Used to be Baseball, Boxing and Horse racing. The rise of Football changed the sports landscape forever in the USA. Also, boxing has no central authority, you have 0983490230983 belts and the perception of fixed fights, real or not, is so pervasive that it just doesn't matter any longer. Not the heavy weight division. I am not huge historian of boxing, but the Thrilla in Manila was, imho, the last real heavy weight fight of super significance. Sure, there were a few sprinkled after that in the 80s, but not much. They used to be EVENTS, not just something you plopped down to watch one night.
Boxing is still fairly big when it's done right. The biggest problem in boxing is that they have had a huge difficulty in getting the big fights together that people want. It's where MMA really has an edge on boxing, putting together fan friendly fights. In boxing, it puts on a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight 6 years after it should and has major fighters avoiding more dangerous fighters that could challenge their titles. The current problem is getting a Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin fight. Imagine the NFL taking 6 years to organize a Super Bowl. People would get a little impatient and start viewing the sport a little differently. Still, a big time boxing fight has few sports that can compare. Had Mayweather-Pacquiao fought in 2009, when it should've happened, I still think it would've been one of the great events of the past 20 years, due to the way they fought and stature at the time, along with the buzz at the time.
Tyson/Spinks was a major event. Also, the Thrilla in Manila was much greater after it happened than before. It wasn't 1/10th of what their first fight was from a buildup perspective. The first fight was the biggest sports event ever.
I didn't mourn Ali's death. At least any more than I typically mourn the death of any other hypocritical, racist, draft-dodging coward.
Some of these are right. He was definitely a hypocrite, but that's exactly the reason why he wasn't a racist. You see, Ali gets a lot of credit from the liberal media as some kind of principled social activist. Truth is, he was just the mouthpiece for Elijah Muhammed's brain. Let me state this more plainly. Ali joined the nation of islam, which was headed up by Elijah Muhammed. Elijah Muhammed was a radical separatist and he wanted to spread his views to as many as possible. Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali was the heavyweight champion of the world and thus one of the most famous people in the world. And so whether he liked it or not, he was thrust into the position of being the guy that vocalized some very racist platforms. Ali wasn't racist, though. He was easily manipulated and scared for his life to do anything other than what Elijah Muhammed ordered. If you want to know why I'm so confident he wasn't racist when he said all kinds of racial separatist things, just look to his actions not his words. Look at the white people he trusted and was loyal to. He wasn't racist. Also note, how he completely changed his public tune on matters of race and religion once Elijah Muhammed died. Wonder why that was? Re: draft dodging: yes, he did this. But he did it like a man. He didn't bolt for Canada; he fought it in the courts and if he lost he was going to jail. And he lost a ton for not stepping forward. And, again, he did it not because it was an idea that he came up with on his own as a result of firm held convictions, but because Elijah Muhammed told him to. He was far from a coward. I don't even think this needs to be expounded upon. Tenny: I don't think you know much about the man. I say that in the least condescending way possible. If you want to read something about him that isn't comically hagiographic and that actually calls a spade a spade, read a book called "Ghosts of Manila" by Mark Kram.* It's excellent, and Kram pulls no punches.** *He's the same guy who wrote the sports illustrated article on the thrilla in manila I linked above. **pun not intended
The Ring belt counts, the others, not so much. The sanctioning bodies are generally on par with the Olympics as far as integrity goes.
