What happened to the great American Heavyweight?

Its true. Most of the talent pool is there. Additionally times have changed. If boxing was as glamourous as it was in times gone by then guys would still be boxing. Truth is theres easier ways to make more money with less pain.

 

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It really is quite simple...there are more options for larger athletic men in the US than there are in Europe. In Europe, the most popular sport is soccer/football, which caters to average size (middleweight) men. But in America, there are several sports where large men can earn more than they ever could in boxing: football, basketball, and even baseball. That is simply not the case in Europe. For a big man in Europe, boxing is the biggest money maker, which is why many of them take the risk.

 

Something not mentioned yet is parents. If you are a parent of a child and want your child to get involved in a sport, would you pick boxing? Not to mention that in all the other sports, kids can get started very early with solid organizations/leagues and pursue their dream all throughout their childhood/teens thru college and into the pros if they can get there. Kids see Sportscenter every nite, and aside from the recent Pac/PBF stuff, how often is boxing even mentioned. But the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, Golf, Tennis, College Sports, Nascar all get regular coverage, even in the off season. Most of the above have shows dedicated to their sport. Kids see it and want in. Boxing, for the most part is an underground sport, and with the exception of the big fights, gets almost no coverage whatsoever.

 

From what I've heard, Europe isn't exactly svelte.:good

 

It is true - boxing is in the far far back seat to NFL, NBA, MLB, and soon UFC in regards to NOT ONLY attracting talent but developing them.
At a young age, most American youths are not only exposed to football and baseball professional games but they already participate competitively themselves (Little Leagues).

By the time you get to HS you can compete nationally.

Then there are college scholarships so you can attend college for free and further develop your talent and skills. Even at the college level we have football and basketball stars.

All of this before they are even drafted and become a top athlete in the NFL, MLB and NBA. Hell just being drafted without playing a single league game can result in millions of dollars.

Now compare that with boxing.

No pre pubescent exposure to the matches, no "little leagues", no high school program, no scholarship, no collegiate program, no social standing, etc.

So you end up with smaller and smaller talent pool.

 

Boxing is and always will be a poor man's sport. And that fact is that the US dominating the heavyweight boxing scene when we were a poor and growing country. Then we dominated it a little more when our inner cities were under pressure. But now that their are more options for big athletes and they no longer have to get punched in the face, they simply aren't choosing boxing. And let's be quite clear, boxing is not a sport that a person can simply pick up in a few years, like football. I mean, how hard is it to learn to be an NFL lineblocker? You eat a lot and push other large men around. But boxing is difficult. Boxing takes time. There are hardly any heavyweights that I can think of (save Rahman at the moment) who who the heavweight crown in spite of a late start.

 

David Beckham is now in Milan fool. He came to the US and didn't like it at all. He stayed for a short period of time. And you are telling me to use my head lmfao. Do you know how much dudes like Cristiano Ronaldo make? You have no idea.

Successful players come to the US when they are old and done, so they can make a descent payday in an easier league. :good Don't talk about something that you don't know about.

 

Take just the NFL(not even the NBA or MLB) and its 500 or 600 players between the teams and prax squads.......take 100 of those guys and say they were boxers. Even if you only get 1 or 2 out of that group who were solid contenders or better, we're not having this conversation.

 

It's besides the point, fool. Since men that weight 250 pounds and stand 6 foot 5 don't often play professional football, do they? The point is that Europe has fewer opportunities for large, athletic men to make good money in sports. But America has Football, basketball, and even baseball. Is that too difficult for your to comprehend? :bbb

 

Its true to a level that you will never understand!!!

If a kid (14-18 yrs old) stands over 6ft and 200plus pounds. No-one will ask him "are you a Boxer?" Especially in America.

And there are far too many advantages for playing football and basketball at that size. NBA and NFL obviously would be the goal for that kid...but even if they don't play a single down in the NFL or take a single shot in the NBA...They will still get a FREE EDUCATION VIA COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP.

How many Boxing Scholarships are there??? NONE!!!

Do you know how much time and years spent fighting in amatuers/golden gloves before turning pro. And how many fights before getting any real recognition. Not to mention that vast amount Shitty promoters that screw young fighters over before they finally get with a Promotional Team that has the fighters best interest.

Is the NBA and NFL where all the American heavyweights are??? Not sure.

Are kids that stand over 6ft and 200plus pounds gravitate towards basketball and football in America....ABSOL-F***ING-LUTLEY!!!!

 

Honestly, I'll cut the dude some slack ...just goes to show that soccer/football is almost irrelevant here. He is on the money when it comes to the argument at hand. What I can't understand is guys arguing with him who probably don't know what sports are like here.

 

Nope. Football/Soccer is the most popular sport in the entire world and the number of people that play is huge, most kids aspire to be a soccer player rather than a boxer, by far. Then there are other sports that are also popular in other countries, Boxing is not their main priority , how ignorant. I'm not talking about Europe alone, i'm not even European :roll:.

 

He might be. But what I'm saying is, the same can be said for many other regions, especially for other divisions and HW in part. It's a valid point but then it kinda cancels out when it's a valid point for many many other countries.

 

You're losing me. I think his point is that regardless of where you are arguing about geographically, if Soccer/Football was a game that was suited to 6'5 250 lbs guys to play and make vast fortunes, then Soccer- loving nations probably wouldn't have that dominance either as their children would be gravitating toward it and not boxing as heavyweights.