boxing just isnt the same anymore... it was just around the time that tyson van goghed holyfield that boxing really fell from anything remotely close to a true sport of great champions... yesterday it was announced that james toney pissed steroids all over his cup after his convincing dismantling of jon ruiz, and turned him into another nobody-gives-a-shit ex-champion... you'd think boxing (in a futile hope of saving any merit for it's heavyweight champion) would slam toney to the canvas in an attempt to gain a morsel of dignity, something.... boxing did take action... semi-action... hell, more like halfass action.... the bout goes down as a "no contest", toney is fined 10,000 dollars, and ruiz is given his title back (for what it's worth), and toney is suspended for 90 days... so let me get this right, the man is suspended 90 days in a sport that provides about two or three contests (per heavyweight) every 365 days... where is the penalty in that... that's like baseball suspending a starting pitcher for 4 games (though we don't want to give them any good ideas)... what's 10,000 dollars to toney?... if he was paid just 500,000 dollars for the fight, then he made over 10grand in 25 seconds... pretty stiff penalty there ... the bout is also considered a "no contest", another big penalty... is boxing saying it didn't happen?... maybe boxing just shouldn't happen anymore... that sounds like the best idea

at this rate boxing seems to have no desire to clean up its sport... and for the past ten years i (and many others) have had no desire to watch boxing

good riddance to a sport that once brought millions to the tv set

(granted, im not the most knowledgeable mind on boxing, so if i'm missing the point or facts somewhere, feel free to point it out... i know you will )

AMEN! AMEN! AMEN!

HAIL, HAIL!

Now that Mike Tyson is pretty much retired, no more reason to watch...

Yes, Toney did test positive for roids but there is a lot more to it than that. He injured his arm and his doctor prescribed a medicine that contained steroids in it to help heal the arm. I tend to believe Toney when he says he didn't know about it. Boxers are tested for drugs before and after every fight. Toney would not have fought if he knew he was on steroids. it would be totally pointless. I think it was just a bad mistake that was overlooked by his doctor. Boxing is already tainted, this is not a very big issue for the sport. Rankings, fixed fights, the boringness of the heavyweight division, these are all bigger problems.

However, the sport isn't in that bad of shape. The middleweight/welterweight/lightweight divisions are the most competetive they have been since Leonard/Hagler/Hearns/Duran. Guys like Hopkins, Trinidad, Wright, gatti, Mayweather, Barrera, Morales, Tszu, Judah, Spinks, these guys are all world class and make boxing interesting. The sport is definitely underground these days but the fans still come out to see it and buy PPV. That's why these guys still make millions of dollars per fight. Plus you get to see a gem like the fight this past saturday(which was probably the best fight i have ever seen). It's still the purest sport in the world. Two men knocking each others heads off. One positive steroid test does not bring the sport down. Especially in this instance where it was most likely a mistake by Toney's doctor.

come on... if you think i was implying that toney's positive steroid test is the sole reason for boxing hitting the shitter, then you aren't listening... it's just the most recent of many, many reasons that boxing isn't worth shit

and if you think corrales (sp?) vs. i dont even know the other guy's name is saving boxing, well, that just shows how pathetic it has become... and the other guys you named couldn't hold the jock of hearns, leonard, hagler, etc etc

though even choosing to defend boxing by using lightweights or middleweights is pretty weak (even though they suck nowadays for the most part too)... boxing in its best form is all about the heavyweights... it's not like baseball can suck, but it's okay as long as AAA and AA rock!... (not a great analogy, but good enough)

I think that's actually a great analogy. The casual boxing fan most likely cares about only one thing..."THE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD!!" The Heavyweight division is very much alike to the Major Leagues. Most casual baseball fans could give a hoot about how prospects are doing down in AA or winter ball or whatever....which are the equivalent to the Light-Middle-Featherweight Division of boxing (or whatever you call it).

And, as a casual observer (NOT a fan), I'm under the impression that all of the big names in the Heavyweight division have basically retired, and no more stars have stepped up to replace them (ie Tyson, Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, etc).

People love heavyweight fights but throughout the history of boxing the best fighters have been for the most part from the smaller weight classes.

Technically, yeah you're probably right.

Too bad nobody really cares.

