The most spectacular weight classes in boxing. What battles are most popular with the modern spectator?

Boxing has long since ceased to be just a sport. Nowadays this is more of a large-scale spectacle, which has replaced millions of spectators with gladiatorial fights. And if viewing fights in amateur boxing still attracts mostly professionals and athletes, then the battles in the professional ring are a real first-class show. From this article you will learn about what weight categories in boxing are particularly loved by admirers of this sport. And also about which of the sportsmen are watched by the greatest number of TV viewers.

Modern boxing, the weight categories in which were determined more than a hundred years ago, is divided into amateur and professional. At all times, fights in the professional ring were considered more spectacular, and almost every "amateur" sooner or later passed into the professionals. This transition was considered prestigious not only little-known, but promising athletes, but also won in the amateur sport the highest awards of the star. To such awards it is customary to refer wins at the Olympics, the title of champion of Europe or the world. And if for an amateur weight classes in boxing do not particularly affect the opportunities for development, then in professional sports very much depends on the category in which the fighter is performing. And at stake here is put not only prestige, but also fees for the fight. This fact seems quite amusing, especially given that in other types of martial arts the weight of opponents affects the ratings of performances to a lesser extent. For example, weight categories in Thai boxing practically do not affect the salaries of fighters and respect for their achievements.

In amateur boxing it is accepted to allocate only ten weight categories, while in professional boxing they are almost twice as large (to be precise, seventeen). Weight categories in boxing - the concept is rather conditional, since sometimes it is enough for the fighter to dial or drop a couple of kilograms in order to change the category. This is especially true for medium and light welterweight categories.

If for athletes in this sport everything is very clear - depending on its weight, it is forced to fight for the championship on one of the versions, but in professional boxing there are four of them: WBO, IBF, WBA and WBC - that viewer's love for this or that weight Is formed over the years, and sometimes even for decades. Let's consider what weight categories in boxing are in great demand among the viewer in our time.

Heavyweight. It is this category since the times of Muhammad Ali that is considered to be the king of boxing. Many experts even joke about this on the water, that, they say, there is a heavyweight and the rest of the box - the total two categories. Even passage battles of "super-heavy" gather a huge number of spectators, and athletes' fees for the fight (especially for fights for this or that title) can reach tens of millions of dollars.

A light weight. As paradoxical as that may sound, but behind the heavyweight in popularity in boxing, weight is easy. This is due primarily to the fact that for easy technical fighters to observe during boxing is much more interesting than for slow-moving heavyweights. If in the heavyweight world all at once can solve one single blow, because of what opponents are cautious, then light weight is a spectacular and packed with exchange box, in which the fighters are not afraid to inflict a large number of blows to each other.

First Welterweight. And closes the top three finalists one more technical category. Like fighters from the light category, boxers weighing up to sixty-six and a half kilograms in the ring often go all-in, perfectly demonstrate their technique and the ability to strategically plan a duel. It is enough to see at least one fight between Konstantin Tszyu to understand why this category gathers so many spectators.