Who Really Cares? Part II

In part one of my three part series, I looked into determining the reasons why there is such little interest in boxing compared to other major American sports. After finishing up on part one I started to make a list as to why people may not connect with boxing the way they do other sports. What makes a great boxing match? Do people enjoy free entertainment on television rather than paying for a fight? Are there too many divisions to pay attention to? My list started to become longer than I expected, so I picked a few topics that I felt stood out the most, and chose to expand on them.

A game decided by penalty shots, a buzzer beater in double overtime of a basketball game, a 45 yard field goal in the snow to cap a miraculous comeback; there’s nothing more exciting than a great game or match to fill up your sports appetite. And no matter how ‘full’ you may feel, like dessert, there’s always room for more. It’s easy to recognize when you’ve witnessed a great basketball, football, or hockey game: You have a feeling of satisfaction, and talking about for the next 24 hours is all you want to do. But what makes boxing so different compared to other sports? What makes a great fight? When do you know that you’ve gotten your moneys worth?

Imagine yourself as a sports fan who has never really watched a boxing match before. You’re watching ESPN, or Rome is Burning, and you hear a boxer promise you a great fight and that it will be worth every penny (of your $49.95 fee). Does a round 1 knockout in 30 seconds seem worth it? Or how bout a long heavyweight match that ends in a draw? I’ll be honest, I’ve walked a way from a fight after paying almost $50 wishing I could go back in time and press ‘cancel’ as a reply to the ‘Are you sure you want to order this fight?” question on my television.

In basketball and football you have statistics for every possible category within the game and understanding them is very simple. For example, you know that if someone only scored 3 points and had 6 turnovers that they really didn’t have a great game. If you saw that a boxer connected on 28% of his power punches, could you understand what that means? Could you even explain what a power punch is? Could a problem with boxing be that the statistics shown, as compared to other sports, are too hard to follow or understand?

Youth sports are a great way to help your child learn important life lessons in a way they can understand the best. Discipline, sportsmanship, respect play a big role in making someone a great athlete, but better yet a better person. Millions of kids a year participate in team sports such as baseball, soccer and basketball. Does boxing help teach all the essential life tools that these sports do? How can you explain to a young child that it is okay to hurt another person using your fists in order to win? Many parents, especially mothers, I know don’t let their child into the world of boxing because they do not want to have their children think that violence, at any time, is okay. They feel that boxing sends a bad message to kids and fear that they may take what they learn in the ring and use it outside the ring. This negative image is what deters any motivation and encouragement to getting youth involved in boxing.

Michael Jordan, Troy Aikman, Magic Johnson, and Tiger Woods; when you think of these names the first thing that comes to mind is winner. These athletes are known around the world as champions of their respective sports. How many times have you seen yourself playing the role of Michael Jordan while playing basketball in your front yard? I know I’ve told myself, “Like Mike, I wanna be like Mike!” You never hear someone say, “I going to be the next Hopkins!” And even if you did, most people would say ‘Who?’ You then explain that Bernard Hopkins was the undisputed champion of the Middleweight Division and successfully defended his title for 12 years. Shouldn’t Bernard Hopkins be classified at the same level as Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods? Unfortunately he’s not, and may never be.

To answer to the question to my article, “Who Really Cares?” the answer is I do! And so should so many other people. The same people who loved “Rocky’ should care. The same people who cheered for Joe Louis when he fought Germany’s Max Schmeling should care! So should those understand that boxing is more than just two athletes beating each other up, and for that reason dubbed “the sweet science.” But the way boxing is scored, played out, looked at, and organized makes caring easier said than done.