Russian heavys ? if they were allowed in the pro's

They are dominating in part because of the lack of American talent.

Imagine the division without them!!!!!

Even so I am sure that we have lost a lineal champion in every traditional weight class to comunism.

 

I doubt it to be honest. Its not as though they were dominating the amatuers back then when amatuer boxing was more like pro boxing, even though they had age and experience advantages over the western fighters.
Which Soviet amatuers do you see winning titles?

 

I dont know as much about them as many on this site to be honest.

I look at the number of profesional champions these countries produced before they were cut off, then the impresive amateur talent after that.

This makes me wonder what if.

Of course you might be able to put me right here.

 

I certainly see where you are coming from and on the surface i would agree.

For me the amateur scene is misleading. The Soviet and Cubans were fulltime, fully funded fighters with a lot of experience whilst the western fighters were almost always young, green fighters serving an apprenticeship in the sport.
If the communist fighters turned pro i dont believe their training regime gets any more intense, not much changes for them.
Ive seen many posters asking how Teofilo Stevenson would have gone as a pro because he won 3 golds. My response is would he have won his first gold in 72 had Joe Frazier stayed amateur for 3 olympics or had George Foreman defended the title he won in 68?
Felix Savon won his first in 92 over David Izon, 20 year old David Tua got bronze. He repeated in 96 and 2000. In 96 Tua scored KO wins over Izon, Ruiz and Darrol Wilson. Does Savon beat the 24 year old version of Tua in 96? I personally doubt it

 

I think the American heavies would still dominate for most part, but there would probably a Russian Quarry or Cooney here and there, giving the division even more depth.

There were quite a few good Russians in the amateurs, but in the end, Ali, Frazier and then Foreman won the gold medals, and then the Cubans took over.

As much as i love Savon's style, i'm not sure how well he would've translated to the pro's at WORLD level. During a couple of fights, he seemed to tire and started becoming less effective in the 3rd round (notable against Ibragimov and Chagaev), imagine of those were 12 round fights..... but to be fair, he was getting a bit old at that point.


One other note: from the 50's to 80's, the Russians were highly competitive and naturally challenged by the US at any front (who can forget the space programs on both sides), so IF they were allowed to give profesionall boxing a shot, i think they'd really go for it, launch special training programs, etc. See Rocky IV. It would've been a great era for boxing!

 

Success of a heavyweight boxer is largely correllated to ability to lock down and train. If the Russians had been heavyweight boxers during the communist era, they would have been widely successful. You would see many
russians emerge as contenders, as the communism lifestyle lends itself to complete dedication and their would be no doubt that thye would find many contenders. Certainly there would be no training for a fight and then ballooning up in weight and then getting that weight down.

But, saying that in the 70s particularly, training was still a massive ethic in and around a boxing ring. I think that the landscape would be pretty same until then. The 80s though, is where the lazy heavyweight training habbits seemed to pop up, and i think that this is where the russians would have started to really dominate. By today, if Communism had continued (and who knows with the world boxing championship in their hands it may have), i think that they would be totally dominating (a lot more than they currently are).

 

Igor Vitshotsky was scary good but cut easily. Imagine him and Frazier head to head in the early 70's? That guy was like a tank. I don't think he could have beaten Ali or Foreman. Young would have been a problem too like he was for everybody. I think Igor could have taken guys like Norton, Quarry, Lyle, Bonavena and possibly the diminished Frazier of 72' to 76.'

 

Vysotsky didnt compete in 76 because of injury, another reason Stevenson won. The Cubans only let Teofilo compete once Igor withdrew. I agree he wouldnt have beaten the top pros in the mid 70s but he certainly seemed to have Stevensons number though I believe Greg Page beat him

 

I saw that fight. Vitshotsky look 'shot' and Page just danced around him for the three rounds. Vitshotsky destroyed a good amateur named Jimmy Clark around 1974 or so. By 1978 when he fought Page he was basically done.

 

frazier stopped a russian in the semis at the 64 olympics. foreman stopped one in the final in 1968. ali beat one in the quarters in 60 but that was light heavy.

 

There'd have been the talent, and with the Cold War backing of the USSR Soviet pro's would have made a mark. What that may have been, I have no idea.