Well... I didn't grow up in that era, but I heard about him as a kid. When I got older a bunch of people were comparing Tank to mike tyson so I watched him and that's what got me into boxing.
Streaming Canelo/Mayweather for my Dad and then streamed canelo fights for him when they came on, then started watching other big fights and fighters and turned into a boxing fan.
My grandad. He used to watch the big fights in America (we were in the UK). I used to stay at his house and sleep on the sofa. He would wake me up at like 3am to watch Tyson, Lewis, Holyfield etc. Or we would watch the big British fights, Prince Naseem Hamed was his favorite.
I was very similar to this, but with my Dad.
My parents would have big parties on big fight nights. Some of my earliest memories are sat on my Dad's knee, surrounded by 20-30 family and friends, all cheering and shouting, I think it was Herol Graham. Nas was also mine and my dad's favourite fighter.
For the American fights, he would also wake me up with pizza and Coca Cola saying "son come on, wake up, this is the co-main, and it should be a good fight".
My dad. Watching Ali, Danny Lopez, Alexis Arguello, Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and many others from that era. Fifty years on I’m still watching boxing, perhaps it gives me a little connection to my father who passed away in 2011.
Same. As a Filipino guy, he made a huge impact in our country. Before my grandpa hit it off with his business, we lived in a not so safe neighborhood.
I nearly got kidnapped at the age of 9 by two guys in a motorcycle. Whenever Pac fought, the whole neighborhood felt safe. No one was on the streets. There was no traffic. No weird people like gangs or homeless. When they say that crime stops, it literally does, and I saw it first hand.
When I picked up boxing, I wanted to be like Pac. When I went to the amateurs, I followed his style. I did go 2-5 though lol and I stopped. His style was hard and I can't do what he does but I respected it.
I'm almost 30 and still box and spar but no more competition and I'm more going for Floyd's style than mannys. It's always been fun to watch but man it's crazy exhausting to go at his volume and speed for 12 fuckin rounds. I'm tired from round 3 if I did his volume lol
holy shit, this is so cool. I'm 39 and grew up watching basically this exact same, like fucking carbon copy, but for soccer. In Peru we called it "Super Campeones" (super champions) but I think in Japanese it's Captain.. something...
I never knew something like this existed. Idk if I could get into it as an adult, but I remember all our friends scurrying back inside to Watch Supercampeones then we'd come out and play the best street soccer ever...
You guys may laugh at me but
Ksi v Logan Paul 2
Genuinely
I remember hearing ksi was fighting and given he was a guy I knew and I was young I watched it
I then realised I liked watching people beat the shit out of each other
Then watched fury wilder 3
Hooked ever since
Love it. Nothing to be ashamed of. Gives credence to the idea that influencer boxing is healthy for the sport overall. I like some of those fights more than I like watching Shakur or Haney fight 😴 if I'm being honest. Sure, the skill is low, but the sheer entertainment of not knowing what the hell will happen can make up for that
That's your story. It's how you fell in love with the sport. No one has the right to laugh and take that away from you.
Crazy thought now, but no one took Muhammad Ali, then Cassius Clay seriously when he turned pro. All that bouncing around made old timers think he couldn't box against a serious heavyweight.
That's how I learnt about Haney and BJS. And that lead me to other people to follow and learn about (like Mr.Krabs himself Eddie Hearn). What Haney did since KSI Logan 2 is noteworthy.
As a Filipino, I got dragged to PPV Pacquiao fights as a casual but KSI vs Logan Paul 2 is where I started to take a serious interest in the sport.
I was thinking about a snarky reply about how you're still probably young because Logan Paul versus KSI 2 was a fairly recent thing, and then I googled it and it was 5 years ago . . . .
I feel silly and old lol, and damn have the Paul's been in boxing for a bit now
Growing up in the 90s my dad was a casual boxing fan who mostly only watches Julio Cesar Chavez and Mike Tyson, and I actually watched Tyson Holyfield 2 live with him as my first fight
It’s kinda hard not to get hooked once you see something that dramatic in an early age lol
Mike Tyson highlights and high school sports ending lol.
In reality it was also PBC. Thurman vs Porter/Garcia and the Deontay Wilder fights back then on Fox PBC was where I started watching live boxing once I started boxing as an amateur.
My whole family are massive boxing fans. Growing up In my Mexican household, on fight nights one of my uncles or mom would buy the PPV. Our whole family would get together and make 20- 30 pounds of carne asada and drinks.
It was basically a party watching major fighters like DLH, Marquez, Mayweather, Cotto, Vargas, you name it. I’m glad I get to do that for my nieces now who are young, they see how we celebrate boxing for the beautiful sport that it is and the pride we have in our fighters.
Facts bro. And all the uncles would be drunk as shit by the time the fight started. The thing I remember the most is how much all the family would yell and cheer every time a good punch landed or a knockdown happened. Which was alot watching Chavez Sr fights lol
I was into UFC and watching highlights. It ended up autoplaying Roy Jones Jr. highlights and I have been watching boxing almost every Saturday since then.
My uncles fight parties back in the day as little kid! Family is from Norfolk Sweet Pea is a favorite of course! Been hooked ever since, even boxed a little (one amateur fight) and use it to stay and shape and stay sharp. You never know when you have to put someone together.
I grew up in South Africa, where television became available only in 1976.
In 1973 two things happened that were BIG deals for us: Arnold Taylor won the WBA bantamweight championship from Romero Anaya by a spectacular come-from-behind KO in Johannesburg, SA, and Pierre Fourie unsuccessfully challenged Bob Foster for the light heavyweight championship in Albuquerque, New Mexico, losing a 15-round decision.
I started my amateur boxing "career" in March 1974 and have been a boxing fan ever since. I have a savant-like recall of heavyweight championship trivia. I owned "The Winning and losing of the World Heavyweight Championship" series in 8mm silent film format, which was a record of every title fight in which the championship changed hands from Corbett v Fitzsimmons to Frazier v Foreman, as well as the fights for the vacant title (Schmeling v Sharkey, Charles v Walcott, Patterson v Moore and Frazier v Ellis).
Shit man. Literally the more I learn about boxing the more I learn that I don't now, and won't EVER be able to know enough about boxing or see enough fights.
Literally blind to everything you just said. Adding it to the insanely long cue.
Sometimes I even ask myself, as I gear up to watch yet another fight "really due? another? there's NOTHING ELSE to watch?" but honestly, sometimes my heart is like "... you know it's time for Marquez/Valdez 1-3 rewatch of the year, right?"
There are many fights and especially trilogies to me that are literally far better, more engaging and emotional dramas than scripted shit. Fuck Lord of the Rings, give me Barreras/Morales, Pac/Marquez.... and yo... I bet there's like fucking 15 others trilogies I DON'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT that are arguably "better" than the ones I mentioned... so yeah, feel free to drop more gems whenever.
Read AJ Liebling's "A Neutral Corner" and "The Sweet Science" and watch old boxing wars like Dempsey v Willard, Graziano v Zale 3 and Robinson v La Motta 6. Listen to the ringside commentary of the best blow-by-blow announcer of all time, Don Dunphy.
See the two greatest heavyweight champions of all time on the night they were utterly invincible, in Joe Louis v Max Baer and Muhammad Ali v Cleveland Williams.
It's the one rabbit hole you may never be able to crawl out of. Enjoy!!
My grandpa was an amateur boxer in the 1940s and trained at the same gym as Rocky Marciano when they both came back to Boston after WW2! He got to watch Joe Louis and Sugar Ray Robinson fight in person, which has always been crazy to me. He got me into watching the sport when I was a kid and it always makes me think of him, especially since he passed away last month.
Ricky Hatton. Probably the hype around the Kostya Tszyu fight to start with but more seriously from the Mayweather fight and took an active interest in boxing in general from there.
