Longtime boxing promoter Lou DiBella took part in the "boxing vs. MMA" debate with Joe Rogan on ESPN a couple of years ago that you see above, but he said in a recent interview that he doesn't think the growth of the UFC's popularity has had anything to do with the decline of boxing's popularity.
From DiBella's interview with John James of The Sweet Science:
LD: MMA does not hurt boxing. MMA does not destroy boxing. Boxing fans aren't running to MMA. That's just all b.s. The reality was that long before MMA and the Fertittas [brothers] spent a gazillion dollars with the UFC, boxing was already fading. Boxing's biggest problem is that it can't attract young people. We have virtually no fans under 30, and that's a problem. ...I agree with DiBella that boxing fans aren't running to MMA, but boxing definitely needs to learn some lessons from the way the UFC has marketed its fights. I question whether anyone involved in boxing will learn those lessons.
JJ: Is boxing losing popularity to MMA ?
LD: No, it's not losing to them. They are gaining popularity on their own and we are not gaining popularity.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-01-2009 @ 10:22AM
Scorpio said...
What happen to boxing? Boxing was America's sport but where is it you don't see it on television anymore to see a fight you have to pay 50.00 to 60.00 dollars to see a so so fight. I don't even know half the boxers out there anymore. UFC is doing it right they have ufc on almost everyday advertising there fighters and introducing the world to the next big thing. Boxing did that at one point how do you think the Boxing greats like Duran,Sugar Ray,Benitez,Hagler,Rocky Marciano and the greatest Ali was introduced to the world and become famous "Regular Television" not PPV it's time for Boxing to go back to that era and show off there talented Boxer's to this new generation and the old before you ask us to spend big bucks.
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6-02-2009 @ 1:37AM
kwilbur10 said...
its not only that its the fact that nothing has changes since the Ali days. the sport is the same and will always be the same. generations change and that is what MMA is. its a new sport but it changes with the crowd that it wants to appease. die hard boxing fans say its a science its blah blah blah. the fans that actually have the money to spend want there gratification, not a 15 round jab fest. what MMA has is like 6 fights that are aired PPV (with a chance for more) and all 6 fights are different. boxing is however many they can get to fight at the time and all look about the same. so boxing is fading you don't quite here about it as often as you use to, ppl in my class or at my job all talk about UFC, NFL, NBA, even NHL sometimes and NASCAR gets mentioned, but no Boxing. so boxing is self destructing, after Manny, and Floyd retires (for real this time) the sport will no longer worth talking about or spending money on.
6-01-2009 @ 11:17AM
imshortyk said...
The problem with boxing, in my eyes, now-a-days is that it's no longer a sport of the "Sweet Science". It's a sport of the "Sweet Clinching". You just get two guys out there that move around and as SOON as one of them throws a punch, the other hugs him to stop it. That's all I see when I watch the sport. Of course there are exceptions and I know of a few boxers that manhandle others but it's not the exception, which is a big issue for me.
When in the UFC and other MMA organizations there is usually CONSTANT action. And even when there's not, if you have somebody that understands the various martial arts, you can watch and observe their various styles and learn who has what advantage and all that jazz. It has nothing to do with marketing, in my opinion, and I DO believe that after some boxing fans took their Muhammad Ali-colored glasses off and saw the sport of boxing for it really was today, they decided to either stop watching it entirely or go watch MMA.
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6-01-2009 @ 11:51AM
boxer129 said...
Lots of things here.
1. Boxers do not fight as often as they used to. You really can't be popular or a star if you're not in the publics eye constantly. I say a minimum of 4 fights a year should be mandated for the champs.
2. Boxing has become all about money and they aren't making the big fights often enough. 1,2, or 3 megafights a year just doesn't cut it.
3. Boxing has a bad rap for causing "brain damage" and thus causing a lot of USA potential to go into other sports. There are more sports here open to young children. In other countries boxing is a lifestyle, and they start at a young age. Which is not the case here.
I could go on and on but it's getting long. My last thing is I cannot stand Dibella or rogan. Rogan says he loves boxing but will take a stab at it any chance he gets. I'm a fan of both sports but favor boxing. People need to quit the "this sport is dying, this sport is better". IMO in a majority case, boxers are more skilled in their craft. MMA seems like it's just a lot of guys off the street that learn to grapple and punch for a couple months. Sloppy. I do hate grappling. Looks like gay foreplay.
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6-30-2009 @ 3:39PM
D-Train7 said...
Great point & well said... I'm a big boxing fan that's been watching MMA since the mid 90's... I'm going to take this in a different direction, hopefully this won't come off wrong but here it goes...
