“Truly Saddens Me”: Legendary Promoter Reminisces the Time He Idolized Muhammad Ali While Reflecting on the “Shocking” Evolution of Boxing

Everybody who wants to be somebody in the boxing community knows the name Muhammad Ali. Ali’s iconic photo standing over Sonny Liston still gives goosebumps to anyone who sees it. ‘The Louisville Lip’ is a legend and an inspiration for countless people across the globe. Simply put, he was everything a boxer wants to be and more. But over the decades that followed, slowly but surely, boxing lost its hold over the people. Nonetheless, people who remember that era can’t help but recollect those days. One of those people is a renowned promoter who looked up to ‘The Greatest,’ like many of his peers at the time.

A recent tweet from Boxing History became the talk of the town, as people from all facets of life came together to reminisce over the bygone days. The tweet discussed how Bernard Hopkins and James Toney almost fought. But the bout fell through due to fighters being offered short money. Even the likes of Vernon Reid, a prominent guitarist in the 90s, chimed in, describing how times have changed. Replying to Reid’s tweet, one of the well-respected promoters in boxing expressed his thoughts. 

Legendary Promoter looks back at the era of Muhammad Ali

A legend in his own regard, Lou Dibella is a respected promoter who has worked with the likes of Bernard Hopkins, Sergio Martínez, and many others. Recently, he jumped into a Twitter thread with Reid and said, “You’re telling me … We’re close in age. I idolized Ali as a little kid and #boxing was BIG TIME. My love of the sport changed the course of my life. Wild how traditional boxing has faded from pop culture. We did it to ourselves. No corrections or evolution. Truly saddens me.” 

Lou Dibella, now 63, is the owner of Lou Dibella Entertainment. He has worked in the boxing industry for over 30 years and has experienced it transform into what it is today. He accurately describes how other modes of entertainment have taken importance over boxing. Besides, boxing itself is not quite boxing anymore. Instead of fighters,  internet personalities fight each other in influencer boxing.

Eddie Hearn’s thoughts on influencer boxing

The latest trend in the boxing industry came in through influencer boxing. These matches involved internet personalities taking their beef into the boxing ring. The first official influencer boxing match was fought between KSI and Joe Weller in February 2018.

Things took off from there on. Even though these fights did not involve any actual trained boxers, they grew in popularity among the influencer’s fan base. While some might consider this a good thing for boxing, Eddie Hearn from Matchroom Sport did not.

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In a recent influencer bout between Daniella Hemsley and Aleksandra Daniel, Hemsley flashed her breasts to the camera. Commenting on this controversial action, Eddie Hearn, a well-known promoter, shared his thoughts with Boxing Social. Expressing his frustration with influencer boxing, he said, “I hate it.” He further explained, “Misfits, kingpins need to be booted so far away from professional boxing and really need to disassociate from what it is.”

DeBella has made a significant impact on the boxing industry over the years. And these tweets give fans a look into his life and his personality. It’s possible without Muhammad Ali, Debella would have gone on to do something else entirely. But luckily, that’s not the case, and fans get to witness Debella’s work as he did Muhammed Ali’s. But with recent developments in the boxing industry, is it really at the same standards as it was a handful of decades ago? What’s your take on influencer boxing? Do you agree with Debella that boxing is not the same as before?

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