Legendary Boxing Prices

[Exhibitman]

Well, yes and no. We tend to be too egocentric as fans. Boxing in the USA is suffering from lack of an American heavyweight and American superstar [Mayweather is the closest domestic product and he's not only an a-hole, he's a convicted child and woman beater, so he ain't gonna win any popularity contests], but is globally a giant brand. Just because we don't like the Klitschkos doesn't make them non-entities. They are superstars in Europe, routinely selling out sports arenas in Germany for their shows. Boxing is huge in Mexico and with Mexican-American fans. Put a great Mexican fighter into the ring in the southwest and you can sell out a football stadium, as Juan Manuel Marquez-Pacquiao showed. The English and Canadians also have fighters capable of selling out arenas. The Bute-Froch fight later this year in Nottingham is going to be a huge ticket and tv draw. Of course there's Pacquiao in the P.I., and Nonito Donaire looking to follow on. There are several world-class Asian fighters who pull huge numbers in Asia, like Chris John in Indonesia or the Japanese lower weight champs.

Now, as to what it means for cards, that is hard to say. I am hearing the same things about boxing cards as baseball cards--the collecting base is aging, new tech and amusements are taking over, etc. I have to wonder, though, why it hasn't spelled doom for coin collecting, stamp collecting, art collecting, antique collecting etc. New blood comes into the fan base and then migrates to the collecting field. The fight fan base is certainly not all over 50, and as they move from casual fans to more interested in the sport they will start collecting. Once there they aren't going to stop with the shiny crap, they're going to head to vintage cards.