The Unwatched Sport
February 18, 2007
These days if you go up to any sports fan most likely they are unable to name five current world boxing champions. Why is this? Is it because the sport is boring? No Boxing stars? No marketing? Many questions are asked why boxing isnt watched by the majority of sports fans anymore. The Nba, MLB, and Nfl, are watched by fans nearly everyday. Why is this? It is because it is FREE.
Now a days inorder to watch boxing, most likely you must need digital cable. As of now the only “free” boxing on non cable is Solo Boxeo on Telefutura. They do show very entertaining fights but they are in spanish and not all the boxing fans are hispanic. Other channels that show live boxing are Espn and Vs. They also show great fights but you need to have cable to view them. The best fights however are on HBO and Showtime, and to see them you must cough up a little extra cash since they are also premium movie channels.
So what if you have cable? You now can see quality fights every weekend on these sports network which is great for the average boxing fan, but wait, what if your favorite boxer is someone like Mike Tyson, Roy Jones, Oscar De La Hoya, or Floyd Mayweather? These are the biggest names in boxing and most people have heard of them at one time or another. Well guess what, being at the top of the sport means big money for them and big money out of your pocket.
The BEST fights that are televised are most likely on pay per view. Meaning you have to pay around 50 bucks to see the fight. 50 dollars often scares away sport fanatics, but for the hardcore boxing fans 50 dollars can be worth it. Then there are those fights that are dissapointing and boring which makes you mad you wasted money and makes people say that it shouldnt have been on pay per view. Most people think it is a scam but in reality it is not. Big names in boxing means big money and a lot of viewers. Having people pay makes money for the network and helps pay the boxers.
Solution? A solution to getting boxing popular would be to broadcast them on the major networks such as ABC NBC, and CBS. Another would be to cut down on pay per views. Showing a big name for free every now and then dosent hurt and this helps bring in boxing fans. Lastly would be to make boxing a more affordable sport to watch. You cant always show the big names for free, so charge the people but for a more affordable price. Lastly would be to show highlights on major sports networks such as ESPN. ESPN only shows highlights of the major fights that occured and when they do they only show them breifly, but this isnt their fault. ESPN is not able to show knockouts on there shows because the network will charge them. Therefore ESPN backs off and they really dont care since it is only boxing. Nonetheless boxing has a long way to go until it gets back on mainstream T.V but we can only hope it comes sooner than later.