1) MMA is really popular because it's fan base is young white males....MMA gives several great white athletes the chance to further their careers after high school & college..... There was a time when boxing was primarily white & so was it's fan base.... That day has past, boxing is now dominate by minorities, just look at all the weight divisions & their champions.... In the MMA the sport is dominated by the guy that lives next door to you... There are very few blacks in MMA at this time... There are very few Mexicans, so my point is the white guy has a sport to watch that is dominated by his race.... There was a time when all sports were primarily white, but that day has come and gone....MMA is also very big in Brazil & other countries but it's bread it buttered in American.. The young white guy can relate to the wrestler from Iowa or the the tough guy that lives in So Cal more than the black dude from Philly or the Mexican from Tijuana... So my point is you have to give Dana credit for going out & marketing to hip cool white males.... I'm not being racist with my comments just honest, everyone wants to see there race excel in whatever sport you watch... I should know being black & watching sports my whole life you want to be able to relate to your hero's....
2) Boxing's problem is that the white guy doesn't follow boxing or box anymore... It's a much easier route to go join MMA than boxing.. There are to many weight classes and most of the champs don't speak english and are not from America.... So basically boxing was dominated by America & know it's not.... The UFC is dominated by Americans but the most skilled are from other countries.... Boxing also has no under card & it is killing the sport... How do you know who the up and coming boxers are if you never see them ??? Boxing needs to take out 5 weight classes & start putting together free card everywhere...
MMA is popular because its' the new thing in comparison to boxing, every sport has it's problems but we will see what happens... Personally boxing is great to me & love watching it more than the MMA.... MMA is a much better show & event, while boxing is left with it's purist....
6-02-2009 @ 2:37PM
o0soul said...
If boxing champs want to stop making millions and make the nickles and dimes that MMA champs usually make for fights then maybe boxing will have more money to promote it's sport. Dana White is not really concerned with growing the SPORT of MMA. He seems more concerned with his own millions than making sure his fighters get paid well. If he had things his way there would be no MMA, only UFC. The stingy pay UFC gives it's fighters could back fire if some of the other big MMA promotions start paying their guys better. It's sad that the pound for pound best mma fighter in the world (Fedor) only made $300k in his last fight. While Ricky Hatton, who is far from the pound for pound king made $8million getting KO'd in the second round by Pacquiao (Pac made $12million).
The two sports are just set up so differently. In boxing the boxers have more say in their careers and they make the most money cause they are the ones in danger, they are the draw. In MMA the organization makes most of the money, cause the market the hell out of it. It's like fighters make a trade off. They can come on the scene in MMA and very quickly make a name for themselves but the money is fairly limited. Boxing takes longer to move up (unless you have a gold medal) and you basically have to be undefeated to be someone, but the pay is soo much better.
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6-02-2009 @ 10:20PM
retrojoke said...
This is such an old interview....good job posting last years news.
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6-03-2009 @ 11:26AM
Wilson said...
Boxing will be here for years to come. I hate mma and in no way put it above boxing, and it is hard to believe anyone would, and if you do, speak for yourself and not the millions of boxing fans around the world.
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6-03-2009 @ 7:26PM
grimslade5 said...
I love the "boxers are more skilled" comments, more skilled at what? Fighting, not a chance, sure they maybe more skilled at standing in front of people and trading punches but thats about it. What a bunch of BS.
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6-04-2009 @ 1:04PM
Jay said...
I like both sports. And Joe Rogan I think is a great figure for MMA in his position and the work he does. But Boxing is about 100 years ahead of any MMA organization, and to say it is loosing popularity is crazy. EXAMPLE: When Mayweather beat Hatton he earned 40 million, both Hatton and Pacman got 14 Million a total of 21 million combined. I don't ever see any fighter in MMA making half that in the next 30 or 40 years, IF EVER....Son in order for boxing to pay out this kind of money, they are doing something right.
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6-04-2009 @ 11:05PM
kwilbur10 said...
joe rogan is only a good figure if he isn't high. which is never lol. but i am tired of ppl using paydays as a sign of things to come. yes boxing pays more. but so what. ppl are buying more ppvs for the UFC, not boxing. in the last yrs of boxing vs UFC ppv buys, Floyds fight with de la hoya was topped by 3-4 other UFC ppv. the hatton pacman ppv was also topped by 3-4 UFC ppv buys dating a yr ago from that night of the fight. so this is a sign to come, not fighter paydays. UFC fighters get their money by other means. Zuffa doesn't pay that well but those sponsors sure the hell do.
6-05-2009 @ 8:46PM
joey said...
