For almost as long as video games have been around, boxing video games have been a💎round too. It’s no surprise really, especially considering how beloved the sport is around the globe. They also make for a satisfying gaming experience–landing heavy blows, dodging out of trouble, and (let’s face it) checking out those gnarly cuts and bruises that you inflict on your opponent’s face.

However, it’s not always that way. If the game’s core components are lacking, then the experience can become a grating one. Of course, that goes for all types of video games, but it especially applies to boxing games. The sport is a nuanced, technical, and psychological affair, which can mean ꦬthat video games that can’t replicate those facets of it are left floundering.

What a🅷re some of the worst examples? Well, we’re glad you asked! We’ve compiled some of the most turgid, vacuous, and unnecessary video game depictions of boxing–some of which are so awful, you’ll feel like knocking yourself out instead. These are 15 absolutely terrible boxing games.

15 Th𓆏is Game's A Little Wonky

Talk about wonky boxing games–2003’s Black and Bruised is ꦡthe very epitome of the word. Released for the PS2 and GameCube, this boxing title fails to tick hardly any of the necessary boxes required to make a good fighting game.

I’ll admit that the cel-shaded graphics are pretty neat, but past that, there’s not much else to write home about. It focuses more on an arcade-style approach, but lacks the fun and charm that games like Ready 2 Rumble had. Also, when you can win most fights by just button-mashing, it kind of throws any ne🦩ed for strateg🔯y out the window.

Black & Bruised goes for a hard uppercut, but ends up delivering a soft jab instead. So yeah, best🍌 to avoid this faile💦d concept if you’re a fan of the sport.

14 Not Worthy 𓂃Of The King

It’s no surprise that legendary boxing pr🉐omoter Don King got his very own video game made in his honor, but what is surprising is how lacking in style it is compared to its real-life inspiration.

Released in 2009 for the Wii, Don King Boxing is one of the dullest and most boring boxing games you could ever hope to lay gloves on. Solid enough controls aside, the rest of the title fails to pack a punch in almost every area of its flawed design. Visuall💮y it’s bland, sound-wise it’s irritating, and gameplay-wise it’s repetitive–combining to make this a sorry affair.

Where’s the style? Where’s the panache? It’s certainly nowhere to be found 🧸in this fighting title–not unless your standards for style and panache are unfathomably low.

13 Why Are They Making A Video Game? 💧

This 2000 boxing title is just downright bad. Released for the PS1, HBO Boxing has all the licences and advertising of that comes with an HBO video game, but it’s surprisingly lazy and lacklustre wherဣe it matters the most–between the ropes.

You can have all the razzmatazz you want, but if it’s not fun to play, it’s not worth playing at all. Sadly, HBO Boxing falls into this camp with its insanely awkward controls, butt-ugly visuals, and one of the worst hit detection systems ever seen in a video game–really, it’s that bad.

If you love HBO’s boxin🤪g coverage, do yourself a favor: don’t pl🐓ay this game. It will only make you think less of it if you subject yourself to this awful attempt by the cable company.

12 This Did Not Ageℱ Well

If you’re going to make a boxing game with legendary boxer Muhammed Ali’s name slapped on the cover, you better make sure you do it right. Well, try telling that to EA Sports, the developers responsible for releasing a terrible game for the 3DO called Foes of Ali.

Put out in 1995, the boxing ‘sim’ was mostly known for being one of the first games of i🌸ts ilk to utilize 3D graphics. However, it seems the developers focused a little too much on this aesthetic aspect rather than make the game, you know, fun. The movement is sluggish, the control scheme is clunky, and the fights themselves are rather dull in all honesty.

Even the small things are poorly implemented, such as the utterly benign scoring system which can have players﷽ win or lose rounds in excess of 10-0. Well, we🌱’re the judges here, and this one gets a big fat zero.

11 Many Fea⭕𓂃tures Does Not Make A Good Game

In yet another boxing title to use a popular figure from the sport, Riddick Bowe Boxing is a rather odd title in the genre. The game–released in 1993 for the Game Boy and Game Gear–feels a lot like Boxing Legends of the Ring, except it’s nowhere near as good.

