Why does boxing have some complex with UFC?

[dubztep]

...or at least boxing writers do. All I read is 'boxing should do this like UFC' of 'boxing will never be as popular as UFC' but to be honest I don't see why the two can't coexist. Big boxing fights tend to be on at different times from UFC anyway. And it's not like one can't follow both sports, I do and I know many others who do aswell. If anything both of them has improved the standard of the other - Dana White took many ideas from boxing and looked at its weaknesses, while boxing has felt the pressure from UFC and is now staging more fights that fans want. As long as boxing and MMA in general keep increasing the standard of fights and competition, thus giving fans value for money then that is all that matters.

[radab]

its a fundamental fucked up mentality that people and organisations have, rooted in insecurities and greed

there's no need to be rivals, both could really learn from one another and even join forces now and again

but thats just not gonna happen with the current mindset

[MasterFlo]

This argument should be done and over with, it's like pitting rugby against soccer, clearly both sports can co-exist. The loud marketing campaign put on by the UFC is making something out of nothing, it's all to attract the young, angry, white suburban kids who demand things that are more and more "extreme". Boxing has it's problems, so does baseball, football, basketball and Hockey, not to mention so does the UFC. Boxing is not boisterous, it's not an in your face marketing campaign, it's not often shown on sports center but it's been around since the Greeks and it'll live on for as long as were here.

[dubztep]

its a fundamental fucked up mentality that people and organisations have, rooted in insecurities and greed

there's no need to be rivals, both could really learn from one another and even join forces now and again

but thats just not gonna happen with the current mindset

yeh tru, like with the dates, if theres a big ufc card or boxing card, it makes sense for them to change it by a week. They both make more money and fans get better quality without having to choose.

[motownsiu]

boxing has no problems w/mma. mma has problems with boxing. pacquiao was the 6th highest paid athlete this year, and was one of time magazine's most influential people. no mma a fighter made the list of highest paid athlete or most influential person. not even dana white. mma has to constantly has bring down boxing to bring themselves up. i always bring this up, but boxing is an olympic sport, they have yet to introduce mma as an event in the olympics and it probably won't happen in this lifetime.

[motownsiu]

if i remember correctly the third time pac-morrales fought was the same night matt hughes-st.pierre. The bar i was in was showing both events. pac-morrales was standing room only. that other "fight" had enough space to sleep in.

[Bodysnatcher]

Boxing is not boisterous, it's not an in your face marketing campaign, it's not often shown on sports center but it's been around since the Greeks and it'll live on for as long as were here.

I agree.

Boxing people need to recognise that boxing has a different ethos, different traditions and appeals to different people - there is some crossover but it's over-estimated, imho.

One thing I give credit to MMA for is the good match ups - hopefully Showtime's Super 6 will be the start of an attempt to take this lesson from MMA and apply it to boxing.

But the two sports are chalk and cheese. There's no need for animosity between the two.

[pauliemayweathe]

boxing has no problems w/mma. mma has problems with boxing. pacquiao was the 6th highest paid athlete this year, and was one of time magazine's most influential people. no mma a fighter made the list of highest paid athlete or most influential person. not even dana white. mma has to constantly has bring down boxing to bring themselves up. i always bring this up, but boxing is an olympic sport, they have yet to introduce mma as an event in the olympics and it probably won't happen in this lifetime.
boxing is more influencial than MMA but being an olympic sport means shit...who cares...the scoring is a joke and amateurs fight....boxing could be so much better and mma is at its best...they need more supercards in boxing for 50 bucks...not just one fight and a bunch of shit undercards

[doomeddisciple]

Becuase for some very simple reasons.

UFC is a by far a superior package to market at the moment.

Please note - NOT, imo, the superior sport, nor the superior raw product.

What boxing writers, Ricky Hatton and the general fight press are picking up on is that the archaic boxing BUSINESS is just dog shit.

