Floyd Mayweather: 10 Things Boxing Must Do to Survive the UFC Invasion

Once upon a time, the baddest dudes on the planet emanated from boxing's heavyweight division—Jack Dempsey, Jack Johnson, Sonny Liston, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and Mike Tyson to name a few.

Once upon a time, the greatest athletes in sports were synonymous with boxing.

That was once upon a time. That was then, and this is now, in this era, the accolade of baddest dude on the planet is bestowed upon the heavyweight division of the UFC—at the present moment, a certain Cain Velasquez.

For more than a decade, boxing has become stagnant and sterile, whilst MMA and the UFC in general have flourished.

It’s as if boxing's pantheon of fist-wielding energy has been drained out of every seeping pore that once exuded strength, vigour and an attitude to boot.

On Nov. 12, the UFC will takes another step into the media’s limelight when the main event featuring Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos for the UFC heavyweight title airs for the first time on Fox Network.

There is sure to be a vast number of boxing aficionados in the mix when the UFC debuts on Fox.

However, the boxing fans are not the only problem here—the problem is whether the casual fans, and those with absolutely no knowledge of MMA tuning in or attending the event, suddenly acquire a voracious appetite for it.

I say live and let live, but with regards to the state that boxing now finds itself in, this event could signal the arrival of a new sheriff in town, and that’s bad news for boxing.

10. Amateur Ranks

Boxing needs to invest more in its amateur programs—proficient trainers and so on.

Amateur boxing is where a fighter first gets the feel of what boxing is all about, it’s where the raw skills are honed in readiness for the next step up in class—the pros.

The lack of necessary funding will result in the amateur boxing becoming near enough non-existent.

9. Bad Decisions

Too many bad decisions have left the average fan disillusioned. This leads to disenchanted fans seeking solace elsewhere, such as MMA.

It’s true that MMA has had its fair share of dubious judging decisions, but not on the scale of boxing.

Boxing needs to weed out the incompetent and corrupt judging, in order to move forward.

8. Polarizing Fighters

Boxing needs more colourful personalities—charismatic, fascinating, bad boys, call it what you want, but it definitely necessitates some pizzazz.

Boxing not only needs them, sometimes I think it’s a prerequisite that they grace the stage of boxing with their non-conformitist personas.

People might not acquiesce the antics of a Tyson or Mayweather, or even a David Haye or a Naseem Hamed, but more times than none their misdemeanours give boxing that extra lift—keeping it relevant in the eyes of both the purist and non-purist.

7. Mandatory Title Defenses

Every champion in every weight class should be compelled to defend their title and not digress from that route because of financial reasons or the avoidance of a fighter.

If said fighter disregards those rules, then regardless of their status, they should be stripped of their belt. The days of a champion picking and choosing whom they fight should be a thing of the past.

6. Press Coverage

Even though the internet has a million stories every day, sometimes nothing beats a good old fashioned tabloid or broadsheet.

A multitude of sports stories are featured on the back page of a newspaper, but try scouring for a boxing story—you’d be hard pressed to find one, unless that is, something in the realm of the Mayweather vs. Victor Ortiz vs. Larry Merchant fiasco.

After that, the best piece of boxing news would most likely be a blurb hidden in the classified section. Just kidding, but you can see where I’m coming from.

The decline in newspaper coverage is affecting boxing, and it’s partly to blame for its woes as well.

5. Governing Bodies

The decisions of the governing and sanctioning bodies of boxing must be final.

Promoters should promote and not be permitted to influence officials into fast tracking their fighters to a title shot.

Any challenge for a title should be based on the criterion of that fighter contesting the championship.

Such underhand dealings not only undermine the sport, but it also leads to mismatches every so often.

4. Alphabet Titles

At present, there are five major titles—WBA, WBC, IBF, (WBO) and The Ring. That’s in addition to seven minor titles—WBU, WBF, WPBF, IBA, IBC, IBO and the IBU.

This amounts to 12 world titles in total. Now, with 17 divisions in boxing from Straw weight to Heavyweight, the figure could easily be in the range of 200 world champions.

I understand that some of the minor titles are stepping stones to bigger and better things, and I also understand that some of the minor titles are vacant and not contested for, but you get the gist.

The dilemma arising from having so many titles in numerous divisions is that it becomes baffling to distinguish who the real No. 1 fighters in each division are, especially for casual fans and people not acquainted with boxing.

The best solution would be the expunging of the Alphabet titles altogether, and an introduction of one world title—identifying one true champion in each weight class.

3. PPV Monopoly

As pay-per-view has become more pervasive (mostly for marquee fights), there has been a massive decline in boxing matches being aired on terrestrial television.

This means lack of exposure, particularly apropos up and coming fighters.

PPV coverage needs to be on an equal par with mainstream television.

2. Match-Ups the Public Demand

This is one of, if not the most pertinent things in order for boxing not only to survive the UFC, but to survive as a whole.

Some of the elite fighters, like Mayweather and Pacquiao, might put bums on seats with their rhetoric and/or skill set, but it’s ultimately down to the fans whether seats get filled.

What the public demands, the public normally gets. It’s either that or a stalemate. And in the long run, both the fans and fighters will suffer equally.

1. Mayweather vs. Pacquiao

I know it sounds like the same old story, and you’re probably uttering the words “here we go again,” but the fact of the matter is it has to be mentioned.

A Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight is not the Alpha and Omega of boxing by any means, but at this point in time it’s the closest thing to the aforementioned. If this fight should ever take off the ground, it would give boxing some of its credibility back.

Imagine the buy rates for this fight? Imagine the attendance figures?  The exposure for this fight would reach the heights of mass hysteria and on a global scale never seen before.

Mayweather and Pacquiao might be despised by the public for any, and many number of reasons.

However, the boxing purists know how essential it is that both combatants make a statement to the naysayers who have turned to blowing their trumpets, sounding the demise of the sweet science.  

This fight is the desideratum within the sport to bellow a loud and fervent proclamation—Boxing is still relevant.

Personal

Maybe I’ve jumped the gun here or sounded overly melodramatic, but I for one believe somewhere along the horizon, there must be a new dawn and a new day for a sport that has produced some of the greatest athletes of our time or any other.

Big thanks to Mon B for presenting me with the ideas for writing this article.