Is boxing becoming the new WWE?

I've been pondering this a while now. We're all aware that the entire sport is dominated by a relatively small number of key figures. Since the inception of gloved boxing promoters have been responsible for carving out the careers of legends. To a historian they're perhaps the modern-day equivalents of Richard Neville, the 16th Earl of Warwick: 'the Kingmaker'. We've had Rickard and Kearns; the pioneers. The sixties saw the emergence of Don King and Bob Arum, who between them are responsible for more classic fights than I know of, or would care to list. Other noted names are instantly recognisable to a good many on here: De La Hoya, DiBella, Duva, Goossen, Sauerland, Shaw, Warren. In addition to the promoters we have the likes of Jose Sulaiman, the WBC president who seems to possess more than a passing interest in the continued perceived success of boxers from a particular Spanish-speaking nation. In more recent years King's influence has diminished, and while to a certain degree many of the younger promoters have scurried to fill the relative void left by King's decline, none (barring perhaps the Golden Boy) have reached the level of Bob Arum, a man whose own influence shows few signs of abating.

Arum's mercenary business practices are well-documented (in Tex Cobb's case hilariously so), and in recent years his name has become synonymous with greedy, cynical match-making. He's increasingly turning to in-house fights in order to maximise his profits, to the extent that it's in danger of becoming a serious detriment to the well-being of the sport. The most high-profile instances of this involve a certain Filipino who shall not be named here, but one other incident which has imprinted into my recent memory is his handling of Cotto and Margarito, in particular the way in which the two have been carefully steered towards a rematch built around animosity and controversy. In a move which echoed nothing so much as the pantomime which is WWE, Margarito was shamelessly paraded onstage at the post-presser for a fight he'd not been any part of:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL1cQ-V8f5o&feature=youtube_gdata_player#t=7m40s

This brings me to the crux of my argument: Is Boxing, through the actions of Arum and others like him, slowly becoming a charade of a sport?

We're seeing fights made depending more on the name of the promoters than on the desire of the fans or the prestige of the match-up. We're seeing boxers given opportunities they ill deserve. We're seeing rightful champions stripped of titles at the whim of withered old men. Most of all though, there seems to be a emergent feeling that the sport isn't being run in accordance with any kind of 'sporting' spirit, but merely to satisfy a script. Am I a pessimist beyond redemption, or are my concerns justifiably founded?

Thanks for reading this far. I don't doubt I've missed details or specifics, so I apologise in advance for any omissions.

In a word no Balti, because whilst the in house nature of some fights may stick in some peoples craw, in boxing once a fight is made each participant is free to go into the ring and try and win the fight in wrestling they are not, a fighters ability or chance of actually doing so are a distinct issue.

rowley wrote:In a word no Balti, because whilst the in house nature of some fights may stick in some peoples craw, in boxing once a fight is made each participant is free to go into the ring and try and win the fight in wrestling they are not, a fighters ability or chance of actually doing so are a distinct issue.

While that's true and JuanMa Lopez vs Salido supports your (frustratingly succinct!!!) argument, instances like Ward vs Bika, P******o vs Clottey/Margarito, and Cotto vs Foreman do little to assuage my mounting concerns. Sure, there's always the chance of a 'hail Mary' shot that comes from out of nowhere, but there's been a substantial amount of very calculated match-making in recent times.

I'll admit the winner of the Cotto-Margarito rematch is by no means a sure thing, but the fact that the fight's even able to happen, never mind the frankly disrespectful nature of Arum's behaviour towards Cotto with regards his relative favouring of Margarito, all leads me to think it's only the finest of lines between Arum and Vince McMahon.

An interesting topic, I think Haye could also be dragged into this as both promoter and fighter.

His pre-fight talk since he has been a heavyweight has been similar to that of a new WWE 'baddie'.

A strange topic and one which is frequently brought up with MMA. I can see some similarities in the same way there is for boxing and darts with the entrances, walk on music etc.

