That does bring back memories. Remember when you could watch the big names fight on Saturday afternoon/night without paying big bucks? I'm only 40, but I remember watching Ali live. I watch that stuff on ESPN Classic now and my kids ask me if I was alive then!
What killed boxing was going to pay per view. Once they lost their presence on TV, they lost the bulk of the casual fans. One of the reasons why MMA took off so much is that they started showing a ton of stuff for free on TV. That way, people flipping through the channels would see it and stop and go, "Hey, that looks pretty cool, let's watch this." The UFC is even looking to put all but their biggest cards on broadcast TV - either NBC or ESPN. That's how you keep fan interest from getting stagnet and keep the money rolling in. The people who run boxing thought they could just put it all on PPV or premium channels like HBO and the interest would carry over. It didn't.
Now, unless Pacquiao or Mayweather are fighting, there isn't much interest in boxing among the general public. HBO won't even cover heavyweight fights anymore. It's that sad.
Brian.