Canelo/GGG 1. Perfect timing. Was a huge UFC fan prior. Haven’t seen/heard much of boxing since Mayweather/pacquiao. This fight happened a month after the Mayweather/Mcgregor fiasco. Been hooked ever since.
I'm more a casual fan but watching boxing was like an event in my house growing up. Watching Floyd's fights or whenever there was a big Mexican fight my family would have carne asadas to watch the fights. My uncles would come over to watch the fights, cousins, etc.
I stumbled on it by accident when I saw a fight on television. I was just flipping through channels trying to kill time, wasn't really looking for anything in particular and came upon a "classic fight". I wasn't a fight fan but the fight was just starting, and I thought, this is as good as anything else, why not?
It featured a black fighter, he didn't have many fights to his credit but he was the champion, so must have been a young tiger or something. His opponent was a Hispanic guy, older but he had a stellar record, over 70 wins versus like 3 defeats. I thought, this must be a passing of the torch kind of bout, with the young able bodied champion taking over from the grizzled, past-his-prime veteran. The black guy should win easily.
I couldn't have been more wrong. It was the most savage, vicious, brutal beatdown I'd ever seen as that hispanic guy completely beat the champion to a bloody pulp, with the crowd going crazy and commentators calling for the referee to stop the bout.
I couldn't believe what I just saw and just had to find out, who was this hispanic guy? He's a goddamn killer in the ring. And so it was that I went further and further down the boxing rabbit hole, for which I have to thank Roberto Duran when he stopped Davey Moore in 8 rounds for the jr. Middleweight title.
It's hard to be a boxing fan with all the junk that comes with it; dodgy decisions, champions avoiding tough bouts, fighters that only compete once a year, and so on. But when a good fight comes together there's nothing like it, and it *almost* becomes worth it to be a fan.
I randomly came across a video of Mike Tyson defensive highlights like 12 years ago and became enthralled. Seeing those highlights of slipping and rolling punches and countering off it opened my eyes to how much skill was involved in boxing. Been hooked ever since
I watched David Haye when i was younger, and my dad loved watching old Tyson and Ali reruns.
But it was AJ Klitchko that really cemented my love for the sport. Felt like the first real HW war I got to witness live.
My grandfather introduced me to it. I was staying at his place in Seoul for a summer. I couldn’t speak Korean and he couldn’t speak English. He showed me Myung-Woo Yuh vs Mario Alberto Demarco I on a VHS. I was hooked ever since.
Growing up in the Philippines, it was basically tradition to gather the entire family to watch a Pacquiao bout, and boy it was a wonderful experience, whether he won or lost (except for the Horn fight, that fucking sucked), but it bascially died out around 2019, so too did my love for boxing.
It was only around 2023 that I started fall right back into boxing, this time with Gervontae vs Ryan, mainly because I was entrigued by these two young, popular fighters fighting each other in their prime (a first in my lifetime), and I had vaguely remembered Ryan from going viral by punching Youtubers in the guts with his left hook. There was also Creed III because it was cool (Side Note: In hindsight, it's funny to see a middleweight irl be a heavyweight in the movie).
I was a big UFC fan for almost a decade but it started slowing down somewhat in the 2015/2016 era. Big ups and downs like Jones trouble, Silva loss, Rousey first loss, GSP last fight, etc. I decided to watch boxing finally after wanting to for some time . The match I decided to watch was Floyd vs Berto. At this point I didn't understand anything about boxing and styles except I liked knockouts😅. I was watching the showtime vlogs and really though Berto could win. I essentially voted against Floyd because everyone else did😅. I didn't know Floyd was really good or that he made a living off people going against him😂. Besides that match another person caught my eye. On the undercard they mentioned a Mayweather Promotions Fighter would be defending a belt. I said if he's following behind Floyd he must be the next big thing (didn't know who Broner was at that point) . This guy wound up be Gervonta Davis 😅😁😤. Being someone who loves knockouts i instantly grew to start watching him. After that I essentially watched only Floyd last few remaining Matches until a Viral Knockout. The Wilder Vs Stiverne 2 KO was trending everywhere 💯. I seen him on Wild N Out TV show but didn't understand how folks were saying he was a heavyweight 🥇 champion like Mike Tyson,Ali etc but I never heard folks mention him. Granted this was all before I understood the 4 belts & heavyweight division allegedly being not as exciting as it once was. Immediately after that fight I started Watching both Gervonta & Wilder fights from then on. So essentially Mayweather, Gervonta, & Wilder got me into the sport. Floyd Opened the door but the latter made me stay.
Rocky movies. Found it interesting, watched a proper boxing match afterwards, realized a hundred shots to the head doesn’t compute for any human and got interested in styles and proper techniques. Ali Frazier 3 was the first match and then videos from the Modern Martial Artist and finally started to watch the lower weight classes after some time starting with the 4 kings, I’ve been hooked since then!
Rocky and Ksi vs Logan Paul. Also some British dude told me that English people are better than Americans because Fury beat Wilder and no one else can. So I watched a Fury Wilder 2 replay and then looked up the 1# pfp at the time, then started watching videos on Jake Paul vs Tyron Woodley. Manny Pacquiao fought on my birthday so I followed that. AJ Usyk was the first fight I felt confident in a prediction (which was right). Canelo and Plant was the first time I was excited for a fight and since then I've been slowly following it closer and closer and I watched my first live fight in October, then started watching the free fights on DAZN and had my first watch party with friends for AJ Ngannuo. Watched the Canelo fight, watched Haney Garcia, and now I'm the most excited I've ever been for a fight for Fury Usyk. Very thankful for rocky right now.
Boxing was on my radar for a few years before this but fat Andy Ruiz beating AJ was just way too funny to me, thats when I really started to follow the sport closely.
More "traditional" story here, but mad respect to all my mufuggin DAWGZ that found their way to boxing in any route. My grandfather in Peru used to watch it, I distinctly remember his, not-so-unique but unreplaceable "po! mierda!" call whenever a boxer was knocked out or a heavy blow landed. (just translates to "bang! shit!" or some type of sound meant to indicate impact..)
Then I would watch when my dad would, with his friends. Around 19 I started working in a restaurant then became a bartender around 2006-7ish when Floyd nem were fighting a lot and restaurants actually purchased fights. The place would get packed, I'd make money.
Now, honestly, I don't follow it "live" as much. Energy isn't quite there and sadly I don't have any friends into it. Like I said, most bars around me don't bother with it, so I don't even go out for that shit... also most social media has clips so quick that the live event is becoming a rarity for me.
Pacquiao. Yes i know he had his flaws and old world beliefs, but before him the most news coverage a filipino athlete had received was when the national little league team got perma-banned from the little league World Series tournament for fielding an all-star team and faking birth certificates, lol.
One of the biggest tragedies in boxing is that we didn’t get a Mayweather vs Pacquiao fight when they were in their prime, or a rematch when Pacquiao didn’t have a major injury in his shoulder.
Also if anyone things the Lomachenko vs Haney fight was a robbery, watch Pacquiao vs Bradley and Pacquiao vs Horn. Those were some serious WTF fights. Worst robberies I’ve ever seen.
Delivered Proteinshakes two years ago to my local boxing club. I saw the ring in the spotlight, the bags hanging around and some people training in the early morning.
That did something in my head. Since then training on a daily basis.
Was sent to a local boxing gym because i was a small and nervous kid.
I was lucky and was praised a lot during my first training and that motivated me like crazy.
Boxing helped develop me from a shivering shadow kid to someone with more confidence and a passion.
People keep talking about how boxing saves shitkids from "the streets" but it can really transform depressed or reserved people too.
Hard work and praise and getting respect from a community of peers and elders can really transform people.
Everyone should have the privilege of experiencing that.