Promoters and cable companies are self serving and do not make the best match ups. Inconsistencies that are not prevalent in UFC's heavily managed business model allow them to deliver a product where:

* Generally the best fighters are fighting the best fighters in meaningful bouts
* One champ per weight
* As soon as one event is over, the next two are scheduled and the promotion is ready to go.
* You can buy a professionally top quality DVD version of every event or hire them from video stores within months of the PPV.
* Clothing, merchandising - Even the video games (80 licenced UFC fighters pretty much doubles the Fight Night roster) are able to merchandise a consistent single brand to merketers which makes it easier to sell advertising, as well as the fact as once a sponsor is on board, they KNOW they will be represented at every single event - Not on a per-promotion basis.

There's a lot UFC has going on that boxing doesn't, but it's still not the pinnacle of combat sports like a top flight boxing match is and to me there is nothing else in sport like a top flight boxing fight - Its the best.

BUT

The way that the business model has no over arching body to mandate or enforce a clear consistent brand to advertisers, sponsors or the fans means that the UFC is gaining ground as quickly as ever.

We could certainly use a real proper reality check and not WBC's "Diamond Championship" BULLSHIT to further confuse matters.

[motownsiu]

message how can the olympics mean shit if those are the most sought after fighters by managers and promoters. tell mayweather , cotto, klitchko, that it don't mean shit.

[SAS2]

because in the UFC the best ALWAYS fight the best.

[Royal-T-Bag]

this talk goes on a lot more by ufc fans than boxing fans. every ufc broadcast i've ever watched has dissed boxing at some point

[doomeddisciple]

this talk goes on a lot more by ufc fans than boxing fans. every ufc broadcast i've ever watched has dissed boxing at some point

That annoys me.

However, I watched the post fight press conference yesterday and Anderson Silva and Dana White were asked about the Roy Jones fight and Dana answered that while he really doesn't like that fight - He really respects boxing, he respects Roy Jones and that he doesn't like that fight.

It just comes down to UFC being able to present a more united front to boxings warring tribal states of mixed messages and titles.

[walk with me]

some members of boxing feel threatened

[doomeddisciple]

some members of boxing feel threatened

I am a bit self serving. As an Aussie who has to pay top dollar for everything boxing - Ring Magazine can cost 25 bucks here, your standard HBO or Showtime fights still cost 40 bucks, etc - I just want to see the sport get better organised so I can stop going broke ;)

[boxbox]

UFC reminds me of hulk hogan, Triple-V, The Undertaker, Bushwackers,etc and these people had lots of fans! same atmosphere, same type of promotions, same media exposure.

Boxing has always been more subtle and does not need hyping to survive. Boxing organizations, TV networks, Proomoters and fighters just have to lessen the greed.

[booradley]

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Same shit/different day

[scurlaruntings]

Becuase for some very simple reasons.

UFC is a by far a superior package to market at the moment.

Please note - NOT, imo, the superior sport, nor the superior raw product.

What boxing writers, Ricky Hatton and the general fight press are picking up on is that the archaic boxing BUSINESS is just dog shit.

Promoters and cable companies are self serving and do not make the best match ups. Inconsistencies that are not prevalent in UFC's heavily managed business model allow them to deliver a product where:

* Generally the best fighters are fighting the best fighters in meaningful bouts
* One champ per weight
* As soon as one event is over, the next two are scheduled and the promotion is ready to go.
* You can buy a professionally top quality DVD version of every event or hire them from video stores within months of the PPV.
* Clothing, merchandising - Even the video games (80 licenced UFC fighters pretty much doubles the Fight Night roster) are able to merchandise a consistent single brand to merketers which makes it easier to sell advertising, as well as the fact as once a sponsor is on board, they KNOW they will be represented at every single event - Not on a per-promotion basis.

There's a lot UFC has going on that boxing doesn't, but it's still not the pinnacle of combat sports like a top flight boxing match is and to me there is nothing else in sport like a top flight boxing fight - Its the best.

BUT

The way that the business model has no over arching body to mandate or enforce a clear consistent brand to advertisers, sponsors or the fans means that the UFC is gaining ground as quickly as ever.

