Is Boxing on it's Death Bed?

Written By: Ryan Langdon

Boxing fans are like a cult; They are hard to find, but their passion is undeniable. From the outside perspective, boxing appears to be a dying sport. However, once you become a part of the boxing community, you realize that the fans span large and wide from all over the world. If you are from the United States, you probably do not follow boxing like people once did. In the Tyson era, boxing was in the spotlight as everyone and their grandma tuned in on Saturday nights to watch Mike Tyson obliterate his opponents in 6 minutes or less. However, upon the retirement of Mayweather, the United States currently lacks that one American superstar.

I have heard many times over the years that boxing is dying and will eventually become obsolete in the current sporting realm. However, if you look at countries like Mexico and Kazakhstan, you will realize that their passion for boxing is stronger than ever. The reason being that they currently hold (in my opinion) the top 2 pound-for-pound boxers in the world.

Canelo Alvarez is regarded as one of the best boxers on the planet, which in turn, has made him royalty in Mexico. Canelo has the power to unite an entire nation every time he enters the ring. In his most recent fight against Kazakhstan’s Gennady Golovkin, Mexico literally shut down the entire country just to tune in and watch him go toe to toe with a fighter of similar prestige, in what many consider the biggest pure boxing match of the year.

Gennady Golovkin, aka GGG, entered that fight with 0 losses and 37 wins, 33 coming by knockout. Just like Canelo, GGG is a mega sensation in his country. As you could imagine, Kazakhstan is not known for their stellar sporting accomplishments. Most of their Olympic medals come from the sport of boxing, therefore they hold their boxers to high standards. GGG’s acclaim in Kazakhstan is only comparable to that of Borat.

Canelo is to Mexico as Golovkin is to Kazakhstan as Tom Brady is to the United States. Each of these athletes are at the pinnacle of popularity in their respective countries. Although Brady receives just as much hate as he does praise, no one in their right mind can deny the sheer impact that he makes on our culture. The only problem is… he’s not a boxer. Currently, in the sport of boxing, there is not that one guy who stands alone amongst the best in the world. Yeah, we got guys like Terence Crawford (32-0) and Deontay Wilder (39-0, 38 KO’s), but are they recognized by the average sports fan? The answer is not really.

That is a problem. In the same way that more fans appear for new sports teams that perform well, the same goes for boxing. Nobody gave a single fuck about the Golden State Warriors until the super team formed. But once they became unstoppable and exciting to watch, the fans of that team grew by the millions. If an exciting American boxer bursts onto the scene, I think you will see the sport of boxing return back into the spotlight. We just need that one guy that we can all get behind as he fights to represent America in the ranks of the best boxers in the world.

If you ask sports fans in Mexico or Kazakhstan if they think boxing is a dying sport, I am confident that they will unanimously say, “no.” The reason that Americans think that boxing is on its death bed, is because we lack that mega superstar that we have consistently had. From Ali to Mayweather, the United States held the pound-for-pound best boxer on the planet. Until the face of boxing hails from America once again, boxing will continue to decline in the U.S., while increasing in popularity in the nations that continue to dominate.

Twitter/Instagram: @RyanLangdon_ & @TwoGlovesBoxing