The key factor is WWE is fake!

Valero's Conscience wrote:

The key factor is WWE is fake!

I don't think so!

Valero's Conscience wrote:
The key factor is WWE is fake!

That is to say nothing of the clearly homo-erotic undertones.

rowley wrote:

Valero's Conscience wrote:
The key factor is WWE is fake!

homo-erotic undertones.

Is that the band that Feargal Sharkey fronted?

Feargal is related to Jack Sharkey by the way.

Mind the windows Tino. wrote:

rowley wrote:

Valero's Conscience wrote:
The key factor is WWE is fake!

homo-erotic undertones.

Is that the band that Feargal Sharkey fronted?

Feargal is related to Jack Sharkey by the way.

Gay tribute band, quite a niche market. Nice attempt to keep things on topic with the Jack Sharkey reference

Is Feargal related to MC Sharkey of Hixxy and Sharkey fame?

Some people think he's related to Sharky from Sharky And George but he's not. The clue is in the spelling. Some people are just dumb.

Crimebusters of the sea

Union Cane wrote:Is Feargal related to MC Sharkey of Hixxy and Sharkey fame?

No, I don't think he is.

He was named after Captain John Sharkey from Arthur Conan Doyle's book though.

There's a slight resemblence?

http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=97695

Union Cane wrote:There's a slight resemblence?

http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=97695

They 2 should have been hung for crimes against music if that's what it's called.

Union Cane wrote:There's a slight resemblence?

http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=97695

I just rang Feargal and he confirmed he is not related to MC Sharkey.

He did tell me to be careful with that heart of his though.

prettyboykev wrote:

Union Cane wrote:There's a slight resemblence?

http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=97695

They 2 should have been hung for crimes against music if that's what it's called.

Disagree. They did a set of all their own stuff mashed up on dubplates at The Pleasuredome in about 1997/1998, and it absolutely blew the roof off.

Happy days.

i dont think literally its changing into the wwe, but there are definetly paralells, the degale groves argument on ringside was just like one of the badly written badly acted wwe interviews. some of the art work (ie posters, adverts, promo videos) are shot exactly like in wwe, and the way that most promoters try and make you think unless two fighters dont like each other outside the ring they wont put on a decent show in the ring (rivalry, bad blood etc etc) are all have a manufactored feeling.

Union Cane wrote:

prettyboykev wrote:

Union Cane wrote:There's a slight resemblence?

http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=97695

They 2 should have been hung for crimes against music if that's what it's called.

Disagree. They did a set of all their own stuff mashed up on dubplates at The Pleasuredome in about 1997/1998, and it absolutely blew the roof off.

Happy days.

Not my kind of thing mate. My wife loves all that stuff and a lot of my mates do I was the sad kid who listened to indie music.

Mind the windows Tino. wrote:

Union Cane wrote:There's a slight resemblence?

http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=97695

I just rang Feargal and he confirmed he is not related to MC Sharkey.

He did tell me to be careful with that heart of his though.

Well, a good one, these days, is hard to find.

Union Cane wrote:

prettyboykev wrote:

Union Cane wrote:There's a slight resemblence?

http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=97695

They 2 should have been hung for crimes against music if that's what it's called.

Disagree. They did a set of all their own stuff mashed up on dubplates at The Pleasuredome in about 1997/1998, and it absolutely blew the roof off.

Happy days.

I would struggle to understand that less if you wrote it in latin

"mashed up on duplates at the pleasuredome"

Sounds very Brass Eye.

Still got the decks, mixer and 200 odd vinyls up in the loft somewhere.

And they told me that hardcore would never die.

Scottrf wrote:"mashed up on duplates at the pleasuredome"

Sounds very Brass Eye.

I got jacked-up on a triple-hammer and jessop jessop jessop jessop.

Scottrf wrote:"mashed up on duplates at the pleasuredome"

Sounds very Brass Eye.

