I was watching
Ali on Sunday, and it made me think about who are the champions right now. I was a big boxing fan in the 70s (Ali, Foreman, Frazier, Norton, Holmes) and 80s (Duran, Hearns, Hagler, Leonard, Benitez). Last time I knew the heavyweight champ, it was Klitschko.
The "Rumble in the Jungle" was watched by an estimated audience of 1 billion people.
This could be entirely on me, but I never heard of Fury and Wilder until I re-connected to Ring Magazine. It used to be the heavyweight champ was the most famous person in the world. I suppose the move of boxing from network TV to PPV, and the rise of MMA, too many boxing bodies, mismanagement/corruption, and knowing more about concussions, has caused boxing to diminish.
Is it making a comeback?
Why boxing disappeared after the Rumble in the Jungle
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlo...all-could-too/
Quote:
Boxing’s sheer brutality forced it off the national network airwaves. Enormous revenue further facilitated its transition to cable and pay-per-view telecasting, and the sport then eased out of the living rooms of everyone but dedicated fans.
Boxing results soon moved off the nation’s sports pages, and reporters no longer covered the sport regularly. It had always been a favorite of America’s most celebrated writers, but even the literary set moved on.
Can you name the current heavyweight champion of the world?
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