It has been on life support for years in the eyes of many. Banished to small gyms as the UFC and WWE rose to prominence, gone from network TV, full of an alphabet soup of titles, a lack of U.S. buzz, no heavyweight stars, too violent and corrupt. Boxing many said, will soon be gone.
So is boxing on the comeback? The long awaited Pacquaio-Mayweather fight (with at least one rematch in the cards regardless of outcome) has created buzz around boxing that hasn’t been seen in quite a while (despite both fighters almost annually on the top of the list of the highest paid athletes in any sport), driving casual interest and big dollars for a gate that will be record-setting. The tandem of CBS and Showtime have committed longer term to the sport, following on the heels of NBC and Spike TV’s renewed and deeper interest in televising boxing. With fights still on ESPN and Fox as well, that puts boxing in the rare air of being across every network, something which many sports that are thought of by the mainstream as stronger or rising would love to have.
Also keep in mind that despite the decrease in interest from a traditional audience, some of the fastest growing and most diverse audiences; especially Asian, Latino and African American have a growing and steady affinity to boxing, much more than MMA in most instances. Emerging brands have also fund an entry to a passionate and engaged fan base in boxing, something which they struggle to find in other sports as well. If you want to reach a Latino base, boxing is a pretty creative and safe bet, so to speak.
Now this is not to say in any way that boxing is totally out of the doldrums. Stars need to be built and marketed to the mainstream, the sport needs to find ways to connect with a younger audience that has embraced the quick and down action of much of MMA, and there is also the violence, something which is going to be difficult to overcome again in mainstream America. The lack of technology and data currently used is also well below what most sports fans are used to round out their engagement in an event, and the social presence of the sport away from a few stars also needs to be enhanced. Boxing however does also have a fitness and training element, something which MMA has boasted about to draw in casual followers for years, and is USA Boxing can find a way to right its system, there is also the Olympics, which has fueled many a fighters career over the years.
The spectacle of a big fight has always been in play; the sports world has always come to a halt when the biggest of names meet, and that will be not that different with Pacquaio-Mayweather coming. What has to change is all around the big fight and how those rising stars can leverage a rising tide of interest to grow their own brands in and out of the ring. It appears television sees the opportunity again, and with that comes the exposure that brands want.
Will 2015 be the year boxing is up again off the mat? Or is it false hope? In sports everyone loves the underdog and the comeback story. Maybe, just maybe the sport which has given the underdog so many chances over the years will be itself the story this time.
