Could you support a foreigner against a home fighter? In what circumstances, if any?

Nationality does not come into it for me in boxing.

 

Haha, clever boy Daniel!

Funnily enough I've actually thought about this one myself a few times

Brits then Europeans*




*With the exception of Mikkel Kessler, who I have a vested interest in. No, what I mean is I'm a huge fan of his style, his sexy tattoos and I've always liked Danish beer

 

Depends. There isn't any figher i'd be likely to root for over Duddy, Lee, Dunne (maybe Molitor if Dunne was to get a shot) or Macklin. Again though, it depends on who comes along and what way the careers of the aforementioned fighters go.

 

Id want Kessler to beat Froch.

In fact i want Inkin to beat Froch.

 

yes, absolutely. when i become a fan of a fighter i do not check for a passport.

supporting a fighter just due to nationalistic considerations is bull**** and unsportsmanlike.

such people are just nuthuggers with clouded judgement.

it is this problem on which 90% of all flame wars are based on here in esb.

 

Not really. There are 300 million people in this country, I don't feel a connection with 99.999999999 percent of them. I'm going to root on a fighter who I like, and while I might be exposed to American fighters more which may effect who I like, I don't limit to nationality. I'll probably be rooting on Duddy against Pavlik (who I have a lot of respect for, and want to beat Taylor), not because I think he's the better fighter - I don't buy into his hype - or because of where he comes from but because he seems like a good guy and I enjoy his fights.

I think it's unusual if you view boxing as some weird exercise in patriotism.

 

Yup, nationality doesn't play a factor

 

Only a non-American would pose this question, because in the United States we get so little coverage of boxing that we don't care as much.

Truth is, most Americans root for exciting fighters they get to watch regularly, so that's why Americans end up rooting largely for Americans. And it's also true that certain fans are attracted to flashy, more brash athletes, and American fighters tend to fit that bill moreso than others.

But there are a whole lot of Americans who root against Tarver, and Mayweather, and against Roy Jones, too.

Boxers here are viewed to be fighting for themselves, because most Americans ignore boxing altogether. There's no way for a homegrown fighter to represent the country, because so few are paying attention.

This was different when Olympic boxing was a big deal, but now it isn't. Ray Leonard capitalized in a huge way due to the 1976 Olympics. Andre Ward? No chance.

 

I also see how it can depends on countries. Puerto Rico, Ireland, Wales etc are all very small countries so I can see how the people there would be very passionate about boxers from their own country. As an American that's not really the case, I may root on Americans more often but that's usually because it's who I'm exposed to/know better.

I'll root Andy Lee on versus most MW too because I think he's one of the most talented and exciting southpaws out there. Him fighting an American doesn't mean I'll be rooting on the opposition simply because we share the same passport.

 

It's pretty lame really

As if you can't be a fan of the sport simply because you root for your own guy. To me, that's a natural thing

If you only watched your own fighters, that's something quite different. That's a part time/casual fan

 

Im from the US and id support Kessler to beat Pavlik

 

Well put, :good

 

I do it all of the time. I don't root for a fighter based on where he fights out of. Unless I knew him personally.