Myth that American leading heavyweights are in other sports-

The Klitschkos are solid fighters. You'll get no argument from me on that point, but the rest of the division is a wasteland.

 

Was boxing ever offered as a sport in American high schools, or as a collegiate sport with scholarships offered to the best?
And as long as I can remember, MLB, NBA, and the NFL have been hugely popular in the USA.
It's not as if boxing is a mainstream sport in many European countries either, it's probably on the same level of popularity as it is in the States in countries like Germany, Russia, and the UK, and even less so in many other places.
Don't worry there will be more great American HW's in the future, no need to cling to lame excuses when there is a low period.

 

Talent is there, the athletisim is there, but the foundation of the sweet science is lacking. Wald for one....earlier in his career he was a FLUID big man. He could hook off the jab, which he does occassionally now and was very coordinated for a man his size. He's more less now a cautious fighter who uses his natural attributes to dictate and control men who are smaller or who have less fundementals of the sport than he. But yea....most HW's are one trick ponies but that doesn't speak to their talent levels....that speaks to their lack of skills or proper training in the sweet science that was once a NECESSITY. It's no longer a necessity b/c there are so few HW's who have the kinds of skills that were prevalent in the past.

 

No doubt! The Klits for what it's worth have some solid skills...combined with their size and athletic ability they are a DOMINAT force in today's era of Heavy weights. It's very sad to see the present state of the HW divsion b/c of what we ALL once saw just 15 to 20 yrs ago. The HW's were exciting! They had skills and they made for exciting fights that could end with one punch. That is still the case now, but you see more wrestling and "jab and Grab" today than every before.

 

Its not a myth. It's what happens in USA. Big guys don't even think about boxing. Example: I have a son who is about 6' 230lbs. He has been approached 1000 times to see if he wants to play Football or Basketball. But not one for boxing. There is not even a boxing gym close to here. Can you imagine what would happened if the public school system include Boxing in the sports program. Things would be a lot different.

 

No scholarships haven't really been offered to boxers, but schools only started giving athletic scholarships for football, basketball etc. in the mid-1970s, right around when boxing began to decline in the USA in popularity.

NBA, MLB, etc. have always been popular, but boxing used to be just as much so, with free broadccasts in primetime on network TV. Since HBO, PPV etc. that has changed tremendously.

 

Football and Basketball in high school gets you: popular, chance at free college, and laid.

Boxing gets you in high school: punched in the face

It's not a hard choice in the USA which most athletic kids are going to choose. The one that get's chicks and free stuff.

..also the OP brought up Cuba, they are good at boxing because it's government program that's made to produce top tier boxers. They hand pick guys and then train from a very early age, they set out to do this. The USA does not do this. Some gyms recruit, but their radius is so small that it's worthless for most kids. I bet you 99/100 people who live in a city with a boxing gym couldn't even tell you where it was.

 

No one in the US cares what country a great athlete comes or originates from. That is irrelevant. The US is about entertainment and watching great talent.

There is an astonishing number of large great athletes in the US. More than ever by far in our history. They are not boxing. But their existence is why Americans (and American athletes) can honestly say the athletes in the current heavyweight division are not impressive or exceptional. It is merely the truth. Anyone who watches the current heavyweights and thinks they are extraordinary must absolutely suck in sports to not recognize the obvious limitations in this crop.

This "ESB" disease is a statement on the athleticism of the posters. Apparently, they can watch these guys and convince themselves that this is high level stuff. If there was great talent in the heavyweight division Americans would be tuning into to watch it in droves. Americans don't care about where it comes from, they gravitate toward watching athletic excellence. No one is watching because it isn't compelling or impressive.

 

Terrible, uneducated, biased thread.

 

Walk With Me, I normally think you're a pretty good poster, but you're going a bit off the rails here. I agree that the HW division is not as good as it has been, but a lot of the stick it get's is because of it's lack of entertainment not because of how some of the current fighters might fare in the past.

I think the depth of talent is very poor, but to say that Wlad and Vitali are one trick ponies is totally missing the point. Tyson was a one trick pony but that didn't do him any harm in the eye's of the fans. It is all down to excitement - if Wlad had an identical resume to the one he has now but he fought like Tyson with every fight being explosive and exciting, then he would get much more credit. It's just because he is boring. In fact, he's extremely effective, but it's not what people want to see - so he doesn't get the credit that a more exciting fighter would get.

 

I hear what you are saying but to me....there are some HW's who are talented, who are athletic and who have the tools and ability, they just lack the proper training or skills. I never said that the "SKILLS" of the HW's are high level. B/c it's not.

I'm just keeping things in perspective. In today's era of HW's the Klits are the top guys without a doubt. Their opposition have been talented and physically gifted they just couldn't combat the Klits without SKILLS. It's not exciting b/c these big men aren't able to produce what boxing is all about. It's about craft, skills, intelligence and excitment. There is nothing exciting about BIG men holding and hugging trying to club their way to a KO. And that is about 90% of HW fights right now.

 

Thanks for the answer, I thought it would be strange to have combat sports in schools but I wasn't sure if it was something they used to do over there.
I agree that boxing has suffered a decline in popularity over there but that doesn't mean that these guys that play basketball, baseball, etc. would make great fighters. It takes more than being athletic to get in a boxing ring and be successful. Most of these guys would lack the toughness to excel even if they had tried boxing.

 

That is "Euro" bull ****. Saying that doesn't make it so. The NFL/NBA/MLB is the path for American athletes. The BEST, THE ABSOLUTE BEST, compete to make it there. It is an incredible COMPETITION. These are the BEST the US has to offer. To stay they lack the toughness to succeed in another sport is a laughable simplification.

 

Tyson was well versitile. He was a two fisted explosion who implemented Defense during his offenseive attacks. He used tremendous head movement, angles and even had a great Jab for a man his size in the HW division. Uppercuts, hooks and temendous body work can not be dismissed when talking about a prime Mike Tyson. He was NOT a one trick or two trick pony. The Klits have the skills between the both of them but Wald more so than Vit only use the jab and striaght right and it's good enough to win and dominate. He has a great HOOK when he uses it but he for wahtever reason uses it only sparingly. Vit is more dynamic although less polished than Wald. But I think he's a more dangerous and exciting fighter myself.

 

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