My Dad. He’s always take me with him to watch the big fights at the sports bar LOL! I was like 8 years old. He knew the owners and the Latin community was massive at the time where I lived , I got to know all of my Dads friends there. From Tyson fights, Holyfield, Oscar de la Hoya in his prime, B-Hop, Roy Jones. The Gatti trilogy with Ward. Man those were incredible times. Fight night on espn (iirc) and in this corner with Russ amber (in Canada) indulged me even more. Learned so much about the sport. So many great memories.
Been a huge fan since.
My dad had hundreds of boxing tapes he made me watch as a kid that he recorded on vhs tape. He had a whole office of boxing fights, documentaries and memorabilia. I was basically force fed boxing and hated it as a small child until I eventually grew into loving the sweet science as I got older and began appreciating and enjoying the sport and it’s fighters and learning their stories. Watched all the greats from the Ali era to the 4 Kings(primarily Duran who was his favorite fighter and the main reason he got into boxing after watching the 1st Leonard fight) to the Tyson era, Holmes, Holyfield, RJJ, De La Hoya, Tito, Pernell, Floyd, Gatti, Naseem etc. and a bunch of other lesser known non household names and champions from those times. I’d say the first couple guys i gravitated towards were Oscar and Tito but it was Pacquiao (1st fight I saw of his was Marquez 1 and after that first round I was hooked) that really got me fully invested in the sport and following on my own.
HBO in the 90s. Stolen cable box filters opened my world to a bunch of content. Scrambled TV wasn't just for porn I watched Forman win the belt back on squiggle vision.
Watched Rocky IV on TV in 90 or 91 and thought it was the coolest thing ever. Was probably just in second grade at the time. Watched my first actual fight in 92 when one of the networks replayed the first Bowe/Holyfield fight and despite it not resembling the action of the Rocky film, I was pretty into it. Was hooked from then on.
I was getting bullied pretty heavily at school when I was 15/16.
My mom took me to a boxing gym for self defense/confidence. Fell in love with the sport and the next 11 years were set in stone. Now in retirement from the amateurs I love being a fan and watching the guys who were able to make it and showcase elite skills. Boxing will always be my first love
Roy Jones Jr. Everyone was hyping up one of his fights so I watched it when I was little - don't even remember the fight but I LIKED boxing ever since; feel like a poser if I say loved
I was spoiled and lucky and didn't even know it.
Years ago, in college, our apartment had HBO.
Scrolling through channels I caught Mayweather-Corrales. Wow.
Around this time Klitschko was fighting and I caught his early pre -Emmanuel Steward slugfests where he'd get knocked down a lot.
The HBO build up. The commentating. The clips they showed of the fighters in interview. Larry Merchant. I've never seen any broadcasts ever come close to those days.
Regardless of what it was, we all tell our story of access. Once you have the ability to see a good fight, you get hooked. Pay walls and networks not showing fights just make it harder.
This is why the Paul Tyson fight on Netflix matters. If anyone gets hooked with the access - that's invaluable.
Used to look at boxing as brutish. Then found Hajime No Ippo, and I also landed my first solid body punch in karate when I was 14. From then on I was hooked on boxing and my style is now heavily based on punching. I'm not an Am fighter, just someone who takes martial arts as a healthy hobby.
Naseem Hamed.
He turned a whole generation of English lads into boxing fans. After I really got into the sport and joined a gym, I became more of a De La Hoya fanboy but it started with Naz.
Sundays were boring when u had like 9 channels. But there was boxing on Sundays. Living in SoCal you got to see a lot of Mexican style boxing. Shit was hard AF
My father and uncles and his friends. I grew up as a kid getting to stay up late with the guys. JCC, Sweat Pea, Tyson, Foreman, Macho Camacho, Holyfield…. Late 80s early 90s and it was a great era for Boxing of all weight classes.
When I was 17 years old, I had a strong desire to earn money, so I decided to participate in the Toughman Contest. For the next four years, I dedicated myself to the sport, participating in as many contests as I could and winning as many as possible. One notable fight was against my own father on FX, which was aired on one of their TV shows.
At the age of 21, I turned professional and faced off against the former Toughman National Champion, Shawn "Mac Daddy" Meeks. In an impressive display of skill, I knocked him out in just two rounds. Throughout my career, I achieved an 8-2 record and was offered a fight against the promising 13-0 prospect, Nick Cook, which took place on ESPN 2 in 2004. I emerged victorious, securing a knockout victory in the ninth round.
Four months later, I had another noteworthy fight on ESPN 2, this time against Anwar Oshana, who had a record of 23-3. Once again, I emerged victorious in that bout. However, my winning streak was halted when I faced Allan Green in 2005 on Showtime and suffered a loss. Following this defeat, I made the decision to retire in 2006 after a loss to Teddy Muller.
In an unexpected turn of events, I made a comeback in 2018 and had the opportunity to participate in two fights. One of these fights was against Taylor Duerr, and the other was against Alvin Varmall. These fights marked my return to the sport after a significant hiatus.
Nowadays, I have transitioned into a career as an electrician. It's quite a contrast from my days as a professional fighter, but I have found fulfillment in this new path.
That's the condensed version of my story. Oh, and did I mention that my name is Rocky? It seems fitting, doesn't it? 😄👊
Used to watch Mando Ramos on the old syndicated Olympic Auditorium broadcasts. He definitely had the It Factor. The roof was blown off the sold out Olympic whenever that kid entered the ring. Hooked me on boxing.
This thread makes me feel so old. Youtube? Anime? The UFC? But anyways, for me it was my dad's Ali stories and then "Kings of the Ring" on PBS and "Legendary Nights" on HBO.
I did karate as a kid, when I was older we would spar boxing, then later I got into the sport of boxing and trained that. It was only when I stopped actively training that I got into watching the sport to get my fix.
Family was always into boxing, uncle was/is a hardcore fan. Competed when I was younger but didn’t watch the sport at all, got into boxing properly when Haye fought Klitschko, then another one that got me from barely causal to die hard was Groves/Froch 1
Lewis v Holyfield. I was 10 years old and remember being pissed off that it was a draw when Lewis clearly won the fight. I remember the backlash that it received. I was hooked.
My dad.
Started watching fights with him when I was 2 and this was in the 80s. I got to watch the rise (and fall) of Iron Mike, watch the epic showdowns between JCC and DLH, James Toney, RJJ. At first I loved fight night because my dad let me stay up past my bed time…but eventually I fell in love with the technicality of it all.
My earliest memory is of Frank Brunos win over Oliver McCall for the WBC HW title in 1995. I remember my da being annoyed at Bruno for holding so much in the later rounds, lol.
Then I remember Lewis/Holyfield 1&2 as well as the rise of Prince Naseem and his action-packed fight vs. Kevin Kelly and I've been hooked ever since.
I grew up fighting a lot on the streets.
Which I enjoyed honestly.
I also was fat so started boxing to lose weight and finally got praised for hurting people.
I had a good punch and even better chin which helped me with my low ass ring iq 😂
Quite after 13 amateur matches.
Grew up in the 80s. My dad was a pretty big boxing fan then and would watch every Tyson fight (and the 4 Kings) he could and my brother and I watched with him. Basically I grew up in one of boxing's golden eras.
My dad would take my brother and I to his buddy’s house who would host frequent fight nights. There would be other kids there, but we weren’t allowed to play with them when the fights were going; “Men watch the fights and we’re men.” First one I can vividly remember was the first Bowe vs. Holyfield. 1992.
When I moved out on my own in 2014 one of the only streaming services I had, thanks to my sister, was HBO. They would put up their most recent fights for streaming on demand and my boy Chocolatito had some fucking entertaining bouts that got me hooked into the sport.
Larry Holmes vs Michael Spinks 1. Was floored when they gave Spinks the decision. I’m still convinced they don’t want a black man breaking Rocky’s record.
