Why Las Vegas is the Global Home for Boxing
For many, Las Vegas is all about the casinos but there are other reasons why so many people choose to visit the entertainment capital of the world. In addition to the wealth of luxurious casinos, Las Vegas has become known as the global home for boxing. Continue below as we look more closely at some of the reasons Las Vegas is synonymous with boxing.
Boxing History in Las Vegas
Another reason Las Vegas attracts many boxing events is because of its history of successfully staging some of the biggest fights in the sport. Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao is the perfect example, and this is regarded by many as being the biggest fight in the history of boxing. Fans waited for many years to see Mayweather and Pacquiao in the same ring, so the anticipation was massive, and the fight took place in the MGM Grand. The fight produced a record gate of $72 million and the total purse for the fight was more than $300 million.
One of the best fights of all time between Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns also took place in Las Vegas at Caesars Palace in April 1985. Marvelous Marvin Hagler had long been the undisputed champion of the middleweight division and he knocked out Hearns in the third round to maintain his undefeated run. Some of the other memorable fights to take place in Las Vegas include Diego Corrales vs Jose Luis Castillo, Manny Pacquiao vs Juan Manuel Marquez 4, Erik Morales vs Marco Antonio Barrera, Riddick Bowe vs Evander Holyfield, and Sugar Ray Leonard vs Thomas Hearns.
Having watched these fights, many young boxers want to emulate their heroes and fight for a title in Las Vegas.
Gambling
The liberal gambling laws have contributed heavily to the emergence of Las Vegas as the boxing mecca of the world. The casinos make a lot of money in Las Vegas and that allows them to offer enormous amounts in prize money to boxers. That is why many promoters look to Las Vegas when they want to stage a big fight. Plus, with access to world class gambling facilities, boxing fans can have a wager on the fight plus indulge themselves in other forms of gambling such as roulette, blackjack, and poker. Las Vegas is famous for casinos, but the city is also home to huge sportsbook lounges. If you cannot travel to Las Vegas to watch boxing, you can always watch via box office at home. You may be worried about missing out on the gambling side of the things but this handy article will show you how to play the best online slots.
World Class Venues
Las Vegas is home to some of the best venues in the world for staging boxing events. The MGM Grand and T-Mobile Arena are two examples of tremendous venues in Las Vegas for boxing. The MGM Grand has a long history of hosting some of the biggest boxing matches in history and we will touch on some of them shortly. The T-Mobile Arena has a capacity of 20,000 for boxing events and it is regularly sold out when the big-name fighters come to town. The Mandalay Bay Events Center is another superb venue in Las Vegas for boxing and is highly regarded thanks to excellent seating and acoustics. Caesars Palace Colosseum may be a small arena when compared to the MGM Grand, T-Mobile Arena, and Mandalay Bay Events Center but it has also hosted international boxing events in the past. So, the outstanding choice of arenas in Lass Vegas has contributed significantly to the rise of the city as a global home for boxing.
Training Facilities
Most boxers will have their own gym where they like to prepare for fights. However, when it comes closer to fight night, the boxers must arrive in Las Vegas for various media duties but still need to train. That is where the excellent Las Vegas boxing training facilities come into play. The City Boxing Club, Never Quit Boxing Gym, Cardio Kings Fitness Boxing, DLX Boxing, and Nemea Boxing Gym are all notable examples of top boxing gyms in Las Vegas. There are also many high-tech fitness facilities in the city, and these are often used by boxers when training for a fight. Las Vegas is also home to the famous Mayweather Boxing Club. Owned by Floyd Mayweather, this boxing club is an exceptional training facility, and it is easy to see why fighters are flying into Las Vegas to train at the club.
So, there are many reasons why Las Vegas is the global home for boxing. The gambling set-up, the choice of world class venues, the long and illustrious history of boxing, and the training facilities combine to create the perfect city for professional boxing events.