"Prizefighter has brought boxing back to the people, " said Hearn.

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"We're bringing boxing back to its roots, " says HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg, who favors a return to a 1980s model where only big fights featuring the likes of Thomas Hearns, Marvin Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard were deemed worthy of closed-circuit status (closed-circuit theater and arena telecasts being the forerunner of today's pay-per-view).

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Back then, it rivaled boxing and baseball as the sport in America.

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I'm just going to work hard in the three weeks I've got off and try hard to get back into the team for the Boxing Day Test.

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Greenburg disagrees with those who see a return to network television as a defining goal that would determine whether boxing has truly made it back.

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Last year a cartoon in La Reforma, a center-right newspaper, depicted an oversize Slim in a boxing ring, splayed on his back and squashing a tiny opponent.

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Many people think that this is a new Olympic sport for women and know little if anything about the fact that women's boxing has a history that stretches back to the 18th century in many parts of the world.

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Boxing and other sports Tyson won his licence back, High Rise won the Derby and Earth Summit the National, the Light Blues took the Boat Race and the Tour de France became the Tour de Farce.

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His stylish points victories over American boxing greats Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr in their own back yards have been rewarded with a place on this year's BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year shortlist.

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But maintaining its image for authenticity as boxing's main brand will be tough without getting big-name fighters back into your camp.

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