The sport of professional boxing seemed to be in decline at the beginning of the 1960s. Boxing had been the most frequently televised sporting event during the 1950s because it was easy to produce: the action between two men in a small ring could be captured easily and cheaply by a single camera. By the end of the 1950s fights appeared routinely on television; Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer sponsored the Wednesday night fights on ABC, and Gillette sponsored the Friday night fights on NBC. Televised fights used up fighters and distorted an already-corrupt sport.
Television imposed a level of commercialism on fighting that the sport had never confronted before. Television audiences, and thus television sponsors, demanded more glamour and more drama than the sport could deliver. There were not enough white hopes or inspiring role models in boxing to supply televised fights at least.....
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