According to ESPN the Magazine, the Next Great American Heavyweight is . . .

These guys are not likely the next Tyson but so what. They seem like good college athletes who want to try their hands in the fight game. Nothing wrong with that.

 

I'm pulling for these guys, but they are awfully small. What about the same level of failed FB players who are defensive ends and in the 6-5 range?

It's going to be tough starting so late, and it would be a major asset to at least have one big advantage (like size) to your benefit.

But I hope it works out. Worst case, maybe a couple of these dudes will make it to a B.A.D. undercard and slug it out. Better than watching guys like Rahman get TV date after TV date.

 

I agree with you here. I have nothing against the footballers who want to try their hand at boxing. But I am astounded at the naivete of casual fans concerning the footballers transitioning to boxing. They seem to think that boxing is the less demanding sport.

Mark Gastineau and Lorenzo Highsmith are two more examples of great footballers who made mediocre boxers.

Would anyone be stupid enough to be believe that the best, toughest, most talented pro boxers could take up baseball, hockey, or football and make it the top of those sports? I hope not.

 

Would anyone be dumb enough to believe that the Klitschko brothers, Dmitrienko, Lance Whittaker, and Henry Akinwande could expect success if they suddenly attempted pro basketball careers? Does being a 6'7" successful boxer make someone an automatic NBA "can't miss" prospect? Of course not.

 

Guys like Daniels seem to be the most successful footballers who switched to boxing. Usually those guys are excellent on the college level, then make top notch "B" level pro heavyweights.

Do know when Daniels began boxing? Possibly he started early in life, as an adjunct to football. At his peak, Daniel's was a top 30 worldwide pro, which is a fair accomplishment.

If I'm not mistaken, Ross Puritty was an outstanding college football player. I think he took up boxing at a late age. Puritty became a very decent "B" level heavyweight.

And of course, Tex Cobb began boxing at a late age, after being a football standout, and he became top 15 worldwide material as a fighter. But even Cobb himself admitted throughout his career that he was hindered in the ring by his late transition to the sport; many basic boxing skills were never adequately mastered as a result.

Ken Norton Sr. was an excellent college football player who began boxing at a late age (after 20 years old). Norton -- who was an all around exceptional athlete who might have gone pro in several sports -- was a great boxer. But Norton is rare exception concerning footballers.

 

Wow...lesser athletes? Dude, in boxing speed kills. Iggy had sick speed and dynamite in his left hand. His KOs are fun to watch.

 

From what I have seen of recent American heavyweights the next great one has not been born yet.

 

I have no idea why boxing fans are so hung up on nationality...this isn't the olympics we're discussing.

A real fight fan appreciates the skill regardless of nationality. In no other sport does an athletes' nationality become a factor on whether or not he is appreciated. Look at Dirk Nowitski, Roger Federer, Albert Pujols...the list goes on when discussing athletes involved in any popular sport other than boxing. This is one of the many reasons why mainstream liberal media refuses to give boxing a second glance.

 

New talent is always good, although they'll have an extremely hard time if they start boxing at 27.

Also, Eddie Chambers IS a world class US heavyweight. Probably the only one right now, although Arreola and Thompson are fringe contenders and could probably prove themselves to be worthy of contender status.

 

These guys have no Idea about fighting in the streets.:-(

 

Ed was and still is 6'9 he fought a couple fights and rejoined the NFL.Jones was not washed up as someone stated eariler he just got bored with football and wanted to give boxing a shot.He did'nt lose but the media and fans focused on him getting rocked by a much smaller fighter.The news stations kept replaying that making Jones look like he got beat up.

 

any of these guys actually in good physical shape?

 

ed too tall at least was ed too tall.
mark gastineau was mark gastineau.
these guys are failed to make pro football. in the future you'll need a superconductor powered radar to pick up these guys blips...
hey, in the meanwhile, we need somebody to fill out these cards.

 

Very interesting. I am not too far from the Hollywood gym. I'll see if I can add anything. As for Football players becoming boxers, being big and strong is one thing, being a skilled boxer with experience is the other.

 

They look to be.

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Pretty cool to see boxing on the cover of a major sports magazine, even if it's just more of an article on how to find prospects rather than what they're actually accomplishing.