O Boxing, Where Art Thou?
by Richard Gardner | Bodog Sportsbook Manager - 7/7/2011
It was supposed to help put boxing back on the map. Instead it might’ve hurt the languishing sport even more.
Wladimir Klitschko fended off (and I mean that as literally as possible) David Haye on Saturday in Germany to win one of the most hyped heavyweight fights in some time. But for all the pre-match excitement and trash talking, the bout delivered nothing but snores.
Making matters worse, Haye blamed a broken toe on his failure to land his power punches, an excuse that only caused more eye-rolling from boxing’s critics. If he was too hurt, he shouldn’t have fought. If he was healthy enough to fight, it shouldn’t be an excuse. No wonder MMA is taking over.
At Bodog, we booked a decent amount of action on the Klitschko-Haye fight, but it was nothing to write home about. HBO’s decision to broadcast the bout on its regular channel versus pay per view probably helped, because I’m not sure how many people in North America would have watched if they had to pay for it. Not as many as would’ve watched it for free. (And boy would they have been angry after the fact.)
There will always be hard-core fight fans who bet on boxing. The key for us, however, is to attract action beyond the hard-core bettors. It’s like when we post our odds for golf. If Tiger Woods isn’t playing, a big chunk of our bettors won’t be interested. (Which is why we’re hoping Rory McIlroy will be the next big superstar.)
Unfortunately, long gone are the days when Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield were making headlines. Boxing’s fallen particularly far off the radar in the United States, where most sports fans these days couldn’t name a single American heavyweight that could one day become a champion. Granted, I’m not sure one of those actually exists, but you get the point.
Of course the only fight the mainstream media wants to see is Floyd Mayweather Jr. versus Manny Pacquiao. Unfortunately, the two sides haven’t been able to come together yet, though there’s still hope that it will happen eventually.
Again, however, boxing detractors have been given ammunition. After all, if nobody can find a way to get these two guys to step into the ring with each other, what does that say about the sport? Whatever it says, it’s not positive.
It’s too bad, really, because boxing is such a great sport to wager on. Obviously you can bet on who wins, but also if it’s by knockout or decision, how many rounds it will go, how many punches will be thrown, etc.
Hopefully the sport will find its way back to the mainstream, but I wouldn’t hold my breath for long.
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