Boxing has endured over the years as one of the most well-liked sports in the world. Every year, countless numbers of people from all around the world travel to some of the biggest fights.
And the most expensive fights can bring in millions of dollars. This is not an accident. For a number of reasons, the sport continues to be wildly popular. Why, then, is boxing so wildly popular?
Its expansion globally has been attributed to the rise in international boxing promotions and champions.
Not too long ago, many onlookers accepted the narrative that boxing was no longer relevant. However, rumours of boxing's demise have been highly overstated, despite the fact that many people were quick to write its obituary in the style of Mark Twain.
When the UFC debuted the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter in 2005, boxing had not only made a comeback but had regained some of the global market share it had lost to mixed martial arts over the previous 12 years. Look, for a good hundred years, the only combat sport that the general public could consume on a large scale was boxing.
Since the start of the premium service until Mayweather-Pacquiao in 2015, the sport has consistently sold out stadiums and arenas and broke its Pay-Per-View records. Over $400 million in domestic Pay-Per-View sales were generated by the record-breaking battle.
The strength of boxing abroad was largely what saved it. All you have to do is survey the global champions of the present. This did not occur overnight.
In boxing, the championship belts are governed by four sanctioning bodies and 17 weight categories. This offers the chance for 68 world champions to exist simultaneously. The fact that 51 of the world champions come from nations other than the United States is the best illustration, especially when four of those crowns are now united. These two positions are currently open.
FAQs
Boxing has probably been in decline for more than 50 years. However, the sport seemed to have lost much of its relevance over the last 20 years, and there doesn't seem to be much that can turn the sport around. Boxing is not dead yet, but it needs something to jump-start it and make the sport popular again.
If we look at the official numbers and statistics, we can see that boxing is still more popular than MMA. Over the last two decades, boxing has consistently generated higher numbers in pay per view sales and viewership worldwide.
In the Philippines, boxing is considered one of its most popular sports together with basketball due to the many accolades to the country, having produced 45 major world champions (including those of Filipino heritage), one of the most in the world.
In 1920, the Walker Law legalised prizefighting in New York state by establishing the New York State Athletic Commission. In response, representatives from 13 states established the National Boxing Association and sanction title fights.
CUBANS are kings of amateur boxing - but BANNED from turning professional. It has left some of the great champions of the past needing to flee the country, often on speed boats and even disguising themselves to do so.
Where Is Boxing Most Popular?
In boxing, opponents of comparable body weight punch each other while donning cushioned gloves. In a gated rectangular ring, there are three to fifteen three-minute rounds of combat.
The goal of the battle is to strike the opponent as many times as possible in the areas of the body above the belt (head, torso) while dodging his or her own punches. It can be won by technical knockout (TKO mark), which occurs when one fighter has no power to continue, or by knockout (KO mark, from the English term knockout), which occurs when the opponent fails to stand for ten seconds after being thrown to the ground. The winner may also be decided by the referees' decision following the agreed-upon number of rounds.
Boxing is one of the oldest sports in existence, with the earliest recorded instances of boxers competing in their version of the sport occuring in ancient Sumerian texts dating back to 3,000 BC. Undoubtedly, one of the first fighting sports was boxing.
Today, boxing is practised widely throughout the world and has produced some of the world's finest athletes and personalities. Nevertheless, among all the combat sports played today, boxing has one of the highest death rates and is an extremely dangerous sport.
But that does not diminish our interest as spectators and boxers' desire to compete in the sport is unaffected. A conflict that is nearly as old as human civilisation itself. As we look to determine who is the absolute finest boxer on the planet, boxing continues to be intriguing.
Boxing is still a very popular sport all over the world, and many people from many nations have achieved great success in it.
Best Countries In The World For Boxing
Germany
Germany has produced quite a few elite-level boxers who have gone on to show themselves in the international arena, despite the fact that it is not the first nation that comes to mind when we think of the best boxers in the world.
Due to the country's long history of boxing, many athletes decide to compete only within its borders. One well-known example of this is heavyweight champion Volodymyr Klitschko, who, while not of German ancestry, competed in many of his matches in his chosen homeland. Many contend that this did not help his lack of popularity among boxing fans outside of Germany.
German Boxing Champions
- Max Schmeling the NBA and world lineal heavyweight champion.
- Felix Sturm was the WBA Super World Middle and World Middle and IBF World Middleweight Title.
