Whilst countries as far ranging as The Philippines and Zaire have hosted some seriously legendary boxing encounters, there is little doubt that it’s the city of Las Vegas that is the undisputed epicentre of boxing entertainment.
Although Las Vegas is probably more famous for its glittering casinos, boxing promoters have been using the desert city as the site for some massive bouts over the past century. And this trend looks to continue in 2017 as Floyd Mayweather takes on Conor McGregor at the T-Mobile Arena on 26 August.
Whilst McGregor has never boxed either professionally or on an amateur level, it’s expected to be yet another showcase for Las Vegas’ ability to make these fighting events a dazzling spectacle.
Certainly, the hype that built up around the Mayweather versus Pacquiao bout in Las Vegas overshadowed what was ultimately a fairly uninspiring fight. But with ringside seats at the MGM Grand casino going for astronomical sums, it perhaps proved that these massive events help to broaden the appeal of the sport to a much wider audience.
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Certainly the infrastructure that surrounds these huge fights in Las Vegas is perfect for catering to the thousands of boxing fans who visit the desert city. Whilst the hype surrounding a match can build for months, the main event is often concluded in less than an hour, and so having fights in a city that has plenty of casino entertainments is critical for keeping fans suitably entertained.
But with the rise of pay-per-view boxing on channels like Sky Sports and even online slots games being available at websites like LadyLucks, there is the question of whether Las Vegas can still justify its position as the world’s number one boxing and adult entertainment location?
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Whilst the epic bout between Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley Stadium showed that the UK can host some massively exciting competitions, there’s something about the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas that makes this the ideal showground for boxing entertainment.
And this summer’s line-up of boxing matches in Las Vegas is already looking fairly phenomenal with legends like Andre Ward, Sergey Kovalev II, Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin all due to hit the casino city over the coming months.
So whilst digital television services and UK online slots providers may have stolen some of Las Vegas’ glory, it still seems that this American city is the best place to catch a legendary boxing match.
