.
1. Casual fans & brand-driven buyers (most excited)
This group reacts to names, not mechanics.
They want recognizable faces
They don’t deeply analyze styles, tendencies, or realism
Seeing a legend or current star triggers nostalgia or hype
Many of them don’t stick around long-term
For them, a boxer being added is the feature.
This is where most of the visible excitement comes from on social media.
2. Content creators & influencers (strategically excited)
Their excitement is transactional.
New boxers = new videos, thumbnails, streams
“Testing ___ in Undisputed” content writes itself
Even criticism still generates engagement
This doesn’t mean they’re lying, but their incentives are different.
3. Hardcore boxing fans & sim-focused players (least excited)
This group notices the problem immediately.
Boxers don’t fight like themselves
Styles feel cosmetic, not systemic
Attributes don’t meaningfully change decision-making
Defensive specialists can’t defend
Pressure fighters don’t cut the ring properly
For them:
“This isn’t that boxer, it’s a model wearing his skin.”
These players want identity, not names.
Why Famous Names Are Doing the Heavy Lifting
Right now, boxer additions are filling a design gap.
Because:
There’s no deep tendency system driving behavior
AI doesn’t adapt per style
Attributes don’t create matchup dynamics
So the game leans on:
Licensing
Nostalgia
Marketing beats
That’s why additions feel like:
Roster inflation instead of gameplay expansion.
The Illusion of Excitement
What you’re seeing online is mostly:
Short-term hype
First-impression excitement
“They added him!” reactions
But that excitement doesn’t convert to retention.
After a few matches:
The boxer plays the same as everyone else
The flaws resurface
Players move on again
That cycle repeats.
The Core Problem (Why Fans Feel Disappointed)
In real boxing:
Style is everything
Two elite boxers can feel completely different at the same rating
In Undisputed:
Style is largely visual
Decision-making is flat
Tendencies aren’t driving moment-to-moment choices
So fans aren’t rejecting the boxers.
They’re rejecting the representation.
The Truth No One Likes to Say
Right now, new boxers are being added for:
Visibility
Sales
Licensing value
Not because the game systems can properly support them.
Until that changes:
Hardcore fans will stay skeptical
Roster hype will keep fading faster each time
The same criticism will repeat with every new name
Bottom Line
Casual fans are excited by names
Creators are excited by content opportunities
Hardcore boxing fans are mostly disappointed
And they’re disappointed because boxing identity isn’t being simulated, it’s being branded.
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