The game is a prime example of quantity over quality. Sure, it has tons of modes and challenges for you ꦅto tackle, but when the gameplay is this laborious, is there really any point? The 2D sprite graphics are passable, but that’s about all the praise I can give it.

What really kills a game like this is the controls–which are unreliable at the best of times in Riddick Bowe Boxing. Between button delays and unintended actions, 𓄧I’m afraid to say that this frustrating game will have you chucking the 🌠controller across the room.

10 Unbeatable A.I. ♏

On the outset, FaceBreaker looks like a fun, over-the-top portrayal of the sport. In reality however, FaceBreaker is a boring, over-the-top betrayal of the sport. Released in 2008 fo♛r the PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii, this cartoonish title will have you in a rage for a number of reasons.

Firstly, the gameplay is the very definition of the word stale. Button mashers might love it, but the rest of you will hate it. Then there’s the insanely wonky A.I. which delivers one of the toughest (to the point of impossible) gameplay experiences I’ve ever come across. And, with scant game mode options♐, you’ll find there’s really not much to do in the game.

Graphically it’s very colorful, but don’t be foole𝔉d–the rest♚ of the game is anything but colorful.

9 🍰 Wii Don't Like This One

Taking its inspiration from the manga series Hajime No Ippo, Victorious Boxers: Revolution serve🌞s as the third game to come from the anime, released in 2007 for the Wii. Sadly, boxing in your living room has never felt so lacking in fun.

If you’re going to do motion controls, at least make sure they’re stable. Unfortunately, they can prove to be troublesome as players flail around in hopes of landing that big uppercut. However, it’s more trial and error than anyt🅰hing else.🌳 Beyond that, there’s some shoddy voice acting, inferior graphical quality, and an unpredictable A.I.–making this one that punches above its weight far too often.

You won’t be feeling too glorious after playing this title, and you certainly won’t be st📖arting a revolution over it either. Stick to watching the anime if that’s more yourജ thing–you’ll thank me later.

8 The Return Of The King 📖

Don King Boxing wasn’t the first failed foray into the video game market for the iconic promoter, in fact, there was another in 2008: the sluggish Don King Presents: Prizefighter.

Despite boasting a really decent roster of fighters, the game lacks in some of the core components of its make-up. Now known for their ultra-realistic sports presentations, it’s a surprise how poorly developers 2K rendered the graphics here. It’s not only from a♔n aesthetics standpoint that the game falters either, but its poorly implemented gameplay too.

Fighters circle each other sluggishly, the controls are unresponsive, and💎 the collision detection system is deeply flawed. All in all it’s a very clunky title that fails to land many successful blows despite its attempts. ‘Let’s get ready to fumble’ moreᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ like.

7 💜 This Seems Wrong

Oh dear, oh dear. The name alone is enough to have you thinking “this is going to be awful,” and you’d be right. Released in 2008 for the Nintendo DS, and in 2011 for the DSiware, Animal Boxing pits you⛄, the player, against some cute, furry animals. Wait, what?

T♔hat’s right. Unless you’re a cruel and sadistic person, there’s nothing about punching animals in a game that’s satisfying in the slightest. Worrying premise aside, the game also flounders in the gameplay department, basical🧸ly consisting of tapping the screen again and again like a maniac.

Throw in the fact that 🎉the animals all sound the same, the backdrops get ridiculously repetitive, and the punch variety is as ಞhollow as it gets, and you’ve got a game that should have just stayed down for the ten count before it even hit the shelves.

6 ๊ He's Had Better Games

You’d think ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ would get a video game that would do him justice, but it certainly didn’t come in the form of Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing. This PS2 exclusive just doesn’t get 𒅌o🦩ut of the gates at all when the bell rings.

With a scant selection of boxers, extremely limited replay value, and 🦩worst of all, some of the worst gameplay traiꦰts ever seen in a video game depiction of the sport–Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing is so bereft of ideas, that even playing as the man himself gets very boring very quickly.

It’s 💟not some much ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ as it is arguably ‘The Baddest Boxing Game on the Planet.’ However, it gets worse as we head into the top five–and Mr. Tyson isn’t out of the woods just yet either…