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Originally Posted by pan6467
The reason boxing died was that it went to pay per view and premium cable channels and the greed and politics of the promoters, not because of deaths or injuries or even lack of stars (there are still stars, although ppv and cable made the stars harder and harder to associate and recognize).
The interesting thing about boxing (more so than any other sport in the USA) was that the champs could be traced to which group was starting to move out of the poverty ranks.
Early you see it was the Irish, then the Jews, then Italians, and then Blacks, and finally Latinos..... there really isn't that push to be a boxer and get out of the ghetto anymore.
Will boxing die? I doubt it, but it has to get back to its roots, small gyms in cities, boxers that work their way up, televised on "free" tv. However, as long as King, Arum and the old school promoters still maintain the reigns and politics of boxing, it will flounder.
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Boxing has ALWAYS ebbed and flowed - or more accurately, combat sports have ebbed and flowed. Nothing is permanent. For a hundred years boxing was underground and highly illegal until the late 1800s, then it exploded and became enormously popular. Now it is declining. MMA, meanwhile, is expanding.
No sport is likely to be a permanent fixture of our social landscape other than perhaps running a foot race.