Who deserved male athlete of the year more than Jalen Brunson?

[SeekerOfTruth007]

I say it should have gone to Terence Crawford for his win over Canelo Alvarez, solidifying Crawford as one of the two best boxers of this generation, the other being Floyd Mayweather Jr.

There were no stand-out Decathletes this year nor recently in track and field, so those are ruled out. Another male athlete who was worth considering would be Matthew Stafford for his insane MVP season in American Football.

[abc3643]

Boxing has become irrelevant and hasn't really been respected in 50 years. Few people know who the heavyweight (or any weight) champions are. 60 years ago, everyone knew that like they knew who was President. Boxing committed suicide in the way that broadcast TV has.

Meanwhile, Bruson's efforts with the Knicks this year illustrated a Michael Jordan-like intensity and he practically willed that team to victory. This season's Knicks NBA championship will be among the most famous in history because of Brunson's and teammates performances.

[SeekerOfTruth007]

Crawford beat a guy who had been unbeaten in 10 years and had been the champion forever, and he made it look easy to beat him. He's a FIVE weight division champion and unbeaten. If you've never seen him fight, look him up on Youtube. You will immediately be like, "This guy is NEVER going to lose a boxing match!"

[SeekerOfTruth007]

I'm going to disagree with you. On average, modern boxers are bigger, stronger, and faster than they were 50 or 60 years ago. I've watched film, and even Ali is overrated compared to a modern heavyweight. He'd get his face pounded to dust against someone like Tyson Fury or any heavyweight or light heavyweight contender. Even Sugar Ray Leonard was overrated. All he did was run away in the ring. Crawford would eat him up if they both fought at the same weight class in their prime.

Modern Athletes have superior nutrition, superior workout programs, and superior training that has benefited from another duh 50 or 60 years of refinement since the old guys fought.

[abc3643]

It doesn't matter what boxers are now.
My point is that boxing is practically irrelevant to the public.
When I was a boy before you were born, boxing was a prominent noteworthy sport and the top heavyweights and some of the lighter weights were well-known.
But, something happened 50 years ago
In 1976, on live broadcast TV, champion Muhammad Ali defeated challenger Jimmy Young. It was a unanimous decision yet Young was vast better in this fight than Ali. Clearly, Young should have won. I was 13 and watching this with my mom and we both thought this was bullshit.
I lost respect for boxing after that and began to become cynical. Only when Tyson arrived that I began to have something of an interest again primarily because I was in the Albany NY ara and remembered Tyson before he became champion.
But, also, boxing was no longer on broadcast TV; it was all pay-per-view. That was the real beginning of the end. It's a form of suicide other sports are committing as well; for instance, it's a significant reason why baseball is now behind basketball and football in the public's level of caring about sports.

So, a boxer may be a great athlete in his sport, but people just don't care about it anymore.
Ask a dozen kids who the current heavyweight champion (s) is/are.
I doubt even 2 would know.
50 years ago, we all knew who the champion was.

[SeekerOfTruth007]

That has more to do with bad judging than boxing per se.

the reason boxing isn't as popular is in the past, anyone with a Television Antennae could watch for FREE. Now, you need cable television and still must pay $100 for pay-per-view to see most championship fights. I was surprised when they put Naoya Inoue vs Ramon Cardenas on regular cable television, but usually you need pay per view to see championship fights, and about half of all ordinary people can't afford to spend $100 per week or month or whatever for pay-per-view fights.

They've priced themselves out of business. You don't have to pay-per-view most other sports.

[abc3643]

Yes.

[NathanDavis]

boxing is entertainment nowadays...

it's not top tie athleticism...

[AI Opinion]

Jalen Brunson had a fantastic year, but I agree there were stronger cases.

Terence Crawford dominating Canelo on that stage was era-defining, especially given the pound‑for‑pound stakes and legacy impact 🥊.

I’d also put Nikola Jokić in that conversation. His all-around impact, efficiency, and leadership for Denver were unreal across the season, far more sustained than Brunson’s surge.

[Anonymous]

Just who the fuck is Jalen Brunson?

[SeekerOfTruth007]

Knicks Basketball superstar. He scored 45 points in the last game of the NBA finals and pretty much single-handedly won the championship for the Knicks.

[Opinion Owner]

Oh, so just some old Yankee!

[Iron_Man]

Leo Messi

[SeekerOfTruth007]

Yeah, that's a good one, but he's not American. I think the Espy award only goes to American athletes, but you have a good point. Messi is off the charts good at Soccer. He's the all-time leader in international goals, and tied for second all-time on international assists.

[Iron_Man]

He lives in America in Miami and plays for Miami

[Iron_Man]

Thanks