Suspect someone could end up with a bad case of Czech neck if they're not careful

"The duo entertained the crowd with a selection of their own material, re-mixed and pressed onto special limited edition vinyls which were not put on general release."

Better?

Union Cane wrote:Still got the decks, mixer and 200 odd vinyls up in the loft somewhere.

And they told me that hardcore would never die.

Wasn't there a song called (like a ) shooting star or something that was quite commercial. Probably about 94 / 95?

Michaels, Sean wrote:

Union Cane wrote:Still got the decks, mixer and 200 odd vinyls up in the loft somewhere.

And they told me that hardcore would never die.

Wasn't there a song called (like a ) shooting star or something that was quite commercial. Probably about 94 / 95?

I think Ricky Burns came out to that for the Cook fight.

Michaels, Sean wrote:

Union Cane wrote:Still got the decks, mixer and 200 odd vinyls up in the loft somewhere.

And they told me that hardcore would never die.

Wasn't there a song called (like a ) shooting star or something that was quite commercial. Probably about 94 / 95?

'Flip & Fill' released it in 2002, but it had been around in various forms for years before that. Beginning of the end for me, when it started getting played on the radio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wpifScnTn0

eddyfightfan wrote:i dont think literally its changing into the wwe, but there are definetly paralells, the degale groves argument on ringside was just like one of the badly written badly acted wwe interviews. some of the art work (ie posters, adverts, promo videos) are shot exactly like in wwe, and the way that most promoters try and make you think unless two fighters dont like each other outside the ring they wont put on a decent show in the ring (rivalry, bad blood etc etc) are all have a manufactored feeling.

I just think it seems more and fore farcical of late. We have the tragic sight of respected commentators like Barry Mcguigan, and Johnny Nelson, trying desperately to sell us the strengths of each fighter when in reality one of the guys they're talking about is Audley Harrison. We have every single fight hyped as though it's a genuine clash of the titans and a real 50-50 affair (see primetime threads). I know no promoter would ever sell a fight if they admitted it was a one-sided affair, but that brings me to the key point: that greed is stifling the sport with over-matched opponents and fights made based on calculated risk rather than actual career progression. Arum at recently has been pulling the strings on the careers of Pacquiao, Cotto, Margarito, Mosley, Marquez, Foreman, Gambia, Lopez, and his influence has naturally been affecting guys who aren't even Top Rank fighters. On top of this we have the ridiculous governing bodies, stripping titles willy-nilly. It's hardly a sport if the people in charge don't treat is as such.

Scottrf wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wpifScnTn0

That. Is. Awful.

Union Cane wrote:

Michaels, Sean wrote:

Union Cane wrote:Still got the decks, mixer and 200 odd vinyls up in the loft somewhere.

And they told me that hardcore would never die.

Wasn't there a song called (like a ) shooting star or something that was quite commercial. Probably about 94 / 95?

'Flip & Fill' released it in 2002, but it had been around in various forms for years before that. Beginning of the end for me, when it started getting played on the radio.

Did you dispose of your whistles and glow sticks at that point?

I did have a whistle, and often waved glowsticks "in the air like I just don't care". I also wore a hi-viz vest and had curtains.

I'm just a raver, baby.

A classic WWE meets Boxing moment....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl0lyI844NE

Union Cane wrote:I did have a whistle, and often waved glowsticks "in the air like I just don't care". I also wore a hi-viz vest and had curtains.

I'm just a raver, baby.

Not a cycle courier are you..? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sF6Lnxl8ZA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Can't have sound on at work, I'll have to watch that later.

Heart of Gold, Pretty Green Eyes- Dougal, Sy, Force and Stylet etc- brings back memories of myself back in the early to mid 90s- about 4ft 10 dressed up in a Raiders jacket and woolly hat with a Ganja leaf on, standing on a street corner with a bottle of special red in one hand, cig in the other, spitting through my teeth every 10 seconds and generally being very hard!!! Those were the days.

