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The sport's great history--filled with colorful characters, drama, tradition, triumph and tragedy--is one of the things that draws me to it. It is an area in which boxing has a definite edge against MMA-type sports.
The powers-that-be in boxing should use that incredibly rich history to market the sport.
When I buy boxing magazines the articles I read first are the profiles of past fighters and past eras. A recent issue of Ring magazine had a feature on the great and not-so-great eras of each weight class. I devoured every word.
Many people today, when they think of boxing's past, only see the pitiful shell of Ali and the crash-and-burn that ended Tyson's career. How many have ever heard of Willie Pep, Fighting Harada or Henry Armstrong? There are so many GREAT names and GREAT stories. So many guys who had great careers but never got title shots.
I sometimes wonder how much boxing history today's young fighters know. Supposedly Tyson became a very passionate student of boxing history when Cus took him in. Good for him.
I'm seeing more boxing on non-pay-per-view these days, but there is still too many Ali-Foreman, Ali-Frazier, etc. Larry Holmes, etc etc. With all due respect to these great champions, there are probably millions of feet of boxing film out there. More of that old footage needs to be seen on TV.
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