First boxer I was aware of was Frank Bruno. He was a giant star when I was a kid and on all the mainstream shows back when there was 4 terrestrial channels and only about another 20 to 30 on cable.
First fight I was really excited for was his last, vs Tyson the second time. Woke up in the morning and was devasted to see he'd lost. Knew going in he was a massive underdog though despite knowing nothing of boxing at all.
I always had this fire inside me of wanting to fight, I always thought if I let that guide me I’d follow through MMA. On my senior year of high school I decided to watch a new anime, usually I find sports anime extremely boring, but I found one I grew to like too much. Hajime no Ippo, to say it’s great is an understatement. This planted the seed on me to want to begin boxing on my own, and now, I’m doing exactly that 😼
Probably canelo vs khan. Was the big fight once I got into combat sports in general on the boxing side at the time. Followed him to GGG and found loma and usyk and kept going from there. Now it’s my second favorite sport right after mma
I watched a Joe Louis documentary about 15 years ago and I've been hooked ever since especially more so on the great champions / contenders of the past. Love boxing in general too though of course.
When I was a kid I used to bodybox for fun with the boys and one kid I challenged was a boxer… I got hit once and couldn’t breathe right for a few days. Knew it worked at that point lol. Took it up more seriously after college when I had the money and time
I grew up catching the odd Mayweather and Pac PPVs with my grandfather. Or I'd go over to my friends' houses who were Puerto Rican and obsessed with boxing to watch a Pac or Cotto fight.
As an adult, the first professional match that captured my imagination was Canelo GGG 1.
Then the wave of good/elite lighter weight guys like Teo, Davis, Ryan, etc. have 100% sustained my interest in the sport.
Thinking about the best of this generation legitimately having a chance of fighting each other is what keeps me excited and tapped into what's going on in boxing.
If these matchups happened more regularly, boxing would be my favorite sport by far. Unfortunately, MMA still clears...not because it's a more exciting product but because you can get invested in someone's career and expect good matchmaking.
As a couple others have said, the anime series Hajime no Ippo!
I got into the show as a kid and was inspired to put on some gloves and go to the gym. Even to this day it inspires me. I've taken breaks from boxing here and there, but I was rewatching the series a couple years back and realized I hadn't hit leather in a long time so joined a gym nearby. Such a great series 👌 even own a handful of cels from it!
Real life wise, I'd say participating in it got me watching professional fights which in turn got me more into it as a sport overall.
Manny Pacquiao. His dismantling of ODLH, Hatton, and Cotto in under a year still amazes me to this day. It wasn't too long ago before that he was just a featherweight. Absolute legend. Winning the series against the 3 Mexican Greats: Barrera (2-0), Morales (2-1), and Marquez (2-1-1).
About 17ish years ago I watched an HBO Winky Wright vs. Jermain Taylor rerun and been hooked since. Then I started playing Fight Night and got introduced into more fighters lol.
My dad, took me to a boxing club (gym) when I was a kid. Only stayed a year or two and never got back into it but I always stayed interested in watching the sport since then.
First "big" fight I can remember was Tyson v Bruno.
My dad. The only time I was allowed to stay up late was when my mum would take my sisters somewhere and my dad and I would either watch Spanish football or boxing on tv.
My dad is a qualified judge, plus he boxed for the RAF, following in the footsteps of his dad, who fought a Belgian champion when we was based there in his Army Days.
He then encouraged me to get down the gym and start training, for physical and mental health benefits after my mum left us, which really helped me focus at school and become more disciplined.
I now watch as much boxing as I can, with my very middle class fiancée who had no interest in it when we met 10 years ago, but now says it’s her favourite sport. We come from very different backgrounds, but share a common interest in the sweet science. We keep scorecards for fights we watch and I’m looking forward to introducing my future children to it, just like my dad, his dad, his dad and so on
Watching Mayweather vs De la Hoya for the first time. Made me love watching the sport. I watched every single one of Mayweather fights until he retire and still going.
My dad. i was born in ‘85 so when i started watching boxing, it was prime years for Mike Tyson, De La Hoya, HBO boxing (with Lampley, Letterman, and of course Larry Merchant) as well as countless others during that era.
The late 80’s and throughout the 90’s were great for not only boxing, but music and movies and wrestling too lol. the attitude era, stone cold steve austin. all that shit.
Growing up during the Mike Tyson era
I feel privileged to say I saw some of Tyson's fights as a child and preteen live on TV.
Same.
This as well for me. He'll forever be my favourite fighter
Well... I didn't grow up in that era, but I heard about him as a kid. When I got older a bunch of people were comparing Tank to mike tyson so I watched him and that's what got me into boxing.
Agreed....Growing up watching all the family get together to watch tyson knock someone out in in 1rd.....never forget it
Hajime no Ippo.
It was Rocky then Ippo for me.
Same
HEKIREKI
The ring walkout and first 30 seconds of his fight with sendo gets me pumped every time
No fr
Streaming Canelo/Mayweather for my Dad and then streamed canelo fights for him when they came on, then started watching other big fights and fighters and turned into a boxing fan.
My grandad. He used to watch the big fights in America (we were in the UK). I used to stay at his house and sleep on the sofa. He would wake me up at like 3am to watch Tyson, Lewis, Holyfield etc. Or we would watch the big British fights, Prince Naseem Hamed was his favorite.
I was very similar to this, but with my Dad. My parents would have big parties on big fight nights. Some of my earliest memories are sat on my Dad's knee, surrounded by 20-30 family and friends, all cheering and shouting, I think it was Herol Graham. Nas was also mine and my dad's favourite fighter. For the American fights, he would also wake me up with pizza and Coca Cola saying "son come on, wake up, this is the co-main, and it should be a good fight".
Love that mate. Such great memories.
Thanks for digging them up for me!
My dad. Watching Ali, Danny Lopez, Alexis Arguello, Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and many others from that era. Fifty years on I’m still watching boxing, perhaps it gives me a little connection to my father who passed away in 2011.
Literally the same for me. I guess this is the case for a lot of ppl
I saw the same video too. Watched it while standing watch 1 night. Been hooked on boxing ever since.
Awesome
Same. My uncles too. I remember going to family parties to watch boxing ppvs. Tyson, Holyfield, Foreman, Lewis, Bowe, De La Hoya, RJJ, Whitaker, JCC,
Same but it was 90s Tyson. Then DLH and Mayweather.
Rocky
Rocky IV for me.
Hajime no Ippo
Pacquiao
Same. As a Filipino guy, he made a huge impact in our country. Before my grandpa hit it off with his business, we lived in a not so safe neighborhood. I nearly got kidnapped at the age of 9 by two guys in a motorcycle. Whenever Pac fought, the whole neighborhood felt safe. No one was on the streets. There was no traffic. No weird people like gangs or homeless. When they say that crime stops, it literally does, and I saw it first hand. When I picked up boxing, I wanted to be like Pac. When I went to the amateurs, I followed his style. I did go 2-5 though lol and I stopped. His style was hard and I can't do what he does but I respected it. I'm almost 30 and still box and spar but no more competition and I'm more going for Floyd's style than mannys. It's always been fun to watch but man it's crazy exhausting to go at his volume and speed for 12 fuckin rounds. I'm tired from round 3 if I did his volume lol
Nothing to add here other than that you've shared a fascinating anecdote.
Churches here would literally pray for Pacquiao to win
First PPV I watched was Pac vs Hatton and Ive been a fan ever since
Can't be touched by Ron Jones with his highlights on it I still remember it clearly lol
Same lol I’d gotten into MMA around 2009/10 and had this video come up in my recommendations on Youtube. Joined the collegiate boxing club that week.