Joe is the man beat his ass Joe haha. Na but really boxing sucks it all about the money MMA is where its at I mean come on to say that MMA is cock fighting really Boxing you just clinch and punch it seems like thier hasnt been a good boxing fight in years hmm lets see MMA"S last good fight Evans vs Lyoto their last ppv. Boxing sucks MMA rules bottome line is the young generation like MMA so when all these old boxing guys die then MMA will take ove so get over you guys are pass ur time. As far as floyd goes you suck ur whole career is a joke and you cant cut it in boxing anymore let alone in MMA.
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6-05-2009 @ 8:48PM
joey said...
Jay they do make more money but look at the ufcs last ppv then tell me MMA is behind boxing the ufc makes more money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
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6-21-2009 @ 10:45PM
spicsapian said...
ufc makes more money at this time because its over exposing itself... trust me the ufc will die out with fans.. 1 championship boxing match can generate more than 100 million dollars in tottal revenue... it would take 10 mma championship bouts to generate that... boxing may be dead for mma fans. but there are far more true boxing fans than you guys.. to washed up fighter get in the ring. 1 boxer 1 mma fighter. who wins? or should i say who won. guys who cant fight turn to mma fighting. next thing you know bitting will be alowwed.. maybe eye guaging, im not going to tottaly knock ma.. lots of the fighters do have skill. but from what i see is 2 guys throwing wild crazy punches hoping one lands. and thats the guy who wins..in boxing is more skill than brawn. you can have the smaller weaker guy knock you out. mma fans are the same guys who watched wwf and believed it was real... they just waiting to see blood and broken bones.. they dont care about the sweet science of fighting.
6-21-2009 @ 10:51PM
spicsapian said...
AND ONE MORE THING::::: the mma is making money.. BUT NOT THE FIGHTERS;;; a great boxer makes millions a fight. a great mma fighter will be lucky if he gets 100.000 a fight... sooo who makes the money? id rather get in the ring and get my ass beat by mike tyson for a cool million then to get in the ring and get beat up by rampage for 10 maybe 30 thousand
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6-29-2009 @ 10:07PM
Pito said...
Ok here it goes. I like Joe from his days in the [FOX] insect eating series'], but he is full of shit. There is nothing more disgusting than two men shoving eachother's nuts in the other's face. I like MMA, but Boxing is the sport of kings. And it is not fading. For Joe Rogan to even insinuate that Boxing only has the Oscar De La Hoyas, Shane Mosleys, etc. left and then it fades into darkness, is to admit he doesn't know the last thing about a sport that has been through thick and thin, a sport that saw the great depression and beat it. It's more than 100 years old and aging. And to top it, no one can tell me that any MMA fighter will ever make what Oscar or Mayweather put in their pockets in a single night [just what they take home, not including the payment of taxes and cornermen]. Chuck Lidell has a 115 pound kid who could take Mayweather down easy? Then why isn't the kid in boxing?, And why is Chuck talking about take downs; because being knocked on his ass maakes him an authority on the subject? Meanwhile Mayweather still walks head high, proud to be one of the best in the sport and still undefeated? Anyhow, this is not to state that MMA hasn't it's fan base and perks, but sadly enough it is a human cockfight as most people say, nothing more. It is not street or "real" fighting either, because in the street I can kick the biggest guys' ass buy simply poking my thumbs in his eyes and plucking them out. In MMA that's not allowed, as it is in street fighting or "self defense". A word to Rogan - "Self defense is just that. Do what it takes to defend yourself", whether you come out on top or kill the other guy. MMA and boxing have no place in that arena. They are each a sport in their own right, except Boxing requires much more science, skill, finesse and far more stamina and strength than MMA. Let an MMA mastodont even try to make it to the 8th round or past the 5th for that matter. Even at 140 pounds there is no way any MMA welterweight could do what a Boxing welterweigh can. That is the bottom line. Joe Rogan needs to put his foot back where it belongs, at the bottom of his leg, and not in his big mouth. He lacks the knowledge, mentality or capacity to even make an argument logical. He does have a bigger mouth and therrefore he thinks that with a bigger mouth comes more intimidation. If MMA was such a smart sport, they'd be making much more or equal the money Boxing makes for the punishment they receive. What MMA fighter has ended up shaking his fists at the air because he took too many punches or talking slurred because he didn't protct his head? MMA is designed to benefit the person in the cage while giving the audience the illusion of danger. Boxing is a far better sport and if you don't have your belt well tightened and your nuts in the right place, you cannot make it in the ring. To fight MMA all one needs is to be able to hold and kick [have 2 hands and legs].. Joe; One... brother. Much love, but you should stick to watching men sniff eachothers nutsacks. Boxing talk is too big and intelligent for you....
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