New Fight Night in development, likely thanks to Undisputed

A new challenger entered the arena, and an old one thinks it still has a little something left in the basement. Insider Gaming's Mike Straw is reporting that a new Fight Night game is in development at EA, and that we could see it this console generation.

Straw said the initial plan was to release a boxing game in between its UFC titles, but that didn't end up happening. It's no coincidence that we're hearing this after the release of Steel City Interactive's Undisputed boxing game. While the reviews haven't been great, the level of interest has shown that there is a market for a boxing game.

This seemed to be something EA has doubted. To be certain, boxing popularity's isn't where it was 20 years ago. The most anticipated fight in the sports now will pit 58-year-old Mike Tyson against YouTuber Jake Paul. The fight game has changed, and not for the better as far as this crochety old sportswriter is concerned.

The UFC has had a lot to do with that change. The sweet science isn't as appealing to people who would rather watch a cage fight. Look at EA's current order of operations. It wants to crank out boxing games in between UFC titles.

Undisputed has opted for a realistic depiction of the sport as it used to be, but many are clamoring for Paul's inclusion in a future update. If I take off my "everything was better when I was younger" glasses, I have to admit that boxing has always been shady.

It has always propped up subpar contenders who would put butts in seats and protected them long enough for an actual boxer to end them so everyone could get paid. It's a fairly straight line from Tommy "The Duke" Morrison to Paul.

EA probably sees Undisputed the same way Tyson sees Paul. Fight Night was once the unquestioned best boxing game in the world. Now it sees what it believes is a pretender to the throne. Does Fight Night have anything left? Boxing fans eagerly await the answer.