Mike Tyson believes that current boxing king Pound for Pound is a star in his own right, but Terence Crawford is unable to attract a huge audience.

Boxing magazine’s “Baddest Man” says Crawford has struggled to build a significant fan base and compared purses from today to the 1980s, when many of P4P’s Top 50 fighters had huge followings.

The fact that the top fighter in the sport and the number one boxer in today’s rankings was unable to attract the attention of Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard and himself during their careers is a travesty for Tyson.

In an interview with tennis star Nick Kyrgios before his final fight in Los Angeles, Tyson accused Crawford of not being electrifying enough.

Kyrgios asked Tyson about the differences between his prime and his current crop of talent ahead of his November 15 clash with Jake Paul.

Tyson replied: “You know, it’s a humorous question because of the technology. More people see fighters now than when I was fighting.

“Seeing these players, we made a lot of money fighting for our time. You see, these guys are fighting now. They won’t get ten if… I’m also talking about the youngest ones – Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and Tommy Hearn. These little guys, they don’t make that kind of money. These guys were making $15 million in the 1980s. It’s like, I don’t know, like $45 million now. Times are changing and they just can’t keep up [the same money]”

The Novel Yorker, 58, then cited Crawford as an example.

“Look, Terence Crawford in the box, he’s fighting [fought] Errol Smith [Spence]and he’s the best fighter in the world, but he can’t attract 5,000 people. So like you, he has more [to] I have to come [than just] being the best.

“You have to entertain. You have to be electrifying. The best fighters in the world can’t, like I said, beat anyone. They could beat anyone in the world, but they can’t draw 5,000 tickets. You know, it’s because they’re not electrifying.

“The way they make money is because their opponents are very eminent. They have many supporters [on social media]. But there are people; I’m sure they’re talented guys who could beat anyone, but they look like shit. It’s like watching grass grow, you know.

Mike Tyson ‘got his ass kicked, often knocked out’

At this point Kyrgios interjected and said: “Yes. Let’s not mention any names” to try to keep Crawford out of the equation.

In August, Crawford won his match against Israil Madrimov. While the fight appears to have sold well, more questions than answers remain about how many people actually attended and how much they paid for the ticket.

The reported Pay Per View sales also line up perfectly with what Mike Tyson noticed, leaving boxing in the strange position it currently finds itself in when it comes to the recognized best in the world.

Boxing will crown its undisputed featherlight heavyweight champion on Saturday night when Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol collide in Riyad.

They are both at the top of the 175-pound weight class and have been for some time, but separating them is a tough proposition.

There will be countless predictions, analyzes and debates this week about a fascinating 50-50 fight where a robust case can be made for either fighter. But what does the boxing industry think? picked the brains of 14 people, from promoters to fighters to broadcasters.

Below is a low selection. To watch more, click on the video.

Ben Whittaker (featherlight heavyweight and 2020 Olympic silver medalist)

“You will probably see interviews [where] I changed and changed. I was very robust towards Beterbiev [and] Beterbiev will probably keep him. But now I’m back in Bivol and I’m thinking about Bivol. Bivol is adolescent, fresher, stays vigorous, can fight close, can fight long and his fitness is good, so I will lean more towards Buffalo“

Shane McGuigan (Head Coach)

“I’m just thinking Beterbiev is in better shape. Bivol looked really good when he boxed Canelo, but he was inactive for some time and didn’t look good in his last fight. Beterbiev looked a little flat and delicate just before boxing Callum Johnson, and then Johnson dropped him. He wasn’t looking well around this time. Now he has recovered. People may say that the Anthony Yard fight was a competitive fight, but that’s not true. He took his foot off the gas pedal, fought in bursts and was very withdrawn that night. And then Callum Smith… Callum is a very good player, so doing this to Callum Smith… is [Beterbiev] in great shape.

Jim Lampley (Lead Commentator and Expert)

“It’s just a great fight. These are two great technicians. They both have power. I think it’s logical to agree with Beterbiev and gain the advantage in striking power. This doesn’t necessarily mean he will win this fight. Bivol, who defeated Canelo Alvarez, extremely confident, commanding his craft, able to choose other options than those in front of him to continue to find success in the slow rounds. He can win this fight. This is 50-50 fight. I can’t wait to see it.”

Jai Opetaia (IBF world cruiserweight champion)

“It’s an amazing fight. Stylistically, a fighter moving forward against a guy who just cuts corners. It’s amazing. As a fan of boxing and the science of the sport… there is a lot of hype around heavyweight fighters because they hit so demanding, but this is chess match and as a science of the sport of boxing, it’s a great fight, a great matchup, and I’m truly honored to be a part of a great fight like this. Any true boxing fan who knows styles and statistics [knows] this fight is massive.”

Gervonta “Tank” Davis now has an official date and location for her second fight of the year.

The No. 8-ranked pound-for-pound fighter will defend his WBA lightweight title against Lamont Roach Jr., who is moving up in weight. Their 12-round fight will be the main attraction of the PBC gala, which will take place on December 14 in the Prime Video Pay-Per-View program at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

The incident was confirmed by PBC on Sunday evening.

Davis (30-0, 28 knockout) will make his second attempt to defend the full version of the WBA lightweight world title. The undefeated Baltimore native previously held the “Regular” version of the belt before being promoted last year following the departure of Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KO; 1 No-Contest) from the division.

Before securing this fight, Davis and his team were looking for a unification fight against reigning IBF lightweight champion Vasily Lomachenko. Such a fight was planned for November, but Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KO) refused and decided to wait out the rest of the year.

Ultimately, a path was created for Roach (25-1-1, 10 knockouts) to enter the equation. The WBA 130-pound world champion was previously summoned at the beginning of the summer for another fight against interim world champion Albert Batyrgaziev. However, a one-time exception was granted to challenge Davis at a higher weight instead.

After the victory, Roach will have to decide whether he will stay at lightweight or return to 130. A loss will force him to face Batyrgaziev (12-0, 8 KO) within 120 days of the Davis fight.

Both Davis and Roach earned eighth-round knockout victories within two weeks of each other against undefeated opponents.

Davis’ moment came against Frank Martin at the PBC Summit on June 15 at Prime PPV in Las Vegas. The fight was fierce until it wasn’t. Davis finally caught up to Martin and knocked him out for the fourth straight time.

On June 28 in Washington, Roach defeated undefeated Feargal McCrory (16-1, 8 KO) in his eighth fight. That night was the first home match in nearly seven years for Roach, the fourth-ranked junior lightweight on The Ring from Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

Before that came his first championship title. Roach scored a dramatic knockout in the 12th round, thanks to which he overtook and eliminated the WBA 130-pound world champion, Hector Luis Garcia (16-2, 10 KO). Overall, Roach won six in a row. His lone loss came by decision in November 2019 to then-WBO junior lightweight champion Jamel Herring in Fresno, California.

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