Boxing: Why a Boring, Winning Fighter Doesn't Make the Big Bucks

Boxing fans come to the arena to see skilled fighters give every thing they have in pursuit of victory.

That includes throwing hard combinations and taking risks by going for knockouts when they are behind.

There's nothing exciting about a boxing match when one of the boxers is playing it safe, throwing the occasional jab and the even less frequent straight right and then trying to stay away. This can be an effective strategy in terms of winning points with the judges, but it's not going to do anything for the fans in the stands and those watching the bout on television.

There's a lot of risk to getting in the ring and throwing punches at a guy who is doing the same to you. You can't play it safe in the ring. Those who try to dance for 10 or 12 rounds—fighters who stick, move, run and then throw the occasional hard punch—are not going to be appreciated by the crowd. There are plenty of places to go if you want to watch people dance. Most fight fans don't want to see boxers avoid punishment.

Fans will never forget a boring winner who doesn't give everything he has in the ring.

Fighters who don't want to risk getting hit hard should make that decision in the first or second fight. If the overwhelming emotion is fear and that fear prevents a fighter from stepping into the breach and going for the knockout combination, then that fighter should leave the ring.

It's not that the fighter has to throw knockout punches like Mike Tyson, Roberto Duran, Bob Foster or Rocky Marciano. But when fighting for big money, he has to fight with that same championship-level intensity. Otherwise, he is basically stealing from the promoters and the fans.

The recent match between welterweights Devon Alexander and Randall Bailey at the spanking-new Barclays Center in Brooklyn Oct. 20 was one of those fights (via: badlefthook.com). It was expected that Alexander and Bailey would go at each other hard, but the fight turned out to be a snoozefest. Alexander won a unanimous decision.

Alexander went through the motions because he knew that the only way Bailey could hurt him was if he landed one of his big power shots. Bailey was not quick enough to nail any decent combinations. Bailey only landed 79 punches the entire fight and Alexander was content to stick and move.

It may have gotten him the victory but the crowd booed lustily.

Alexander has followed many fighters who have chosen the "boring" route to victory.

History tells us that most heavyweight champions use big punchers with knockout power to gain their title. That was not true of Jimmy Ellis, who won an elimination tournament, after Muhammad Ali was stripped of his title for refusing to be inducted into the military (via: braggingrightscorner.com).

Ellis was a former Ali sparring partner, but he did not have a heavy punch and was content to fight from the outside. Ellis held the heavyweight title from 1968 until 1970, when he was knocked out by Joe Frazier.

Ellis was felled by Frazier's devastating left hooks. The crowd roared approvingly when Frazier landed his punch. It seemed the crowd was cheering as much for the end of Ellis's run as it was for Frazier's power.

It wasn't enough for Ellis—or any fighter—to win in a powder-punching, hit-and-run fashion. Fans want exciting fighters, and they always will.