It’s sad to say that over the past decade the sport of boxing has been on a steady decline. The sweet science is an American past time. It is an extremely artistic and technical discipline, however with the rise of MMA, the corruption, and the lack of exciting fights, boxing has run into a major road block. One of the reasons for this is that the once talent-rich heavyweight division is a shell of what it once was. The last big-time heavyweight matchup was Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson which grossed approximately $107,000,000 in 2002. This was the most lucrative pay-per-view event in boxing history until it Mayweather vs. De La Hoya in 2007 which brought in $134,000,000. I just don’t understand why fight promoters cannot put together more exciting matchups. The sport needs a new wave of superstars. Money Mayweather is the best pound-for-pound boxer today, however he is in the smaller weight classes which is unappealing to a large audience. People want to see the heavyweights like in the old days, or at least fighters in the middleweight division and above. I feel like Roy Jones Jr. was the sports last megastar. After his string of losses though to Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson, boxing seemed to take a turn for the worse. Pretty Boy is great and will go down as one of the best pound-for-pound however his personality is all over the place, and as mentioned earlier is a little too small to appeal to a broader American audience. I really hope boxing undergoes an “extreme makeover”. I really think it has a lot to offer, contrary to popular belief that the UFC has taken over. There is nothing like watching a good boxing match. Don’t get me wrong I think the MMA is extremely. There is no athlete as tough as a boxer. Boxers go twelve rounds absorbing x amount of blows to the head over and over again. When boxers get knocked down they recieve a standing eight count, and then resume boxing. Whereas once an MMA fighter gets knocked down and looks like it is the end is when Big John McArthy, Herb Dean, Steve Mazagatti, Josh Rosenthal or any other ref we are used to seeing usually steps in. MMA fighters do wear four ounce gloves, whereas boxers usually where 10 oz. however, going 10-12 rounds straight punching is extremely taxing on the body. I think boxing has the foundation to be revitalized. Andre Ward, the gold medalist in the 2004 Olympics is on the rise in the 160 pound division. I hope the promoters can get it together and put together some good fights setting aside money issues. I also think that boxing should look to cross promote, allowing UFC fighters to enter the ring in a boxing match, or perhaps be creative with dirty boxing matches (hands and elbows). Whatever it is promoters need to do something because boxing is on its deathbed, and I am extremely sad about it.