Someone once said the greatest HWC is in the NFL...

A guy called Jonah Lomu is one of the greatest Athletes ever,6'5" 265+lbs and a 100 metres in around 10.5 seconds and being able to run around for 80 minutes unlike the fatties in the NFL.I am sure he could have chosen boxing if he wanted and been the best in the world.

 

I don't know why anyone would think that these run/jump athletes would be any good in the boxing ring.

Being able to fight is a skill more akin to major league pitching than running around on a football field tackling people. Foot speed isn't really a crucial factor in a 16 x 12 ring unless you plan on dancing around in circles avoiding the opposition, which isn't exactly the point of the sport.

Sure, strength,agility, etc will definitely help you out. But skill, endurance and the ability to take a shot are the most crucial things by far. Most guys just can't take the hits without the lights going out, regardless of how tough they are.

 

Jerry Collins

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6 foot 3, about 110 Kg's, (240 lbs) - and hard as nails.

Fit, tough and strong - and pretty quick too.

Here's some more of his work... (not sure if the youtubes will allow embedding, but the links are right.)

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Lomu was a great athlete, but again, great athletes do not necessarily equate to great fighters. Outside of boxing, Ali was a decent athlete, not terribly fast on a track but strong. Frazier was apparently quite weak in lifting terms. Tyson was completely uncoordinated on a basketball court. Does this mean some great "athlete" might have come along during their primes and defeated them?

It just isn't like turning some track guy into a wide receiver in football.The athleticism of boxing is only displayed in the ring and has little crossover bearing to other sports. How many weight room heros, football and basketball players have taken up the sport- often still in their primes- only to be pummelled?

 

I don't think you can pick an NFL player and say 'he could have been heavyweight champ'. Boxing is a pretty unique sport and the next great heavyweight could have been a guy who wasn't even that great at football and didn't make it to the NFL.

I think the point is that boxing has declined significantly in the United States in terms of popularity. The NFL dominates professional sports in this country. The people who run the league have been smart enough to realize the potential for investing in promoting the sport to the point where it's been sewn into our national culture. It's been worth the investment because the NFL makes a killing on sponsorship and liscencing revenues.

Boxing doesn't have the benefit of a central governing body that can promote the sport and ensure the highest levels of competition. It's hard to become a boxing fan nowadays unless your father was a fan and passed it on. There's rarely local fights to go in most areas of the country and there's very rarely decent boxing on regular television (you need HBO, Showtime, PPV).

It's simply the case that not as many young Americans are taking up boxing early, which is necessary to excel in the sport in my opinion. They're just playing other sports. Youth baseball, football, and basketball are heavily supported by parents, schools, and other sponsors. That's not the case with boxing. It's fallen far from where it was in terms of a national past-time.

 

Why you're better off playing other sports:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8GtzCO86ys

 

The point being made is that if they were brought up boxing instead of other sports what would they be.

The problem is that the heavyweight division has a very small population. We essentially don't have much to choose from. Anytime some farmhand puts on some gloves and has some power to knock out a few sparring partners everyone gets excited.

Imagine a division as deep as 100+ contestants. All athletically gifted, and brought up on the sport of boxing. That would be a sight.

 

LeBron James, 6-8 240. His build at 18 was incredible (pause)