How dramatically would the boxing landscape have changed....

Idk. For one the 70's American HW's were far more better than today's. Ali, Frazier, and Foreman were all superstars, who would be superstars today along with the Klitschkos.

 

Probably not so much. Maybe a little. For every Laszlo Papp there would have been 20 Jorge Luis Gonzalez types (yeah, I know he wasn't European). Great amateur stylists who probably would have fallen apart as pros.

America still would have clearly dominated the world scene.

 

Impossible to say.

If you take a top amatuer who never turned pro, they might have been another Muhammad Ali, or they might have been another Audley Harrison.

 

a lot of talent that would have had an impact on professional boxing especially in the heavier divisions. Who knows if we would have had a few dominant Russians that were more suited for the pro ranks. There have been quite a few and we see the impact since they have been allowed to compete. Who knows how far back we could go but the 70's 80's and 90's may have had a Russian heavyweight champ or light-HVY middle etc.

They way they dominate the Americans today has to make you wonder

 

Sort of a tangent, but who are some of the better boxers of that golden age? What makes us think that they can transition the same way to the pro ranks? I know it's just a theory, and it's rough that we were robbed of some fights.

I still remember when the Russians first entered the pro-ranks in the late 80s (or was it early 90s). It wasn't like they sent the best, a few were good, several were exposed. I wasn't rooting for them to win, but I did like the idea of another wall being torn down.

 

I think the face of boxing would of been completely different. I suppose they would of made the transition to the pros the same as anyone else if it was the norm to turn pro early instead of just the elite older amateurs.

 

I think there would have been a slight difference but not that much. I mean people have mentioned the quality of their Amateur fighters of the time but the American amateurs weren't exactly slouches either and were superior.
I think the talent pool in America in those times was much bigger while today it's probably declined while full professionalism is now everywhere in the old Eastern Bloc.

 

The golden age was domminated by its fight centres and power players. It never was an open shop so its no good pretending it would be.

The Russians, cubans etc would have added to an already bursting talent pool but would need to be invited to the party. They could find the same closed doors as the murderers row or any amount of unconnected talents who's faces did not fit. Its always been the same. talent is only part of the equation.

To get the opportunity you need to sell, you need to be sold and you need to fit what the power players decide what the fan wants. A pro fighter needs to appear worthy of the right investment to develop into the fighters they become. Without the right investment, matchmaking will never allow any fighter to be the fighter they could be. It's not rigged but here have only ever been small numbers of power players who can make things happen at any one time for the right stable.

 

During that time the Soviet Union was a non factor in international sports. They did not send a team to the Olympics from 1928-1952. Since they didn't really start to take control of eastern Europe till after WWII. I don't think anything would be diffrent.

 

Very dramatically.

 

I think boxing would have been really big in the Soviet Union if it was allowed to be. Many people would have participated and from there it's just common sense. Americans like to put themselves on a pedestal over everyone else. We'd put you under the pedestal. :bbb