- Sven Ottke held both the IBF and WBA super-middleweight world titles.
- Arthur Abraham may be originally from Armenia but has adopted Germany as his home country, winning IBF World Middle Title and WBA Inter-Continental Middleweight champion.
Ireland
Irish boxing has a long, illustrious history that goes back hundreds of years. Outside of professional competition, Ireland is synonymous with bare-knuckle boxing, which is deeply rooted in the country's indigenous gipsy community.
And many National and Olympic winners who transitioned from the streets to the ring were born into that travelling culture.
During the Irish immigration to the United States of America, the battling Irish established their reputation on the international stage. Their no-nonsense, hard-nosed outlook on life worked well in the boxing ring.
Irish Boxing Champions
Irish ancestry was represented among the first world boxing champions to use gloves. The Irish would go on to dominate the sport, producing numerous world champions in a variety of weight classes.
- John L Sullivan, who held the world lineal heavyweight title
- James J Corbett also won the lineal world heavyweight crown.
- As well as one of the widely recognised pound-for-pound greats, "Nonpareil" Jack Dempsey, who held the world lineal middleweight title.
- WBO Middleweight and Super Middleweight champion Steve Collins.
- The Clones Cyclone Barry McGuigan brought together a divided country, being born in the Republic but fighting for the British titles in boxing. Winning the WBA World Featherweight Championship in the process.
- Wayne McCullough held the WBC super-bantamweight and bantamweight world championships. WBO featherweight and lineal featherweight titles.
Thailand
Boxers with names that we Westerners always copy-paste due to the difficult spelling are from Thailand. Names like Teerachai Kratingdaenggym, however, are not the easiest to pronounce.
It appears that the birthplace of Muay Thai has excellent boxers as well. There are about 50 world champions on record. There are now two world champions from the wonderful nation of Thailand. Amnat Ruenroeng is regarded by most as their top boxer right now. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam is debatably the greatest Thai boxer of all time.
Ukraine
Ukraine just almost made the cut for this list. However, given how promising Ukraine's boxing future is, I chose to add it. Boxers from all across the USSR began to fight in professional boxing after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In a recent fight in Moscow, Russian boxer Gassiev was defeated by Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk, unifying the four titles in the cruiserweight division.
Crimea was Usyk's birthplace. After Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, he was compelled to leave the region. Usyk is a gold medal winner with a 15-0 record and 11 knockouts. Excellent amateur boxers abound in Ukraine, which also has one of the top heavyweights in the world. Until recently, Ukraine didn't exist. Ukraine is fantastic right now, and it will probably get even better in the future.
There have been six boxing world champions from this nation. Volodymyr Klitschko is perhaps the greatest Ukrainian boxer of all time. Vasyl Lomachenko, who might be the best technical boxer ever to compete, represents a bright future for Ukraine in boxing.
Japan
One of the world's most prestigious and underappreciated boxing nations is Japan. An intriguing All-Japan-Rookie King competition is held there. In Japan, it is illegal for two boxers from the same gym to engage in combat. The Japanese professional scene is highly competitive and contains highly skilled fighters. It seems likely that Japanese boxing will continue to thrive thanks to the Japanese Boxing Commission.
Japan is the clear leader in the lighter-weight divisions. Japan has the third-highest number of world champions. Undoubtedly, the boxer known as Fighting Harada is their best. Choosing a top Japanese boxer is challenging because Japan has so many excellent fighters. Two of Japan's most impressive boxers are Naoya Inoue and Ryoichi Taguchi. Ryota Murata is unquestionably a Middleweight to watch.
Philippines
The Philippines has produced some outstanding boxers throughout history. But these contemporary fighters are truly incredible. The world was undoubtedly at Manny Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire's feet. We also shouldn't overlook boxers like Ceferino Garcia, Pancho Villa, Flash Elorde, and others who were outstanding Filipino boxers.
Best boxers from the Philippines
Ceferino Garcia is most likely the best boxer ever to represent the Philippines. He was the only Filipino to achieve international dominance in the middleweight class. He is the Filipino boxer with the most victories ever. His record reads 103-27-12. (68 KO).
Pancho Villa became the first Asian to triumph in the World Flyweight Championship. Throughout his whole boxing career, he never suffered a knockout. Sadly, he passed away at the young age of 23. His record was 80-5-3. (23 KO).
Flash Elorde Holds the record for the longest title reign in the super featherweight category, lasting seven years, and won the WBC and WBA super featherweight belts. He has an 89-27-2 record.
