The greatest boxers to ever rumble in the ring include Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali, Oscar de la Hoya, Sugar Ray Leonard, and the newest, Floyd Mayweather, and they all have one thing in common. It can be noted that at one point or another during their boxing life, they lived in the boxing Mecca of the world – Las Vegas. This city has always been synonymous with the latest most famous figures in the boxing world and it will always be so. This, of course, contributes to the reasons why the Sin City has become the boxing capital of the world. This brings us to the question of ‘what makes Las Vegas different when it comes to boxing?’
Sports and Gambling – what other combination could do better?
For so long, Las Vegas has been known as the gambling metropolis of the United States and this is not likely to change anytime soon. Bringing the masses to this city was a task that gambling alone was never able to achieve, especially after the introduction of the first online casinos sometime in the mid-1990s. Ever since, playing casino games online has become a comfortable alternative that satisfied the gambling requirements of players. Is there a game in a Vegas casino that cannot be found in an online casino? Unfortunately, not! As if it isn’t enough that the online casinos are easily accessible and available, the problem of being overcrowded does not exist here as well. Players no longer have to travel; all they need is an Internet connection to enjoy their slots machines online.
So, it definitely takes more than gambling for people to flock to the Sin City. As time went by, a range of other services has been developed to surround the business of gambling – look at the shows, the nightlife, the restaurants, and the sports that make people crazy about Vegas.
Boxing either as a sport or a form of entertainment
The first sporting event ever to be shown on television is none other than boxing. Yes, the first ever occurrence was the bout between Willie Pep defending his title against Chalky Wright in 1944. Then the time came when boxing transformed from just a type of sport into a form of great entertainment for the viewers – not forgetting about the gamblers as well. Even as NBC put an end to its Friday night boxing show, this still couldn’t stop the growth of boxing. As the public kept demanding, the Convention Center of Las Vegas welcomed boxing in 1960, making it a new home for the lovers of the sport. And as the casino businesses wanted to get more customers, they also started to arrange boxing fights for the public.
It definitely has become obvious now that boxing got its fame not just as a sport, but as a massive source of entertainment too. People can gain a lot on boxing events which is how the sport got mixed with gambling. Besides Sin City, at what other place on Earth will you find such a combination of sports action and gambling?
I don’t go to Vegas and more for boxing. It’s too much of a side show. I would love if in person boxing betting was where I live.