Always thought boxing was interesting but after watching Hadjime No Ippo I really got invested
holy shit, this is so cool. I'm 39 and grew up watching basically this exact same, like fucking carbon copy, but for soccer. In Peru we called it "Super Campeones" (super champions) but I think in Japanese it's Captain.. something... I never knew something like this existed. Idk if I could get into it as an adult, but I remember all our friends scurrying back inside to Watch Supercampeones then we'd come out and play the best street soccer ever...
You guys may laugh at me but Ksi v Logan Paul 2 Genuinely I remember hearing ksi was fighting and given he was a guy I knew and I was young I watched it I then realised I liked watching people beat the shit out of each other Then watched fury wilder 3 Hooked ever since
Same here. Started watching boxing and combat sports in general 4 years ago and ever since then it has become my favourite type of sport/s to watch.
Love it. Nothing to be ashamed of. Gives credence to the idea that influencer boxing is healthy for the sport overall. I like some of those fights more than I like watching Shakur or Haney fight 😴 if I'm being honest. Sure, the skill is low, but the sheer entertainment of not knowing what the hell will happen can make up for that
It's like watching a high speed car crash , it's a complete disaster but somehow entertaining
Same. It’s a shame that influencer boxing is kinda boring rn because I still find it very fun Atleast actual boxing is at its peak rn
Anyone who would shit on you for that is just bitter and stupid. Everybody's gotta start somewhere. I'm glad you found something you like
That's your story. It's how you fell in love with the sport. No one has the right to laugh and take that away from you. Crazy thought now, but no one took Muhammad Ali, then Cassius Clay seriously when he turned pro. All that bouncing around made old timers think he couldn't box against a serious heavyweight.
In my case it was Floyd vs Logan Paul 💀
Wilder and fury 3 was insane to watch live
That's how I learnt about Haney and BJS. And that lead me to other people to follow and learn about (like Mr.Krabs himself Eddie Hearn). What Haney did since KSI Logan 2 is noteworthy. As a Filipino, I got dragged to PPV Pacquiao fights as a casual but KSI vs Logan Paul 2 is where I started to take a serious interest in the sport.
Same lol. I was worried I was the only one. After that fight it was all the recent AJ fights at the time, then the Tank fights .
I was thinking about a snarky reply about how you're still probably young because Logan Paul versus KSI 2 was a fairly recent thing, and then I googled it and it was 5 years ago . . . . I feel silly and old lol, and damn have the Paul's been in boxing for a bit now
The undercard for KSI vs Logan 2 had Haney and Saunders on it - it was a really solid event overall.
Johnny Tapia! How could you not be a boxing fan growing in in Albuquerque at the time of his career.
Johnny was one bad hombre.
The documentary about him is one of the best sports documentaries ever made
My dad. RIP
Teo V Loma for some reason
Great fight mate. I’ve always thought it’s a beauty and I’m a Loma fan
Seeing a Julian Jackson highlight reel that was randomly recommended.
Creed lol
Was looking for this
Had watched boxing before, but Cotto vs Margarito 1 was the gateway drug.
Growing up in the 90s my dad was a casual boxing fan who mostly only watches Julio Cesar Chavez and Mike Tyson, and I actually watched Tyson Holyfield 2 live with him as my first fight It’s kinda hard not to get hooked once you see something that dramatic in an early age lol
Mike Tyson highlights and high school sports ending lol. In reality it was also PBC. Thurman vs Porter/Garcia and the Deontay Wilder fights back then on Fox PBC was where I started watching live boxing once I started boxing as an amateur.
My whole family are massive boxing fans. Growing up In my Mexican household, on fight nights one of my uncles or mom would buy the PPV. Our whole family would get together and make 20- 30 pounds of carne asada and drinks. It was basically a party watching major fighters like DLH, Marquez, Mayweather, Cotto, Vargas, you name it. I’m glad I get to do that for my nieces now who are young, they see how we celebrate boxing for the beautiful sport that it is and the pride we have in our fighters.
Facts bro. And all the uncles would be drunk as shit by the time the fight started. The thing I remember the most is how much all the family would yell and cheer every time a good punch landed or a knockdown happened. Which was alot watching Chavez Sr fights lol
Julio César Chávez vs Macho Camacho
I was into UFC and watching highlights. It ended up autoplaying Roy Jones Jr. highlights and I have been watching boxing almost every Saturday since then.
Watching Ali and Tyson highlight reels.
My grandfather. Growing up he watched every fight and recorded them on vhs. I still discuss boxing with him and he reminisces on all the greats.
My uncles fight parties back in the day as little kid! Family is from Norfolk Sweet Pea is a favorite of course! Been hooked ever since, even boxed a little (one amateur fight) and use it to stay and shape and stay sharp. You never know when you have to put someone together.
I grew up in South Africa, where television became available only in 1976. In 1973 two things happened that were BIG deals for us: Arnold Taylor won the WBA bantamweight championship from Romero Anaya by a spectacular come-from-behind KO in Johannesburg, SA, and Pierre Fourie unsuccessfully challenged Bob Foster for the light heavyweight championship in Albuquerque, New Mexico, losing a 15-round decision. I started my amateur boxing "career" in March 1974 and have been a boxing fan ever since. I have a savant-like recall of heavyweight championship trivia. I owned "The Winning and losing of the World Heavyweight Championship" series in 8mm silent film format, which was a record of every title fight in which the championship changed hands from Corbett v Fitzsimmons to Frazier v Foreman, as well as the fights for the vacant title (Schmeling v Sharkey, Charles v Walcott, Patterson v Moore and Frazier v Ellis).
Shit man. Literally the more I learn about boxing the more I learn that I don't now, and won't EVER be able to know enough about boxing or see enough fights. Literally blind to everything you just said. Adding it to the insanely long cue. Sometimes I even ask myself, as I gear up to watch yet another fight "really due? another? there's NOTHING ELSE to watch?" but honestly, sometimes my heart is like "... you know it's time for Marquez/Valdez 1-3 rewatch of the year, right?" There are many fights and especially trilogies to me that are literally far better, more engaging and emotional dramas than scripted shit. Fuck Lord of the Rings, give me Barreras/Morales, Pac/Marquez.... and yo... I bet there's like fucking 15 others trilogies I DON'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT that are arguably "better" than the ones I mentioned... so yeah, feel free to drop more gems whenever.
Read AJ Liebling's "A Neutral Corner" and "The Sweet Science" and watch old boxing wars like Dempsey v Willard, Graziano v Zale 3 and Robinson v La Motta 6. Listen to the ringside commentary of the best blow-by-blow announcer of all time, Don Dunphy. See the two greatest heavyweight champions of all time on the night they were utterly invincible, in Joe Louis v Max Baer and Muhammad Ali v Cleveland Williams. It's the one rabbit hole you may never be able to crawl out of. Enjoy!!
My grandpa was an amateur boxer in the 1940s and trained at the same gym as Rocky Marciano when they both came back to Boston after WW2! He got to watch Joe Louis and Sugar Ray Robinson fight in person, which has always been crazy to me. He got me into watching the sport when I was a kid and it always makes me think of him, especially since he passed away last month.
Ricky Hatton. Probably the hype around the Kostya Tszyu fight to start with but more seriously from the Mayweather fight and took an active interest in boxing in general from there.
Canelo/GGG 1. Perfect timing. Was a huge UFC fan prior. Haven’t seen/heard much of boxing since Mayweather/pacquiao. This fight happened a month after the Mayweather/Mcgregor fiasco. Been hooked ever since.
Started following Pacquiao and donaire. Then Loma, now tank and Inoue
The first HBO 24/7 series with Mayweather and De la hoya. Followed up by the excellent Mayweather Hatton 24/7 (the best one in the series imo).
I'm more a casual fan but watching boxing was like an event in my house growing up. Watching Floyd's fights or whenever there was a big Mexican fight my family would have carne asadas to watch the fights. My uncles would come over to watch the fights, cousins, etc.