Pekchenko wrote:Heart of Gold, Pretty Green Eyes- Dougal, Sy, Force and Stylet etc- brings back memories of myself back in the early to mid 90s- about 4ft 10 dressed up in a Raiders jacket and woolly hat with a Ganja leaf on, standing on a street corner with a bottle of special red in one hand, cig in the other, spitting through my teeth every 10 seconds and generally being very hard!!! Those were the days.

I'm a bit younger than you I spent my early teenage years online watching porn. How you older guys used jizz mags I will never know.

prettyboykev wrote:

Pekchenko wrote:Heart of Gold, Pretty Green Eyes- Dougal, Sy, Force and Stylet etc- brings back memories of myself back in the early to mid 90s- about 4ft 10 dressed up in a Raiders jacket and woolly hat with a Ganja leaf on, standing on a street corner with a bottle of special red in one hand, cig in the other, spitting through my teeth every 10 seconds and generally being very hard!!! Those were the days.

I'm a bit younger than you I spent my early teenage years online watching porn. How you older guys used jizz mags I will never know.

Those were the days!

rowley wrote:

Mind the windows Tino. wrote:

rowley wrote:

Valero's Conscience wrote:
The key factor is WWE is fake!

homo-erotic undertones.

Is that the band that Feargal Sharkey fronted?

Feargal is related to Jack Sharkey by the way.

Gay tribute band, quite a niche market. Nice attempt to keep things on topic with the Jack Sharkey reference

He was married to my cousin (I kid you not), but cannot confirm the Jack Sharkey comment above

prettyboykev wrote:

Pekchenko wrote:Heart of Gold, Pretty Green Eyes- Dougal, Sy, Force and Stylet etc- brings back memories of myself back in the early to mid 90s- about 4ft 10 dressed up in a Raiders jacket and woolly hat with a Ganja leaf on, standing on a street corner with a bottle of special red in one hand, cig in the other, spitting through my teeth every 10 seconds and generally being very hard!!! Those were the days.

I'm a bit younger than you I spent my early teenage years online watching porn. How you older guys used jizz mags I will never know.

It's quite straightforward. The equivalent to using 'tabs' on your internet browser would simply be to select your favourite 'articles' from said magazines, and then arrange them neatly in an arc or a crescent shape on the floor around you as you kneel. Also worth remembering is to position yourself with your back to the door, so that if your mother does disturb you she's not treated to the full glory of her teenage son slinging his gog all over the staples of Dawn, 23, Essex.

BALTIMORA wrote:

prettyboykev wrote:

Pekchenko wrote:Heart of Gold, Pretty Green Eyes- Dougal, Sy, Force and Stylet etc- brings back memories of myself back in the early to mid 90s- about 4ft 10 dressed up in a Raiders jacket and woolly hat with a Ganja leaf on, standing on a street corner with a bottle of special red in one hand, cig in the other, spitting through my teeth every 10 seconds and generally being very hard!!! Those were the days.

I'm a bit younger than you I spent my early teenage years online watching porn. How you older guys used jizz mags I will never know.

It's quite straightforward. The equivalent to using 'tabs' on your internet browser would simply be to select your favourite 'articles' from said magazines, and then arrange them neatly in an arc or a crescent shape on the floor around you as you kneel. Also worth remembering is to position yourself with your back to the door, so that if your mother does disturb you she's not treated to the full glory of her teenage son slinging his gog all over the staples of Dawn, 23, Essex.

You guys used to kneel? What happens if you get cramp just as you shoot your splooge over Dawn, 23, Essex?

King Beer wrote:

BALTIMORA wrote:

prettyboykev wrote:

Pekchenko wrote:Heart of Gold, Pretty Green Eyes- Dougal, Sy, Force and Stylet etc- brings back memories of myself back in the early to mid 90s- about 4ft 10 dressed up in a Raiders jacket and woolly hat with a Ganja leaf on, standing on a street corner with a bottle of special red in one hand, cig in the other, spitting through my teeth every 10 seconds and generally being very hard!!! Those were the days.