Many boxing historians regard Manny Pacquiao as one of the best boxers in professional history. He has won twelve major world championships, including the only eight-division world champion in boxing history, and he was the first fighter to capture the lineal championship in five separate weight divisions. He also is the only four-decade world champion in boxing history, having held world titles for four decades. He is the first boxer in history to win major world titles in four of the eight "glamour divisions" of the sport, including flyweight, featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight (the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s). His record is 52-3-2. (38 KO)
Mexico
The second-largest boxing market worldwide is Mexico. They are the sole American tournament and have produced more than 200 world champions in professional boxing.
One of the best boxing nations in the world, they have produced some of the best boxers in history. Salvador Sanchez, Ruben Olivares, Ricardo Lopez, Carlos Zarate, and many others are among history's greatest Mexican boxing champions.
And what about Mexico's incredible modern-day warriors like Juan Manuel Marquez, Erik Morales, and Marco Antonio Barrera? They are all incredible fighters all.
Best boxers from Mexico
Salvador Sánchez was the lineal featherweight champion and WBC champion. Many people think he might have been among the best Featherweight boxers of all time if it weren't for his untimely death. He had a 44-1-1 record.
Rubén Olivares was a multiple-time world champion who is regarded as the greatest bantamweight champion of all time. He has held the bantamweight and featherweight titles twice each. He competed in one of the strongest bantamweight eras in history and had a remarkable record of 89-13-3. Unfortunately, those 11 defeats occurred at the end of his professional career and at a weight above ideal.
Julio Cesar Chavez, in three different weight classes, is a multiple-time world champion. The WBC super featherweight, WBA, and WBC lightweight championships, the WBC light welterweight title thrice, and the IBF light welterweight championship were all held by him. With Omar Narváez, Chávez owns several records, including the most fighters defeated for the title (31), the most successful title defences overall (27), the most title fights (37), and the second-most knockout victories in title defences (21, after Joe Louis with 23). He has a 107-6-2 boxing record with 86 knockouts.
Canelo Álvarez Holds four world championship titles. He held the unified WBA (Super), WBC, The Ring, and lineal middleweight belts, as well as the WBA's middleweight and super middleweight titles (Regular). Prior to this, Alvarez held the WBA (Unified), WBC, and Ring light middleweight, WBC, Ring, lineal middleweight, WBO light-middleweight, and WBO light heavyweight belts.
United States
The most affluent nation in boxing is the United States, which is home to Las Vegas, the sport's Mecca. More world boxing champions hail from this country than any other. The US virtually invented modern boxing and gave it its current form. Without a doubt, the US has given the world its greatest boxers.
Boxers like Sugar Ray Leonard, Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, and Floyd Mayweather Jr. all call the United States home. With almost 430 world champions created, the American boxing record seems insurmountable. The US will not soon lose their heavyweight title boxers, despite the sport's apparent decline in popularity in the US.
HIGH INTENSITY
You should know that boxing is an extremely demanding sport, first and foremost. As a result, there is a very good probability that your heart will be racing when you watch a terrific boxing battle.
You'll probably swing back and forth with the boxer as you tremble with anxiety.
Even if there are some ugly bouts, some of them can still be exciting.
Boxing is one of the most intense sports when it is at its peak. One of the primary factors contributing to boxing's current and future popularity is this.
THE HYPE
It's also critical to realise that boxing's popularity stems from constant promotion. The boxers will therefore advertise it before the fights.
This can eventually get the fans really fired up about it. You're going to be fired up when the fight starts.
The battles don't always live up to the anticipation, which is the one drawback.
The trash-talking and pre-fight hysteria will always be entertaining to the crowd.
BRUTALITY
People like violent sports, despite the denial of many. There's a good possibility you fall into the same category. Boxing is one of the most interesting sports because of how cruel it is.
You can count on there being some savagery if you purchase tickets to a boxing match. It might be astounding to observe the severity of the punishment the warriors can endure.
Boxing's rough essence may be degraded, but this is still the reason why so many people adore the sport.
BETTING
The betting involved in combat sports is something else to take into account. You can almost certainly count on your desire to place a wager when you travel to Vegas to witness about. Boxing is one of the main contributors to the enormous sports betting market.
As said at 99 Poker, sports betting is just as popular as online casinos. However, wagering on the outcome of the battle can significantly increase its intensity and excitement.