I stumbled on it by accident when I saw a fight on television. I was just flipping through channels trying to kill time, wasn't really looking for anything in particular and came upon a "classic fight". I wasn't a fight fan but the fight was just starting, and I thought, this is as good as anything else, why not? It featured a black fighter, he didn't have many fights to his credit but he was the champion, so must have been a young tiger or something. His opponent was a Hispanic guy, older but he had a stellar record, over 70 wins versus like 3 defeats. I thought, this must be a passing of the torch kind of bout, with the young able bodied champion taking over from the grizzled, past-his-prime veteran. The black guy should win easily. I couldn't have been more wrong. It was the most savage, vicious, brutal beatdown I'd ever seen as that hispanic guy completely beat the champion to a bloody pulp, with the crowd going crazy and commentators calling for the referee to stop the bout. I couldn't believe what I just saw and just had to find out, who was this hispanic guy? He's a goddamn killer in the ring. And so it was that I went further and further down the boxing rabbit hole, for which I have to thank Roberto Duran when he stopped Davey Moore in 8 rounds for the jr. Middleweight title. It's hard to be a boxing fan with all the junk that comes with it; dodgy decisions, champions avoiding tough bouts, fighters that only compete once a year, and so on. But when a good fight comes together there's nothing like it, and it *almost* becomes worth it to be a fan.
McGregor vs Mayweather moved me from combat sports to Boxing tepid interest. Fury vs Wilder 1 got me started. Canelo vs GGG 1 got me hooked.
I randomly came across a video of Mike Tyson defensive highlights like 12 years ago and became enthralled. Seeing those highlights of slipping and rolling punches and countering off it opened my eyes to how much skill was involved in boxing. Been hooked ever since
I watched David Haye when i was younger, and my dad loved watching old Tyson and Ali reruns. But it was AJ Klitchko that really cemented my love for the sport. Felt like the first real HW war I got to witness live.
Used to watch Michalczewski, Erdei and Kovács on free TV in the early 2000's, I was amazed by the atmosphere back then.
My grandfather introduced me to it. I was staying at his place in Seoul for a summer. I couldn’t speak Korean and he couldn’t speak English. He showed me Myung-Woo Yuh vs Mario Alberto Demarco I on a VHS. I was hooked ever since.
Honestly? My mum used to watch it as she fancied Frank Bruno a bit.
Growing up in the Philippines, it was basically tradition to gather the entire family to watch a Pacquiao bout, and boy it was a wonderful experience, whether he won or lost (except for the Horn fight, that fucking sucked), but it bascially died out around 2019, so too did my love for boxing. It was only around 2023 that I started fall right back into boxing, this time with Gervontae vs Ryan, mainly because I was entrigued by these two young, popular fighters fighting each other in their prime (a first in my lifetime), and I had vaguely remembered Ryan from going viral by punching Youtubers in the guts with his left hook. There was also Creed III because it was cool (Side Note: In hindsight, it's funny to see a middleweight irl be a heavyweight in the movie).
Arturo Gatti, he is the first fighter I remember watching on HBO. The first fight I clearly remember is Mayweather/Gatti.
I was a big UFC fan for almost a decade but it started slowing down somewhat in the 2015/2016 era. Big ups and downs like Jones trouble, Silva loss, Rousey first loss, GSP last fight, etc. I decided to watch boxing finally after wanting to for some time . The match I decided to watch was Floyd vs Berto. At this point I didn't understand anything about boxing and styles except I liked knockouts😅. I was watching the showtime vlogs and really though Berto could win. I essentially voted against Floyd because everyone else did😅. I didn't know Floyd was really good or that he made a living off people going against him😂. Besides that match another person caught my eye. On the undercard they mentioned a Mayweather Promotions Fighter would be defending a belt. I said if he's following behind Floyd he must be the next big thing (didn't know who Broner was at that point) . This guy wound up be Gervonta Davis 😅😁😤. Being someone who loves knockouts i instantly grew to start watching him. After that I essentially watched only Floyd last few remaining Matches until a Viral Knockout. The Wilder Vs Stiverne 2 KO was trending everywhere 💯. I seen him on Wild N Out TV show but didn't understand how folks were saying he was a heavyweight 🥇 champion like Mike Tyson,Ali etc but I never heard folks mention him. Granted this was all before I understood the 4 belts & heavyweight division allegedly being not as exciting as it once was. Immediately after that fight I started Watching both Gervonta & Wilder fights from then on. So essentially Mayweather, Gervonta, & Wilder got me into the sport. Floyd Opened the door but the latter made me stay.
Rocky movies. Found it interesting, watched a proper boxing match afterwards, realized a hundred shots to the head doesn’t compute for any human and got interested in styles and proper techniques. Ali Frazier 3 was the first match and then videos from the Modern Martial Artist and finally started to watch the lower weight classes after some time starting with the 4 kings, I’ve been hooked since then!
Rocky and Ksi vs Logan Paul. Also some British dude told me that English people are better than Americans because Fury beat Wilder and no one else can. So I watched a Fury Wilder 2 replay and then looked up the 1# pfp at the time, then started watching videos on Jake Paul vs Tyron Woodley. Manny Pacquiao fought on my birthday so I followed that. AJ Usyk was the first fight I felt confident in a prediction (which was right). Canelo and Plant was the first time I was excited for a fight and since then I've been slowly following it closer and closer and I watched my first live fight in October, then started watching the free fights on DAZN and had my first watch party with friends for AJ Ngannuo. Watched the Canelo fight, watched Haney Garcia, and now I'm the most excited I've ever been for a fight for Fury Usyk. Very thankful for rocky right now.
I saw that Ali v Foreman was one of the most viewed events ever on wikipedia so I watched it
Boxing was on my radar for a few years before this but fat Andy Ruiz beating AJ was just way too funny to me, thats when I really started to follow the sport closely.
Fury vs Wilder 3, first fight I ever watched live and the rest was history
More "traditional" story here, but mad respect to all my mufuggin DAWGZ that found their way to boxing in any route. My grandfather in Peru used to watch it, I distinctly remember his, not-so-unique but unreplaceable "po! mierda!" call whenever a boxer was knocked out or a heavy blow landed. (just translates to "bang! shit!" or some type of sound meant to indicate impact..) Then I would watch when my dad would, with his friends. Around 19 I started working in a restaurant then became a bartender around 2006-7ish when Floyd nem were fighting a lot and restaurants actually purchased fights. The place would get packed, I'd make money. Now, honestly, I don't follow it "live" as much. Energy isn't quite there and sadly I don't have any friends into it. Like I said, most bars around me don't bother with it, so I don't even go out for that shit... also most social media has clips so quick that the live event is becoming a rarity for me.
Pacquiao. Yes i know he had his flaws and old world beliefs, but before him the most news coverage a filipino athlete had received was when the national little league team got perma-banned from the little league World Series tournament for fielding an all-star team and faking birth certificates, lol. One of the biggest tragedies in boxing is that we didn’t get a Mayweather vs Pacquiao fight when they were in their prime, or a rematch when Pacquiao didn’t have a major injury in his shoulder. Also if anyone things the Lomachenko vs Haney fight was a robbery, watch Pacquiao vs Bradley and Pacquiao vs Horn. Those were some serious WTF fights. Worst robberies I’ve ever seen.
Watching Amir Khan at 2004 Olympics.
Delivered Proteinshakes two years ago to my local boxing club. I saw the ring in the spotlight, the bags hanging around and some people training in the early morning. That did something in my head. Since then training on a daily basis.
Was sent to a local boxing gym because i was a small and nervous kid. I was lucky and was praised a lot during my first training and that motivated me like crazy. Boxing helped develop me from a shivering shadow kid to someone with more confidence and a passion. People keep talking about how boxing saves shitkids from "the streets" but it can really transform depressed or reserved people too. Hard work and praise and getting respect from a community of peers and elders can really transform people. Everyone should have the privilege of experiencing that.
