What happened to the great American Heavyweight?

Too Tall Jones did not do so well!

 

Far less participation I would say. It's not just the heavyweight division either.

What the hell is futbol?

 

Too many doughnuts!

 

That's a bit silly. To turn it around.......It's like saying now Valuev would or wouldn't have been a good basketball player. Who knows? But you indoctrinate him into the sport as a kid(maybe he was I dono), let him get the training he needs and follow the progressive path, maybe the guy gets somewhere. Maybe not.

But that's 1 guy we're talking about. You factor in the thousands and thousands of big pro athletes over the last 20 years and envision some of them having taken up boxing at the right time and the law of averages dictates at least a few might have gone pro and made some noise.

To ask who in the NFL or NBA or MLB or tennis or golf would be a great boxer is impossible to answer. They weren't/aren't boxing, and they aren't boxing because there are better opportunities with less risk in other sports. Consider scholarship opportunities, parental guidance and you can see why the large HW types go elsewhere.

Sure, it isn't the only factor. The introduction of the eastern european boxer into the pro ranks is another factor, as is boxing's general popularity decline in the US. But it is a factor.

 

I agree with much of this

but it hasn't been all that long since Evander H. was considered the best big man, rightly so or not rightly so.

Boxing isn't in the public eye like it used to be. It has become kind of a tertiary sport in the USA and like bald-head-slick said, cable television made it that much farther out of reach for the types that would be prospective boxers.

Nowadays if a young man wanted to learn how to fight he most likely would have no problem finding some kind of eastern martial arts school but a boxing gym is a rarer commodity.

Also, if Sonny Liston was around today he could most likely play linebacker for a major university, graduate with a degree, play for the Chicago Bears or whatever and still be illiterate after all that time in college.

I don't think the drought of talented heavyweights from America is hopeless. I think Deontay Wilder could turn out to be something special. In a weaker era he would have had a title fight by now despite only having 8 professional fights ( Rademacher and Spinks ).

 

This is a crock of ****. There has been NFL, NBA since the 1950s.

However, Eastern Bloc fighters were only allowed to turn pro in the 1990s.

Also, Americans are getting too soft and fat.

 

And boxing was a more prominent sport. The NFL and NBA did not fully mature until the 1970s. Their golden era is around the 1980s-90s for NBA and 90s-00 for NFL.

Know your history before you start giving others a lesson.

Hmmmm.... around the same time American heavyweight is declining....

 

The skills to be effective in boxing are different than in football and basketball. Also, only a few people play in the NFL and NBA, so what's the excuse for the rest of the big guys in America?

Also, big Euros play basketball as well, some in the NBA.

 

Skill and talent are not the same. Word class athletes, especially the top 1% often start young. They have the talent but the skill is developed with training and experience.

Few people play NFL and NBA? Have you read the thread regarding little league, high school league and collegiate programs? Have you heard of the NCAA?

 

That doesn't explain the lack of motivation and work ethic of those who do box.

 

Your argument is based on the NFL and NBA.

Regarding the youth and college leagues, other countries have sport in addition to boxing that kids play at all levels including basketball, wrestling (multiple weight classes), etc. So what is your point?

Enough of the excuses for American heavyweights.

 

How am I supposed to answer that? That is kind of a silly question.

If you are not going to comprehend or bring anything new or even read the entire thread, you should just drop it. You are wasting everyone's time.

Or are you just here trying to prop up the current state of boxing heavyweights to something better than it really is?

 

Americans these days are just ****ing lazy. They don't have any strict dieting, they constnatly eat junk food all the time, and don't train as hard like heavyweights in the past. Probably because of all the side attractions; video games, ipod, and other forms of entertaiment.

Besides boxing these days don't pay well.

 

Gotta love how it's only the NBA and NFL that get looked at as the downfall of the American Heavyweight.

I wonder why MLB, Hockey, and other sports never get mentioned as siphoning off boxing talent? Could it be because when most people ask what happened to the American Heavyweight, they're really wondering why the hell foreign white guys are winning now instead of what people are used to, which is black American heavyweights? Am I the only one who sees through this?