The Decline of an International Pastime
While boxing has received more international attention than local, it is still in deep decline.
Believe it or not, there used to be a time when boxing was so popular the world literally stopped and focused on the event. Who could forget the Rumble in the Jungle? On October 30, 1974, in Mai 20 Stadium in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo): world Heavyweight champ George Foreman squared off against former world champ Muhammad Ali. People all over the world watched with rapt anticipation as two champions duked it out in the main event.
Nowadays, boxing doesn’t get nearly the attention it deserves, and you’ll be hard pressed to see more than just a brief television ad whenever some major boxing event takes place. Rarely is it even shown on regular television and usually you have to jump on sites like www.directstartv.com and actually specially order these programs in order to see them.
It seems like, compared to the rest of the mainstream sports out there, boxing has somewhat diminished and that’s unfortunate. While certain naysayers like to downplay boxing, there really has never been a nobler sport. It’s not just about pummeling your opponent with pugilistic punishments and it’s not just about getting hurt. It takes heart, dedication and devotion to be a champ – it’s inspiring and more about hard work than having your picture put on a box of Wheaties.