We could certainly use a real proper reality check and not WBC's "Diamond Championship" BULLSHIT to further confuse matters.Archaic aye? Ricky Hatton gets to be a millionaire of the back of an organisation run from a Cottage in the Norwich hills (WBU) and thats archaic? The problem is people regurgitate and recite the same bullshit again and again. The UFC and the sport of boxing are NOT comparable. One is a franchise the other is a SPORT. The UFC has an economic model that looks after itself. How is that any diffrent from any other boxing promotion? Because the facts remain its not. Its exactly the same. The only diffrence is Dana has a bigger stable of fighters which allows him to call ALL the shots because he has ALL the options on his fighters. Not thats not good business thats a monopoly.

[scurlaruntings]

because in the UFC the best ALWAYS fight the best.Does the UFC have a choice in that? How far do you think their product would last if they put on shit shows that never turned a profit? They'd go the same way as the IFL EliteXC WFA PRIDE etc which is down the toilet.

[scurlaruntings]

boxing has no problems w/mma. mma has problems with boxing. pacquiao was the 6th highest paid athlete this year, and was one of time magazine's most influential people. no mma a fighter made the list of highest paid athlete or most influential person. not even dana white. mma has to constantly has bring down boxing to bring themselves up. i always bring this up, but boxing is an olympic sport, they have yet to introduce mma as an event in the olympics and it probably won't happen in this lifetime.Bingo. But NOT MMA the UFC. The problem here is fans of boxing think that MMA IS THE UFC. That couldnt be further from the truth. The UFC is a brand of MMA. Its its own entity its own promotion that participates in the sport of MMA.

Dana a failed boxing promoter for the entirity of his life with the UFC has been using boxing as some form of leverage. He curses the sport that made him his early career as a "Boxcercise instructor" and a failed promoter who couldnt make a dent. He then with the help of his billionaire benefactors buys the failing UFC and with an extremely aggresive marketing model turns it around into the giant it is today. Dana is nothing more than a businessman. He will do whatever it takes to increase he's wealth as a 10% owner. And he will do that by any means neccesary even if that means spreading lies and false propoganda that is recited parrot fashion by every UFC fratboy in an Affliction T on this planet.

Bottom line is boxing is STILL popular and going through some good times at present. The problem is fans are incredibly fickle and are only capable of remembering the last rumour they heard.

[RSBonos]

What really pisses me off is that the media covers the UFC with only a positive spin, they never focus on anything negative in terms of both the fights and the business. This comes from both the so called MMA media and the mainstream media (aside from the rediculous MMA = the end of civilization articles that no one takes seriously).

At the same time almost every mainstream boxing article is negative/boxing is dying etc.

Last nights UFC card would have been blasted if it was a boxing PPV. A boring undercard , one ridiculous mismatch and a main event that before the last round made John Ruiz look like an action fighter.

I was watching Sportsnet connected (A Canadian version of sportcenter) and the announcer went on and on about how UFC 101 lived up to the hype and that the momentum from their centennial card continues to grow. GTFO.

[scurlaruntings]

UFC 101 as a card was crap. Other than Silva vs Griffin which was a gimme and Penn vs a TUF product (Florian is the goods though) it was rubbish and no diffrent to a Frank ****** PPV. The problem is fans are only interested in whats popular. Right now the UFC is popular. Its gets alot of media coverage which is vital for the life blood of the product. Boxing on the other hand does not.

[RSBonos]

MMA fans are also a lot easier to please because they will still pay to watch fighters after devastating losses. Nogueira vs. Couture is the UFC's next PPVs main event, both are coming off KO losses and they are both past their physical prime, especially Minotauro who might as well be 50. But in MMA this is a battle between two "great legends", not a fight that should have happened years ago.

The worst are the UFC only casual fans which make up 95% of the sports fanbase, they are programed to buy a monthly card just because its the UFC and they will ignore any other fights from "rival" promotions.