[msqueri]

Some posts have referred to boxing's demise. Perhaps it's gotten smaller but it's far from disappeared. Amateur boxing has changed tremendously, of course. But as a sport we are talking about a sport that generates about half a billion dollars a year in the United States alone (it was $438.6 million last year and I wonder if a massive year this year could be bigger with Crawford-Spence, Davis-Garcia, Haney-Lomachenko, Benavidez-Plant, not to mention every time Canelo steps in a ring). Globally it's a bigger sport than tennis.

I mention this less to defend the sweet science and more to inject a dose of realism into discussions about what happens even to barbaric sports. Is there a time since the gladiators when human society hasn't showcased (some would say exploited) superior physical specimens for the entertainment of others? Is there a time when violence of one man against another man isn't part of the appeal?

Americans enjoy football. It's an Ivory Tower, coastal elite discussion to talk about the physical risks. I think it's unlikely physical risks will ever stop modern day gladiators from leveraging their physical gifts to make money or stop the masses from enjoying the incredible drama, beauty, inspiration, and human spirit that gets showcased in physically grueling sports in a way nothing else can match, at least for some subset of the population that will continue to pay for it (in terms of both the physical costs to the competitors and the monetary costs to the audience).

[msqueri]

Some posts have referred to boxing's demise. Perhaps it's gotten smaller but it's far from disappeared. Amateur boxing has changed tremendously, of course. But as a sport we are talking about a sport that generates about half a billion dollars a year in the United States alone (it was $438.6 million last year and I wonder if a massive year this year could be bigger with Crawford-Spence, Davis-Garcia, Haney-Lomachenko, Benavidez-Plant, not to mention every time Canelo steps in a ring). Globally it's a bigger sport than tennis.

I mention this less to defend the sweet science and more to inject a dose of realism into discussions about what happens even to barbaric sports. Is there a time since the gladiators when human society hasn't showcased (some would say exploited) superior physical specimens for the entertainment of others? Is there a time when violence of one man against another man isn't part of the appeal?

Americans enjoy football. It's an Ivory Tower, coastal elite discussion to talk about the physical risks. I think it's unlikely physical risks will ever stop modern day gladiators from leveraging their physical gifts to make money or stop the masses from enjoying the incredible drama, beauty, inspiration, and human spirit that gets showcased in physically grueling sports in a way nothing else can match, at least for some subset of the population that will continue to pay for it (in terms of both the physical costs to the competitors and the monetary costs to the audience).