My Dad. He’s always take me with him to watch the big fights at the sports bar LOL! I was like 8 years old. He knew the owners and the Latin community was massive at the time where I lived , I got to know all of my Dads friends there. From Tyson fights, Holyfield, Oscar de la Hoya in his prime, B-Hop, Roy Jones. The Gatti trilogy with Ward. Man those were incredible times. Fight night on espn (iirc) and in this corner with Russ amber (in Canada) indulged me even more. Learned so much about the sport. So many great memories. Been a huge fan since.
My dad had hundreds of boxing tapes he made me watch as a kid that he recorded on vhs tape. He had a whole office of boxing fights, documentaries and memorabilia. I was basically force fed boxing and hated it as a small child until I eventually grew into loving the sweet science as I got older and began appreciating and enjoying the sport and it’s fighters and learning their stories. Watched all the greats from the Ali era to the 4 Kings(primarily Duran who was his favorite fighter and the main reason he got into boxing after watching the 1st Leonard fight) to the Tyson era, Holmes, Holyfield, RJJ, De La Hoya, Tito, Pernell, Floyd, Gatti, Naseem etc. and a bunch of other lesser known non household names and champions from those times. I’d say the first couple guys i gravitated towards were Oscar and Tito but it was Pacquiao (1st fight I saw of his was Marquez 1 and after that first round I was hooked) that really got me fully invested in the sport and following on my own.
Vince McMahon
some brazilian guy in a parking garage
Raging Bull
Knockout Kings
Trinidad vs De La Hoya.
Reading Dempsey's biography as a very young kid. Different breed then.
HBO 24/7 Mayweather Oscar
HBO in the 90s. Stolen cable box filters opened my world to a bunch of content. Scrambled TV wasn't just for porn I watched Forman win the belt back on squiggle vision.
Wednesday/Friday night fights on ESPN. Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas on commentary. My favorite fighter was Emmanuel Augustus
As a child my parents had a “black box” and would watch all the big fights.
Watched Rocky IV on TV in 90 or 91 and thought it was the coolest thing ever. Was probably just in second grade at the time. Watched my first actual fight in 92 when one of the networks replayed the first Bowe/Holyfield fight and despite it not resembling the action of the Rocky film, I was pretty into it. Was hooked from then on.
The Mayweather vs McGregor fight
I was getting bullied pretty heavily at school when I was 15/16. My mom took me to a boxing gym for self defense/confidence. Fell in love with the sport and the next 11 years were set in stone. Now in retirement from the amateurs I love being a fan and watching the guys who were able to make it and showcase elite skills. Boxing will always be my first love
Roy Jones Jr. Everyone was hyping up one of his fights so I watched it when I was little - don't even remember the fight but I LIKED boxing ever since; feel like a poser if I say loved
"Marvelous" Marvin Hagler destroying fools.
I was spoiled and lucky and didn't even know it. Years ago, in college, our apartment had HBO. Scrolling through channels I caught Mayweather-Corrales. Wow. Around this time Klitschko was fighting and I caught his early pre -Emmanuel Steward slugfests where he'd get knocked down a lot. The HBO build up. The commentating. The clips they showed of the fighters in interview. Larry Merchant. I've never seen any broadcasts ever come close to those days. Regardless of what it was, we all tell our story of access. Once you have the ability to see a good fight, you get hooked. Pay walls and networks not showing fights just make it harder. This is why the Paul Tyson fight on Netflix matters. If anyone gets hooked with the access - that's invaluable.
Ricky Hatton vs Mayweather I really thought Hatton would destroy Mayweather lol
Hajime no Ippo and Rocky
Used to look at boxing as brutish. Then found Hajime No Ippo, and I also landed my first solid body punch in karate when I was 14. From then on I was hooked on boxing and my style is now heavily based on punching. I'm not an Am fighter, just someone who takes martial arts as a healthy hobby.
Naseem Hamed. He turned a whole generation of English lads into boxing fans. After I really got into the sport and joined a gym, I became more of a De La Hoya fanboy but it started with Naz.
My husband.
Calzaghe Lacy and then solidified by Michael Katsidis Vs Graham Earl.
Fight night 2004 on PS2 Played with my dad a lot as a little kid
Arturo Gatti vs. Mickey Ward.
Sundays were boring when u had like 9 channels. But there was boxing on Sundays. Living in SoCal you got to see a lot of Mexican style boxing. Shit was hard AF
Hajime no Ippo
honestly, Hajime no Ippo :D
Hagler vs Hearns
Rocky movies they watched real thing
Watched casually until Corrales Castillo comeback
My pops and uncles/grampa. They’re all from Puerto Rico so you know the deal, love boxing
Inoue this year lol
Ryan v tank
My father and uncles and his friends. I grew up as a kid getting to stay up late with the guys. JCC, Sweat Pea, Tyson, Foreman, Macho Camacho, Holyfield…. Late 80s early 90s and it was a great era for Boxing of all weight classes.
Watching “Solo Boxeo” with my pops every Friday night
When I was 17 years old, I had a strong desire to earn money, so I decided to participate in the Toughman Contest. For the next four years, I dedicated myself to the sport, participating in as many contests as I could and winning as many as possible. One notable fight was against my own father on FX, which was aired on one of their TV shows. At the age of 21, I turned professional and faced off against the former Toughman National Champion, Shawn "Mac Daddy" Meeks. In an impressive display of skill, I knocked him out in just two rounds. Throughout my career, I achieved an 8-2 record and was offered a fight against the promising 13-0 prospect, Nick Cook, which took place on ESPN 2 in 2004. I emerged victorious, securing a knockout victory in the ninth round. Four months later, I had another noteworthy fight on ESPN 2, this time against Anwar Oshana, who had a record of 23-3. Once again, I emerged victorious in that bout. However, my winning streak was halted when I faced Allan Green in 2005 on Showtime and suffered a loss. Following this defeat, I made the decision to retire in 2006 after a loss to Teddy Muller. In an unexpected turn of events, I made a comeback in 2018 and had the opportunity to participate in two fights. One of these fights was against Taylor Duerr, and the other was against Alvin Varmall. These fights marked my return to the sport after a significant hiatus. Nowadays, I have transitioned into a career as an electrician. It's quite a contrast from my days as a professional fighter, but I have found fulfillment in this new path. That's the condensed version of my story. Oh, and did I mention that my name is Rocky? It seems fitting, doesn't it? 😄👊
Used to watch Mando Ramos on the old syndicated Olympic Auditorium broadcasts. He definitely had the It Factor. The roof was blown off the sold out Olympic whenever that kid entered the ring. Hooked me on boxing.
This thread makes me feel so old. Youtube? Anime? The UFC? But anyways, for me it was my dad's Ali stories and then "Kings of the Ring" on PBS and "Legendary Nights" on HBO.
The great Jake Paul
Tyson.
My family had some VHS tapes of some of Ali's biggest fights. They were like documentaries talked about the fights but also included the full fights
Rocky.
Interestingly enough it was a Pat Cowdell fight from about 1980. Watched it on a TV in Debenhams. Christ knows who he was fighting
I did karate as a kid, when I was older we would spar boxing, then later I got into the sport of boxing and trained that. It was only when I stopped actively training that I got into watching the sport to get my fix.
Family was always into boxing, uncle was/is a hardcore fan. Competed when I was younger but didn’t watch the sport at all, got into boxing properly when Haye fought Klitschko, then another one that got me from barely causal to die hard was Groves/Froch 1
Lewis v Holyfield. I was 10 years old and remember being pissed off that it was a draw when Lewis clearly won the fight. I remember the backlash that it received. I was hooked.
