight"
Toney knows what's up!
One of my all-time favorites.
Toney = greatest interview ever. Always a riot when he goes off.
He's right. There is an abundance of world-wide talent in boxing right now but instead of a golden era you are seeing very few great matchups per year and the focus for boxing promotion and events is shifting away from the United States in favor of Germany for heavier weights and Japan for lighter weights.
I hate to see boxers, boxing trainers and boxing gyms suffering the efffects of 70+ year old promoters whose only angle for promoting fights for the last 30 years have been "Look, these two guys are different races!"
Toney is right, and probably the only guy who would really fight any heavyweight, anytime, anywhere.
The only thing boxing has going is the upcoming Showtime Super Middleweight tournament:
http://insidefights.com/2009/07/14/showtime-announces-super-middleweight-tournament/
I think Pacquiao's willingness to move up in weight and fight the biggest names that are out there is another positive for boxing. Pac vs. ODLH, Hatton, Cotto and maybe Mayweather are all big fights and dangerous fights.
thefightingsheep - He's right. There is an abundance of world-wide talent in boxing right now but instead of a golden era you are seeing very few great matchups per year and the focus for boxing promotion and events is shifting away from the United States in favor of Germany for heavier weights and Japan for lighter weights.You might be on to something with promoters tactics.
I hate to see boxers, boxing trainers and boxing gyms suffering the efffects of 70+ year old promoters whose only angle for promoting fights for the last 30 years have been "Look, these two guys are different races!"
Is the decline in boxings popularity due to the public being less intrigued by people of different races fighting? Are we becoming more tolerant of each other as a society? Is this proof that we are making strides toward racial equallity?
Could be. MMA is more about fighting than hype (imo). In boxing a white guy fighting a black guy for the championship is (was) a huge deal. In MMA it's just a title fight. MMA fights just don't have the racial overtones that boxing has (or maybe I just can't see it).
The declining popularity of boxing in favor of MMA might just be an indicator that our society as a whole is maturing. Here's to the demise of boxings popularity, and a better world for our children.
very very slow man
i still haven't forgiven him for what he did to michael nunn.
nunn should've won that fight. (if it weren't for that stupid show boating at the end.)
:(
Boxing's decline has nothing to do with race. People know that its a swindle and full of scumbags. People don't want to support such types. Throw in boxing as a sport's inability to adapt to the modern sports world(All the different governing bodies, worthless belts,etc..) and there you have it.
Just posing the question, Mick. I've never been into boxing and am just trying to get some peoples opinions. I appreciate the thoughful response.
Luved the way you clowned EM on the OG the other day.
I wasn't making a comment about race in particular but more about the poor job of getting in touch with a younger generation that the septegenarians Don King and Bob Arum do. They are basically promoting fights the same way that they did 30-40 years ago and the younger generation doesn't respond. They would have no idea on how to market guys popular MMA fighters like Fedor Emelianenko, Kazushi Sakuraba or George St. Pierre except to play upon antiquated stereotypes. There is no reason why boxers like Wladamir Klitshko or Glen Johnson couldn't be big stars given their interesting back stories and impressive fight schedules but a guy like Klitshko is turned into a caricature of Ivan Drago when they tried to market him stateside (he looks the part, but does not have that personality at all) and someone like Johnson is completely ignored because the blue-collar, tough-as-nails overachiever types that fans root for to beat the odds are supposed to be Mexican or Italian. I'm glad they are FINALLY seeing what a talent Manny Pacquiao is, but for years he was pushed as "having a Fillipino following" as if white, black and hispanic boxing fans weren't supposed to have one of this generations best and most exciting fighters on their favorites list.
Bad Monkey - Here's to the demise of boxings popularity, and a better world for our children.
Yes! Here's to the demise of the single martial arts so we can have even shittier mixed martial artists!