I'm a bit younger than you I spent my early teenage years online watching porn. How you older guys used jizz mags I will never know.

It's quite straightforward. The equivalent to using 'tabs' on your internet browser would simply be to select your favourite 'articles' from said magazines, and then arrange them neatly in an arc or a crescent shape on the floor around you as you kneel. Also worth remembering is to position yourself with your back to the door, so that if your mother does disturb you she's not treated to the full glory of her teenage son slinging his gog all over the staples of Dawn, 23, Essex.

You guys used to kneel? What happens if you get cramp just as you shoot your splooge over Dawn, 23, Essex?

It never used to take that long.

BALTIMORA wrote:

King Beer wrote:

BALTIMORA wrote:

prettyboykev wrote:

Pekchenko wrote:Heart of Gold, Pretty Green Eyes- Dougal, Sy, Force and Stylet etc- brings back memories of myself back in the early to mid 90s- about 4ft 10 dressed up in a Raiders jacket and woolly hat with a Ganja leaf on, standing on a street corner with a bottle of special red in one hand, cig in the other, spitting through my teeth every 10 seconds and generally being very hard!!! Those were the days.

I'm a bit younger than you I spent my early teenage years online watching porn. How you older guys used jizz mags I will never know.

It's quite straightforward. The equivalent to using 'tabs' on your internet browser would simply be to select your favourite 'articles' from said magazines, and then arrange them neatly in an arc or a crescent shape on the floor around you as you kneel. Also worth remembering is to position yourself with your back to the door, so that if your mother does disturb you she's not treated to the full glory of her teenage son slinging his gog all over the staples of Dawn, 23, Essex.

You guys used to kneel? What happens if you get cramp just as you shoot your splooge over Dawn, 23, Essex?

It never used to take that long.

Tried a mag once in a hotel room on a lads holiday but the lack of movement just wasn't happening for me.

prettyboykev wrote:

BALTIMORA wrote:

King Beer wrote:

BALTIMORA wrote:

prettyboykev wrote:

Pekchenko wrote:Heart of Gold, Pretty Green Eyes- Dougal, Sy, Force and Stylet etc- brings back memories of myself back in the early to mid 90s- about 4ft 10 dressed up in a Raiders jacket and woolly hat with a Ganja leaf on, standing on a street corner with a bottle of special red in one hand, cig in the other, spitting through my teeth every 10 seconds and generally being very hard!!! Those were the days.

I'm a bit younger than you I spent my early teenage years online watching porn. How you older guys used jizz mags I will never know.

It's quite straightforward. The equivalent to using 'tabs' on your internet browser would simply be to select your favourite 'articles' from said magazines, and then arrange them neatly in an arc or a crescent shape on the floor around you as you kneel. Also worth remembering is to position yourself with your back to the door, so that if your mother does disturb you she's not treated to the full glory of her teenage son slinging his gog all over the staples of Dawn, 23, Essex.

You guys used to kneel? What happens if you get cramp just as you shoot your splooge over Dawn, 23, Essex?

It never used to take that long.

Tried a mag once in a hotel room on a lads holiday but the lack of movement just wasn't happening for me.

Did you try waving the magazine in the air? Or bouncing it on your knee?

You can press your johnson up against the images in a mag though, I suppose you can on the internet but I wouldn't recommend it.

Union Cane wrote:You can press your johnson up against the images in a mag though, I suppose you can on the internet but I wouldn't recommend it.

Tried that once. The boss wasn't impressed.

Union Cane wrote:You can press your johnson up against the images in a mag though, I suppose you can on the internet but I wouldn't recommend it.

If you wrap it round your johnson........

King Beer wrote:

Union Cane wrote:You can press your johnson up against the images in a mag though, I suppose you can on the internet but I wouldn't recommend it.

If you wrap it round your johnson........

Papercut

Xhamster is the place to go it has porn for all kinds of pervs.