So waht are the other reasons? And what the hell does,"isn't worth shit mean"? Do you even bother to watch the other weight classes? Their fights have basically always been better than the heavyweight fights. Do you even remember the late 70's to early 80's heavyweights? They were all boring and the middleweights took over boxing. James Toney getting the title stripped for steroids really doesn't mean shit. It would be like Trevor Berbick getting the title taken from him in 1985. Nobody who is a boxing fan could care less.



How is that pathetic? Cause they are hisapnic? Cause YOU have no idea who they are? They both held title belts and are considered the best in thier weight class. No matter if you like boxing or not you would love that fight. Just look at Arturo gatti. he sells out every arena and will get over a million PPV sales for his next fight. This all happened because of his wars with Mickey Ward. Great fights are the main reason that boxing fans watch. The casual fans want to see a circus, some douche like Tyson who hasn't been shit for 15 years. The sport isn't going to go away because of the loss of the "casual" fan.





You don't really watch boxing do you? I'm guessing that i know more about Cricket than you know about boxing and its history.

There is no doubt that boxing has lost a lot of its luster. It's been in a decline for yeawrs as far as its importance in sports goes. It really hasn't been the same since football and basketball hit the mainstream. It was the 3rd biggest sport in the first half of the 21st century(baseball and horse racing being the first 2). It's too brutal for people to take. Once in awhile you get your Tyson's and De La Hoya's that bring the sport back up but those are rare. What keeps the sport going is the fights themselves. And the true fans know this and they will keep watching. The casual fan wont make or break the sport.

I think you guys should settle this one in the ring.

I would, but the sport is "weak".

all i know is this saturday night "winky" wright vs trinidad is going to be a hell of a fight

if you want to make an argument about the faults in boxing, this is a big one. I'm not paying $50 to watch this fight. I would 100% watch it on HBO or Showtime. They gotta save the PPV for the superfights. This is gonna be a good one but it's not worth of PPV. The funny thing is that even though so many people think boxing is dead, this fight will get about 500,000 PPV buys. The spanish/puerto rican households live for this shit.

We all know boxing is the only sport with a steroid problem.

definitely... i mean... people really don't get any violence from the media, television, movies, video games, or anything anymore... i don't think people are ready to handle boxing just yet

i think boxing sucks... i remember watching so many different fights and fighters growing up, and now it's not worth it... just because you have a strong passion and love for boxing doesn't make it any better of a sport... to you? yes.... to the casual fan? no way... things like that ultimate fighting championship are popping up to fill the void that boxing can't

way to answer my questions

dude, you're a much, much bigger boxing fan than i am... all i know is that boxing has lost the casual fan... i never hear much about it, and i want a true heavyweight champion again... that, and only that, will bring back half of boxing's lost audience... you must realize the decline it is in right now... i really don't know what questions you want me to answer... do i care that the boxers are hispanic? about as much as i care that the nba is black

I think a better analogy to use would be that MLB sucks because the Yankees are in last place.

Boxing has some big problems but I'd say that it is top to bottom stronger now than it has been since the 80s. The only division that is weak is the heavyweight division. Just because one division is weak doesn't make the whole sport in decline. Heavyweight fights usually aren't that good anyway. All boxing needs to do to get the casual fan to watch other weight divisions is have NBC air the Gatti/Ward trilogy and Barrera/Morales trilogy on a Saturday, nobody would ever watch the heavyweights again.

I agree the Trinidad/Wright fight is not PPV worthy, I think they are starting to get out of control with what's PPV. The Barrera fight a couple of weeks ago should not have been PPV either. The only PPV I plan to order is the Gatti/Mayweather fight. I would like to see Arce fight on the undercard of that women's fight, but I'm not paying to see that.

Same here. I'll definitely be getting the Gatti/Mayweather fight. Should be a classic.

I hope Gatti knocks Mayweather out cold and then Micky Ward comes in and stomps on his lifeless body. Did you hear Mayweather was at some Boxing Writers dinner and he told Sugar Ray Leanord that he would've knocked him out if he fought back then? I guess they got into a pretty heated argument.

Mayweather comes off like such a dick. I realize he's a great fighter but who has he ever beat? If he brawls with gatti and wins i'll give him more respect. Until then he should shut his overrated mouth