Nate Campbell speaks on social media’s impact on boxing
Of late, there has been a back-and-forth debate over how boxing operates now as opposed to how it did in the past. The dichotomy seems to center around the role of social media. Social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter have altered the perception of the sport in the modern age. This was a topic touched on heavily by former unified world lightweight champion Nate Campbell (37-11-1, 26 KOs) on theLION KILLA Podcast. For Campbell, he places a large part of the blame for these changes on social media. The fallout has affected not only the perception of the sport, but has harmed the boxers as well
“Social media has really hurt us more than it has helped us. There used to be a time when boxing was about truly showing your mustard, now it’s about what you tell me.”
“To be real with this thing and talk about the importance of good old-fashioned fans, the good old-fashioned fans literally are the ones that have always driven boxing. The casual fan is now trying to drive boxing.”
OLD SCHOOL VS. NEW AGE
Campbell feels the things have gone awry and argues there’s a lack of knowledge among casual fans. He refuses to let them set the narrative. His goal is to pass down the knowledge on how the sport should work. The former champion feels that the only current crop that could have competed in his era (the early-late 2000s) is the current IBF/WBC World Welterweight champion, Errol Spence (26-1, 21 KOs). Campbell sees the unified 147-pound champ as someone who just loves to fight. Spence qualifies as someone who knocked down every barrier in order to win a world title.
Old-school to the core, the ex-fighter who called himself “The Galaxy Warrior” during his fighting days, Campbell is thoroughly disgusted that so much value is placed on a fighter with an undefeated record. As he explained, it’s one of the more overrated aspects of the sport.
“To come back from adversity truly tells who you are as a fighter.”
“You go to talk about the protection factor of boxing now; they are protecting these muthafuckas.”
He went on to argue that fighters don’t have to fight the grizzled and tough guys who truly test and harden you en route to a world title shot. Because of that, he puts an asterisk on the current crop of world champions like Devin Haney, Gervonta Davis, and even Vasiliy Lomachenko.
CONSIDERING CONTEXT
Some may claim Campbell sounds like an old curmudgeon complaining about how boxing works today. However, is he off-base?
Understand, this is someone who took the long road and suffered five defeats prior to winning a world title in 2008. When he was a world champion, social media was just getting started and was not nearly as popular as it is currently.
Fighters and promotional companies nowadays use that platform to hype fighters and build their brand even before they’ve truly established themselves. The principles and protocols of the sport from even a decade ago are starting to fade and fade away fast.
Is what constitutes boxing today ultimately a good thing for fans? What about the fighters? Or, does the sport need to go back to the code and principles of years past? This debate about the state of The Sweet Science will go on for the foreseeable future.
By: Michael Wilson Jr.
