white heavyweights.

There were great white champions in the past in all the weight divisions, but as prosperity changed the picture for the white man, basically, boxing still remained a ticket out of the ghetto for minority groups who were still mired in poverty. When you don't need to, it's pretty hard to get motivated to take punches to the head, even to established champions, who make the big money and lose that "hunger" and drive necessary to have the mindset of a fighter. I believe it was Marvin Hagler who said "when you sleep in silk pajamas it's really hard to get up and do raodwork", or something like that.

 

You'd better watch out for the crazies.

They'll try to have you banned for using the word 'WHITE' .

 

I think I was making a point when was the last time we saw a white fighter fight like Roy Jones, Zab judah or Floyd Mayweather.

 

If only i could find this old boxing mag from about 1982 o 83. They named four little boxing teams. An all black/black team - this team consisted of fighters that epitomised the black boxers of the day. A guy like Greg Page was in it. Then we had all white/white. Maybe Tex Cobb was one. Then we had black fighters who fight like white, and white who fight like black. It was a super little article with much humour and some great insights. If i ever find it i will spend the time to post it. One list at a time.

 

Wimpy Halstead.

Alexander Zolkin

 

calzaghe

 

Maybe we're looking too far into it?

Look at American football - everyone in America likes it. Collegiate football is huge, too. The talent pool in American football is pretty varied...you could argue that there are more white QBs and black tailbacks, but those are just subtleties.

My point is that people like to play sports they like. Everyone in America - white and black - likes to watch football (it's an exaggeration, I know, but the NFL still has a HUGE fanbase). It should be no surprise that there are both white and black players, then, and in a fairly equal proportion. People dream of playing in the NFL from when they are very young.

Very few of my friends like boxing. For whatever reason - some of them think it's fake (WWE), some think it's boring, others just don't know where to watch fights. My few friends that do follow boxing are black (I'm white). I can't explain this, and I won't try to, but it seems that the majority of people I know that are boxing fans just happen to be black. I don't think whites like boxing much anymore, at least not to the same extent as other races do.

I'm sure the situation was different in the 1920s, when you had Jack Dempsey running around as a national icon on par with Babe Ruth, but for whatever reason, I think white interest in the sport has declined.

As a final thought - how about Mexican champs at lower weight levels? Boxing is huge in Mexico, so maybe there are alot of little Morales and Barrera wanna-be's running around, who in turn may become boxers themselves.

 

There were two problems with the heavyweight division and white Americans.

1) One was that, because they usually grew up middle class, the best white athletes had many more options than just boxing. At 8 or 10 or 12, they were handed a football or a tennis racket or a ball glove.

Let's take someone like Pete Sampras. 6'3 220...who does that remind you of? Wings on his feet, stamina for 5 set marathons and a 120 mph first serve. The only question would have been: could he take a punch?

2) White American heavyweights seem to get rich before they are forced to learn how to fight. The pro game is different from the amatuers. A fighter has to start all over and re-learn the fundamentals.

He has to be matched tough in order to get tough. And this applies to black fighters as well (anyone wanna argue Mark Breland?). People usually point to the same fighters; Quarry, Cooney and Morrison. Quarry came along in a time of acknowledged all-time greats. He doesn't really fit in with the other two.

Cooney and Morrison were fighting for multi-milllion dollar purses before they faced a warm body. The first time a fighter faces an actual threat should not be when they are challenging for the world title.

Cooney should have first been matched against guys with limited skills but proven grit like Tex Cobb and Gerrie Coetzee before facing off with fellow prospects like Greg Page and Michael Dokes.

Morrison was really still an amatuer when he fought Ray Mercer and for three round he fought beautifully. But the fight was set for 12 rounds and ran out of gas in the fourth. He, like Cooney, was matched too easy and blew out the usual suspects on the way to the big time and the big money. He never got matched against someone with a chin that could handle his power and fight back at the six or eight round level so he could develop some grit under fire.

 

You need to get some DVDs of some out and out wars.

Foreman-Lyle
Stewart-Sellers
Ward-Gatti 1
MAB-Morales 1,2,3
Corrales-Castillo 1
Moorer-Cooper
Hagler-Hearns
Harding-Andries 1

and some that are lesser known as well like

Mancini-Frias
Meza-Garza
Wilson-Tshabalala
Lewis-Wilson

then you need one with a sh!tload of one-round blowouts

Jones-Griffin 2
Thunder-Grimsley
Powell-Bundrage

You play your cards right and you can turn them into boxing fans.

 

I'm not on the defend whitey kick here but Calzaghe at his best is far more impressive than Judah, on par with Mayweather in my book, and Jones, Jr. in his prime had few equals in the history of the sport.

When was the last time we saw a heavy as big and gifted as Wlad? Lewis was more durable, but more gifted I am not sure.

When was the last time we saw a figher like Monzon, of any color or stripe?

 

All good points!

 

Roy Jones Juicer? I suppose the best comparison would be Tommy Morrison.

 

Jones had few peers, but ALL times, I put Willie Pep, and Benny Leonard over Jones. Skill wise, and talking pound for pound of couse.

 

To be very honest with you Alexander Zolkin was one of the best heavyweights in a very tough division.. He overcamea lot of good tests to become champion at one time.. all be it a minor belt and when he finally boxed for the WBO against Akinwande he didn't disgrace himself in the least.. always in great shape and always prepared to give his all, Alexander was as tough as they come..