Why Brits wont fight in the USA

boxer: Lennox Lewis
Global ID 1853
sex male
birth date 1965-09-02
division heavyweight
nationality United Kingdom
alias The Lion
residence London, United Kingdom
birth place West Ham, England

That enough reason? If I moved to Japan now and moved back to England in eight years time, would that make me Japanese?

 

I agree with you. For the most part, the only division I see Brits/Europeans rulling is the Super Middleweight Division. With Eastern Euro rulling the Heavys.

The only other division I see the Brits having a claim to MIGHT be Cruiserweight, but I think the talent pool of contenders is much better in the US based Boxing circles than the British/European boxing pool.

 

Yea, Brits definitely don't run the light welterweight division.....despite having THE man at the weight and two other world champions.

Idiot.

 

I'm pretty sure there were fights that weren't televised. They're lucky they didn't do that on the street, you'd have some of these people coming home in bodybags.

I could only imagine what would happen to them if they tried that in say, New York City

 

He was born in London. Therefore he is English.

Is Wlad American? Is Sam Peter? If you live somewhere for a while, that doesn't mean you all of a sudden become that nationality. atsch

 

For all that, I think some posts in this thread have summed the situation up succinctly and well (others have been simply moronic). To say "British fighters won't fight in the USA" is simply moronic and inaccurate. Most of our world class fighters over the last decade or so have ventured over there at some point in their careers (Lewis, Danny Williams, Woodhall, Benn, Eubank, Eastman, Hatton, Witter, Billy Schwer, Hamed etc...) The question should really be why would a Brit want to fight in the USA. And unless there is a pretty good answer to that question, they are simply not going to.

Boxing, like any other business, is all about the money. The USA is the biggest boxing audience in the world. However, doesn't mean everyone who fights there gets more money than everyone who doesn't, otherwise the whole world would just up sticks and fight in the States (which would be bad for the sport and its fans, period). The top name U.S. fighters (ODLH, Tyson, Mayweather etc...) earn money fighting at home that they couldn't dream of anywhere else and hence would be silly to think about fighting abroad. But it is only the top 1%. Unless you're a heavyweight, a hispanic or otherwise just eminently marketable, it is tough to make an exceptional living at the game in the States. Same goes for anywhere. But why would guys like Calzaghe, Ottke, Kessler (or even aussies like Mundine and Danny Green or some of the top Asian fighters) want to go to the States and earn half of what they do fighting at home? It just doesn't make sense. Obviously, as I stated above, a lot will fight over there at some point (if an exceptional opportunity on a big fight card comes up, if it's a mandatory etc...)

To be fair, the same works in reverse. Looking at some of the American fighters who are a league below the names I mentioned earlier (For example, Stevie Johnston, Keith Holmes, Brewer, Byron Mitchell, all of whom have fought for titles in Europe at some point). They will fight in the States unless there is a pretty compelling reason to do otherwise, but will leave to fight abroad if required/recommended. Ricky Hatton, for example, fought plenty of U.S-based "names" on his way up (Tackie, Oliveira, Vince Phillips). Those guys have been based in the States, but travelled because it was a great opportunity to earn bucketloads taking on an up and coming star and because they fancied their chances of being the one to burst his bubble. Vivian Harris is another one, who was offered double his previous biggest payday to take on Hatton.

Bottom line, fighters will fight where they can make most money. Which is why most fighters from poor South American countries base themselves in the U.S. Good for them. Its a short career. But no fighter is going to decide to go and fight in the U.S. without good reason just because a few (note, not all, not even most) bigoted idiots in the U.S. think that anything that happens outside of their own country doesn't exist!

 

Nothing would happen. Nothing at all.

Anyway, as I already pointed out in another thread, the Star Spangled Banner is basically a rip-off of an old English song anyway. If Brits want to boo a British song, that's their business.

 

Hatton my be the Ring champ but he doesn't have a belt and based on his fight with Urango, he is far from the man at the weight. I would have given more credance to the suggestion that Witter was the man, than hatton. I think LW is a toss up between Malinaggi and Witter. Again though I think the talent pool for LW is higher in the American Boxing Circuit (Which includes boxers of all nationalities who principally fight in the US) than it is in England. I will not mention that chump Gavin Rees, no one is world class when only 8 peiople you have fought have winning records.

 

Its not bigoted to think that because people do not fight ,in the best talent pool wise, fighting circuit that they are nobodies. Most people aren't looking at the nationality of the fighter they are looking at the circuit when they say a person isn't from the US. Americans don't look down on anyone, boxing wise from other countries, you can see that from the embrace that latin and african fighters recieve. its the level of competition, and for the most part if you don't fight in the US, your level of competition is going to be pretty weak, baring the Heavyweight division.

 

A "military operation"? You're absurdly blinded by nationlistic stupidity if you need to cling on such fanatical (and laughably flawed) ideals. Football hooligans are pussies that wouldn't stand a chance in real fights. You've obviously never visited LA or Brooklyn, or even redneck town, Ohio

 

:good Well said.

 

You're basing Hatton not being the man based on one fight???

He beat the man Tsyzu, now he's the man, he's beat loads of world champions.

How is Witter the man? Who's he beat??

Hatton's the ring champ and undoubted number 1 in that division. Then there's Witter, then Malignaggi...and then we another world champion in Rees..........we dominate that division.

 

well i'm a brit and although we have a great tradition in the noble art inventing the queensberry rules and the like for me the usa has always been the home of boxing,maybe me probably being one of the older posters thats the way it always seemed.with all the waves of immigration into the states in the 1st half of the last century there just seemed to be an endless supply of great fighters of all persuasions coming out of the states seemingly forever.generally speaking the british fighters who ventured over the pond got their butts kicked.notable exceptions being ted "kid" lewis,owen moran and jackie "kid"berg.turpin was heroic despite being stopped by arguably the greatest fighter of all time.jock mcCavoy went over and demolished babe risko inside a round in the early thirties,so even then there were successes.you simply had to go over there to make the real big fights to be recognized universally.what i will say is in the last decade or two matters appear to have evened out i certainly don't think the usa is producing any thing like the top class fighters like it used to.and i'm not just talking about the heavyweight division.in other threads it's been written about the triumphs of a fair few of british fighters in recent years,and although the big vegas casinos are still ultimitely where it's at,these fighters with there large home fanbases can still make major fights and money in there own country.i still think european fighters have to fight stateside to gain ultimate recognition,i just don't think it's as essential as it used to be.

 

Yes he beat Tsyzu then he dropped his belt and went mega-fight hunting. I respect the money move but as far as talent wise, he is far from being the class of the Jr. Welterweight division, as evidenced by the struggle he had with Urango who had him hurt.

Witter has a belt he beaten Vivian Harris and Demarcus Corley, both whom I bet would give hatton problems.

Hatton's lone accomplishment was his beating of a faded Tsyzu.

Let hatton beat one of the serious champions in his division, Witter or Paulie before we start declaring him the class of the division.

 

Witter's biggest win is against Vivian Harrs who got knocked out by Maussa....the Maussa that then went on to get knocked out by Hatton. Amazing!

Whilst Witter was fighting Colin Lynes...Hatton was beating Tszyu and KOing Maussa....

Malignaggi's done nothing to suggest he's the man at this weight....his biggest accomplishment is LOSING bravely to Cotto.

Hatton's the man, nobody can dispute it.