2 Years Ago, Muhammad Ali’s Daughter Laila Ali Predicted Downfall of Boxing: ’The Viewership Kinda Went Down

Laila Ali, the former undefeated world champion, who is known to most boxing fans as the daughter of the greatest heavyweight fighter of all time, Muhammad Ali has followed the sport for a very long period of time. Her keen eyes have witnessed how the sport has undergone several changes.

There was a time when boxing’s heavyweight division was producing the most exciting contests. But now the scenario is different. Barely champions like Ali and Mike Tyson are coming up. As a result, the charm of sports has drastically gone down. Ali, who held WBC, WIBA, IWBF, and the IBA female super middleweight titles gave a similar take years before.

In an interview with ESPN, the 44-year-old predicted, “You know we have seen that there wasn’t as much excitement there the viewership kind of went down.”

Ali, who also held the title in the light heavyweight division backed her argument with a valid reason.

Why reasons did Laila Ali give?

Ali was a kid when her father was reigning the boxing world but she can clearly differentiate between the contests of that time and the present.

Earlier fighters had charisma. They were eager to fight the best possible opponents to produce exciting contests. They were more driven by the spirit of the sport than money. But gradually this precedent changed.

Fighters began disappointing their fans. Meanwhile, other combat sports gained popularity.

“I mean you got to the MMA and UFC and all this going on that people were liking because I’m fighting people get tired of not being able to see the best fight each other and you know the heavyweight division just was not it for a while”, Ali said.

Certainly, Ali was right. The popularity of boxing did go down. Boxing fans are disappointed with how big fights are getting ducked. Fighters are more possessive of their belts than of sport.

On the other hand, the MMA world is producing more exciting showdowns. They book fights that the fans want to see.

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What do you think of Ali’s prediction? To what extent do you think Ali was correct? Let us know in the comments below.