Teddy Atlas on point.

Oh the ESPN pansy is back. How's it going down there sucking out of Atlas' baby bottle of exuses? Is your ego nice and satiated?

 

Just because you don't make it to the NFL-NBA doesn't mean you didn't actively pursue those sports. They played them, and competed seriously. Not everyone goes professional, and if they fail take up boxing or another sport. They find a real job.

The NBA was almost dieing in the late 70's. Huge problems. It boomed in the mid 80's Magic & Bird era. Jordan took it to another level in the 90's. Football grew steadily as well in the 80's & 90's till now. Back in the 70's and earlier boxing was much more popular in America. It's hardly covered at all in the media now. It's not really a major sport anymore. It's not a cop-out, you just don't understand.

Kids that watched Ali and got inspired were born in the 60's-70's and grew up to be fighters in the 80's and 90's. Those fighters have existed out, and with the replacement of football and basketball as major sports. American boxing, and HW star-power has largely dead down.

Even the depth in boxing in generally has declined since yesterday (A ways back). That's why multi-weight jumping need to be put into more perspective (More divisions, less talent, less fighters, thin depth of pool of fighters).

 

1st= of course not every good athlete will be a good boxer. that's obvious and i doubt anyone was arguing it. the point is, most times to be a top boxer you've got to be a very good athlete and here in the US most of the very good athletes aren't getting involved in boxing especially at a young age- hence less good pro us boxers even thou are population is huge.

2-excuse my ignorance, but what are those other lucrative sports that are on any kind of level compared to the nfl, nba, mlb etc? maybe there are leagues that pay comparitively and are equallly as high profie as these leagues, but i'd like to know some info about em

3rd- Of course EEs are "finally competing on an even playing field" whatever that means. Yes the barriers have fallen, so that EE's can now more easily compete professionall on the world stage in boxing. And yes they have produced two 6'7 champs (the klits) that have been fairly dominant and they have produced a fair number of contenders of varying abilitiy in a very weak era (chagaev, ibrag, sergei L, now adamek, povetkin). So yes they're at least on an even playing field and when you factor in the Klits, they've been doing better than the americans, but IMO you cannot ignore the fact that especially at the higher weights the americans that could potentially be top boxers aren't getting into that sport

 

marciano played football and baseball in high school until getting into boxing in his 20s, only to become heavyweight champion.

 

Yeah I'm good now. Thanks for the concern. Come back with some more ignorant countrymen of yours to help you out when we're all asleep and you're all awake so as to at least give the illusion of a two way debate. As for now, you should be embarrassed, but I don't know that you're smart enough to be. Never fear! I'm embarrassed for you.

 

I should also mention that the only reason Americans are making "excuses" is because the question is being raised. When you have a country who has a history of dominating the division people it's natural for people to be curious as to know what happened. No one is asking what happened to the European heavyweight champions because they never existed and hence excuses are not needed to be made. Now, because it's evident that the current American heavyweight's are not up to par with the past it's a perfectly legit "excuse" to mention how our young athletes are being pushed into other sports more then ever. To not accept this means either a) you don't believe there is any talent disparity compared to the past or b) you think there's something else at play. If you think 'b', how about you give your opinion instead of mocking other people's ideas?

 

no doubt, imagine lebron as a boxer with his frame and athletic abilty!!!

 

That's because naturally gifted 6'5"-8" 225-250 lbs athleats have allways been going to football and basketball.
Think of all the great heavyweights from the past. Ali and Louis were the biggest.

 

Who/what is Atlas refering too?

 

You're full of ****.. Ball players back in the day were tall and lanky or short and stocky... Now a days we have big coordinated men playing all sports... Boxings like ping pomg in America, as much as I;d like to be playing I'm not....;

 

Dwight Howard is 6'9" without shoes on and is a ripped 265 lbs. He's got an 88.5" reach which is .5" longer than the reach of 7' Nikolai Valuev but who knows if Dwight can take a punch or learn to throw and avoid them. Since he's making an easy $15-20M per year with no risk of long term brain damage why would he try boxing?

 

Chris Byrd is friends with him and hit the mitts with him. He said that he better not get in fights on the court or he will kill someone.

 

If the cream of the crop athletes are going to other sports almost exclusively, then you're faced with a problem.

A fighter is a type of athlete, if there is a reduced pool of athletes, there will be a reduced pool of fighters.

Regardless, I do think it is a cop out, but you can't say it's totally ridiculous considering America is the biggest, baddest, best country out there that disproportionately dominates everything except for a fairy foot sport.

u-s-a
u-s-a

 

Ignore the Euro-Troll who doesn't understand things in the States.

The fact is are biggest and best athletes are not groomed to be boxers. Occasionally you get a guy who starts late after tearing up his knee in basketball or football, and does okay at boxing.. but they've usually been damaged by the time they start... they aren't peak.

 

Dude, the point is that most of what would be "top heavyweights" got involved with football or basketball at an early age and were channeled in that direction. Those that turn out to be "elite" athletes and "might" possess the skills to be amazing fighters are playing marqee sports and making millions of dollars. It's not that you are going to take one of those guys now and turn them into a great boxer, he's referring to them being molded and channeled in that direction from Jr. High on.