How much respect do British fighters get in America?

To be fair, nobody here knows who the **** Floyd Mayweather or Oscar De La Hoya is

The point is whether we get respect within boxing circles

Do we ****.

 

with the exception of RJJ who dominated the division but was also extremely difficult to negotiate with and possibly dariusz michalczewski but that's a sven ottke type tale, there was no one worth moving up for during that period. by the time tarver and johnson took over the division for a brief period joe was starting to pick up the other belts of the 168 division. the LHW division has been just as barren as the SMW league.

he may not have had any career defining fights in that time but it's your own ignorance that means you cannot understand the quality in the likes of reid, mitchell, veit, woodhall, brewer etc.

bums in europe, how original. RJJ just fought yank bums!!!!!11111oneone111111

bums, bums, bums. like i said, it's not joe's fault no one cares about his division stateside and it gets no attention, just because of this doesn't make it crap. just because the top fighters in it aren't american doesn't make them bums, it's sheer ignorance on your behalf if you can't appreciate the quality of a robin reid.

oh, and JC will be a two weight champ come april. 3 weight is beyond him, CW's are simply too big for him and that cannot be held against him.

yeah of course, nothing to do with him being a supremely dominant and skilled fighter who was simply too good for some very good opposition. why move up into another barren division where you may never get a shot at the man (RJJ) and just become another member of the pack fighting for the odd scrap when you could stay in the one below and dominate and be the man?

 

british fighters do get respect but it is usually in hindsight after there careers are over.

 

That's because during their career after each win they must fight the next overhyped American superstar

It will be Chad Dawson, mark my words

 

Like Lewis and probably JC if he beats hopkins and then JonesJNR

 

As I said I wasnt trying to be insulting but I fear you are in the minority.

I have no problem with (most) big fights taking place in the US it's the bigger audience so that makes sense ( or cents ! ) but I stick by my belief that Americans find it difficult to accept that a non-american can have a great worth.

All that said I have fallen into a trap I dont like to, to wit there is no such thing as an " American " having travelled about the US the difference between a Minnesotan ( for example ) and a New Yorker is vast so I'm probably being a little racist lumping you all in together.

Just my thoughts on it ! :good

 

calzaghe is overhyped in the uk, barely known worldwide and made his name fighting losers.

laceys proven to be a bum, kessler was frustrated by the holding and eubank was past his best

 

ARE YOU HONESTLY TELLING ME THAT DOMINATING THE 168LBS. IS MORE IMPRESSIVE ON JC'S RESUME THAN WHAT RJJ OR BHOP ACCOMPLISHED???

It basically sounds like you are reaching again. I can appreciate some of the fighters mentioned (like Mitchell and Reid) are quality fighters, BUT where are the GREAT fighters? Where's the career-defining fight against an ATG, or a HOFer, or a long-standing TRUE WORLD CHAMPION???

JC doesn't have those. If I gave the American equivalent to a VEIT, you'd call him a bum.

The point is what someone DID IN FACT DO. RJJ wont REAL titles at 160,168,175, and in one shot jumped and won at Heavyweight.

BHop was a long-standing champion at 160, beat Trinidad (who was the favorite, and at the time was better regarded then anyone JC EVER FOUGHT), then jumped 2 weight classes to defeat the TRUE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION.

Say what you will about the quality of a guy like Antonio Tarver, but the accomplishments of BHop and RJJ are obvious. It's tougher to dominate 2 or 4 weightclasses, then be the WBO SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPION. Just get over it.

Calzaghe might be great. I don't deny that. BUT, HE HASN'T ACCOMPLISHED GREAT THINGS AS A BOXER. Nobody will remember someone who dominated 168lbs. weight class when it was a soft division. They WILL remember what RJJ and Hopkins did.

 

?

 

i like how this thread was intended for americans to respond and instead we get a bunch of posts from brits saying how they THINK americans will respond.

for the casual boxing fan in america (i.e., the ones that watch all the big ppv's and not much else), lennox is the most highly regarded british fighter because of his wins against tyson and holyfield. i think generally speaking he is still regarded as not being in the same class as tyson in his prime though.

ricky hatton gets respect for his game performance against floyd but that's about it. i don't think he has shown much of anything since he started fighting in the US (lackluster fights against collazo, urango, castillo).

the prince could've been a star in the US. i wish he had stuck around longer.

the only calzaghe fight the casual boxing fan in the US will have seen is the lacy fight and MAYBE the kessler fight. i would say he has almost zero exposure.

no one knows who haye is.

 

Its like Ive always said. Those who know what their on about dont care about being fanboys.

My example.

I believe Chris Eubank was a Elite fighter at Middleweight and above for most of the 90's.

Nationalistic Fanboys example
They think he was crap because they hardly saw him and didnt venture to look past their noses.

But its not just nationalism either.

My example

Thomas Hearns is a gym made monster who developed his unboxer like mind and body into a multi weight wrecking machine that fought many greats and was very unlucky on a number of occasions.

Fanboy example

Hearns was a ***** mother ****er, leonard ahud have won twice. He waz crap.

Its all about mindset.

 

The fighters that are respected in the USA really depend on the individual in question. US fans often warm to certain fighters over time .. Lewis , for instance fought a lot more than most in the States so they warmed to him quickly... Hamed took a while to get established Stateside, and when he started to win them over he tasted defeat and never came back.. Bruno was liked for his affability and personality.. NOT for his skills.. Hide was respected for being comfortable (as a tiny heavyweight) defending against Bowe (a massive proven heavyweight) in Bowes own country. It took a lot of guts.. They all have their own story , but Joe Calzaghe isn't respected as much as he would be had he boxed in the US more in his career.. Not right or wrong but it could build bridges a bit more like it did with Hatton, Who ended up getting a great payday in a massive Card in Vegas.. Respect can often be very much pay related in such cases..

God bless..

 

Except Witter isn't half the fighter Naz was. But I do understand your point.

 

Couldnt give a ****, boxing aint an american sport. if they don't know or follow divisions their fighters don't do well in it reflects on their ignorance of the sport, nothing else.