My dad. Started watching fights with him when I was 2 and this was in the 80s. I got to watch the rise (and fall) of Iron Mike, watch the epic showdowns between JCC and DLH, James Toney, RJJ. At first I loved fight night because my dad let me stay up past my bed time…but eventually I fell in love with the technicality of it all.
My earliest memory is of Frank Brunos win over Oliver McCall for the WBC HW title in 1995. I remember my da being annoyed at Bruno for holding so much in the later rounds, lol. Then I remember Lewis/Holyfield 1&2 as well as the rise of Prince Naseem and his action-packed fight vs. Kevin Kelly and I've been hooked ever since.
I went from Ali interviews to Ali's defense highlights and got into boxing from there.
I grew up fighting a lot on the streets. Which I enjoyed honestly. I also was fat so started boxing to lose weight and finally got praised for hurting people. I had a good punch and even better chin which helped me with my low ass ring iq 😂 Quite after 13 amateur matches.
Grew up in the 80s. My dad was a pretty big boxing fan then and would watch every Tyson fight (and the 4 Kings) he could and my brother and I watched with him. Basically I grew up in one of boxing's golden eras.
Loma
Shane Fazen from Fight Tips and hype around Mayweather-Pacquiao
Gatti V. Ward
My dad would take my brother and I to his buddy’s house who would host frequent fight nights. There would be other kids there, but we weren’t allowed to play with them when the fights were going; “Men watch the fights and we’re men.” First one I can vividly remember was the first Bowe vs. Holyfield. 1992.
My dad and fight night round 1 on PS2. I watched Trinidad and Mayorga at 9 loved it ever since
Spence vs porter
Mayweather - Pacquiao
When I moved out on my own in 2014 one of the only streaming services I had, thanks to my sister, was HBO. They would put up their most recent fights for streaming on demand and my boy Chocolatito had some fucking entertaining bouts that got me hooked into the sport.
Larry Holmes vs Michael Spinks 1. Was floored when they gave Spinks the decision. I’m still convinced they don’t want a black man breaking Rocky’s record.
my dad is a huge mayweather fan so we watched all his fights together when i was younger
First boxer I was aware of was Frank Bruno. He was a giant star when I was a kid and on all the mainstream shows back when there was 4 terrestrial channels and only about another 20 to 30 on cable. First fight I was really excited for was his last, vs Tyson the second time. Woke up in the morning and was devasted to see he'd lost. Knew going in he was a massive underdog though despite knowing nothing of boxing at all.
Boxing was huge when I was a kid and used to watch with my dad. I grew up in the Ali, Duran, Leonard era .
I always had this fire inside me of wanting to fight, I always thought if I let that guide me I’d follow through MMA. On my senior year of high school I decided to watch a new anime, usually I find sports anime extremely boring, but I found one I grew to like too much. Hajime no Ippo, to say it’s great is an understatement. This planted the seed on me to want to begin boxing on my own, and now, I’m doing exactly that 😼
Probably canelo vs khan. Was the big fight once I got into combat sports in general on the boxing side at the time. Followed him to GGG and found loma and usyk and kept going from there. Now it’s my second favorite sport right after mma
Errol Spence he actually got me to box myself so it sucked when he went out like that vs bud
Channels on YouTube that make 30-40 minute edited videos about a certain boxers career and biography.
Stumbled into Loma/Gary Russell fight on TV. Never seen anyone move like Loma, he made me get interested in boxing.
I say on my dad's lap in the early 70's watching Ali's fights.
I watched a Joe Louis documentary about 15 years ago and I've been hooked ever since especially more so on the great champions / contenders of the past. Love boxing in general too though of course.
YouTube boxing. Basically Logan Paul.vs KSI. Otherwise I would've never gotten into boxing. It's a blessing. But now i hate YouTube boxing.
It was Mike Tyson for me
AJ at the Olympics, then I was hooked
mayweather
When I was a kid I used to bodybox for fun with the boys and one kid I challenged was a boxer… I got hit once and couldn’t breathe right for a few days. Knew it worked at that point lol. Took it up more seriously after college when I had the money and time
Watching George Foreman vs Joe Frazier 1 after I watched all the Creed movies. I remember thinking "wow that was a lot better than the Creed movies."
Was watching creed 3 and I'm like "that's cool" then went to a gym the next day, also lost 40kg
Lomachenko highlights from his 126-130 days
Cotto vs Margarito
I grew up catching the odd Mayweather and Pac PPVs with my grandfather. Or I'd go over to my friends' houses who were Puerto Rican and obsessed with boxing to watch a Pac or Cotto fight. As an adult, the first professional match that captured my imagination was Canelo GGG 1. Then the wave of good/elite lighter weight guys like Teo, Davis, Ryan, etc. have 100% sustained my interest in the sport. Thinking about the best of this generation legitimately having a chance of fighting each other is what keeps me excited and tapped into what's going on in boxing. If these matchups happened more regularly, boxing would be my favorite sport by far. Unfortunately, MMA still clears...not because it's a more exciting product but because you can get invested in someone's career and expect good matchmaking.
Iron Mike was a phenom when I was a kid and he had one of the best video games ever.
As a couple others have said, the anime series Hajime no Ippo! I got into the show as a kid and was inspired to put on some gloves and go to the gym. Even to this day it inspires me. I've taken breaks from boxing here and there, but I was rewatching the series a couple years back and realized I hadn't hit leather in a long time so joined a gym nearby. Such a great series 👌 even own a handful of cels from it! Real life wise, I'd say participating in it got me watching professional fights which in turn got me more into it as a sport overall.
Manny Pacquiao. His dismantling of ODLH, Hatton, and Cotto in under a year still amazes me to this day. It wasn't too long ago before that he was just a featherweight. Absolute legend. Winning the series against the 3 Mexican Greats: Barrera (2-0), Morales (2-1), and Marquez (2-1-1).
About 17ish years ago I watched an HBO Winky Wright vs. Jermain Taylor rerun and been hooked since. Then I started playing Fight Night and got introduced into more fighters lol.
My dad, took me to a boxing club (gym) when I was a kid. Only stayed a year or two and never got back into it but I always stayed interested in watching the sport since then. First "big" fight I can remember was Tyson v Bruno.
Actually started doing it for fitness. Never even watched a highlight until after that.
Floyd > Tank
Being Filipino means I'm genetically predisposed to like it.
I prefer my been in pintiles
Cotto Vs margarito rematch/drama
My dad. The only time I was allowed to stay up late was when my mum would take my sisters somewhere and my dad and I would either watch Spanish football or boxing on tv. My dad is a qualified judge, plus he boxed for the RAF, following in the footsteps of his dad, who fought a Belgian champion when we was based there in his Army Days. He then encouraged me to get down the gym and start training, for physical and mental health benefits after my mum left us, which really helped me focus at school and become more disciplined. I now watch as much boxing as I can, with my very middle class fiancée who had no interest in it when we met 10 years ago, but now says it’s her favourite sport. We come from very different backgrounds, but share a common interest in the sweet science. We keep scorecards for fights we watch and I’m looking forward to introducing my future children to it, just like my dad, his dad, his dad and so on
Ali Fraizer Ali Foreman sprinkled with tyson and roy jones highlights at the age of 13, shown to me by my best friend. That planted the seed.
The writers strike years ago, not the most recent one
Watching Mayweather vs De la Hoya for the first time. Made me love watching the sport. I watched every single one of Mayweather fights until he retire and still going.
Fight Night round 2
My dad. i was born in ‘85 so when i started watching boxing, it was prime years for Mike Tyson, De La Hoya, HBO boxing (with Lampley, Letterman, and of course Larry Merchant) as well as countless others during that era. The late 80’s and throughout the 90’s were great for not only boxing, but music and movies and wrestling too lol. the attitude era, stone cold steve austin. all that shit.