Why Can`t America Produce A Decent Heavyweight Anymore?

Fact is America still produces more heavyweights than all of Eastern Europe combined, it is just a quality issue. Also, no one should kid themselves, if I am a big East Euro I'd rather play in the Euroleague, NHL or KHL than box.

 

No easy answer, and nobody really knows. My theory is one of the major problems has been boxing business itself.
In America of past, if you were the HW champ, you were the King of the World basically. But how do you get young people interested in boxing, especially since most Champions come from poverty or around? Well for one thing you need exposure. You can still watch the NFL on regular TV, meaning that you not need cable networks to do so.
Making boxing unavailable to the likely people that would take up boxing means they have no exposure to the sport, so why the hell, or better how the hell can they get interested?
Boxing used to be on terrestrial TV, and radio, making it available to almost everybody. Not anymore. With more and more people struggling to get food on the table and rent paid, cable TV is a full luxury, and PPV is even a bigger one.
The likely candidates are not going to be coming from wealthier homes, they are going to be coming from lesser means, seeing boxing as perhaps a way out of their situation, but with no exposure to the sport, good luck. They play basketball and Football. Also with the rise of other sports, the named extreme sports has drawn more young folks to it.
That doesn't however mean we will never see a dominant champ again, but certainly there is less boxing going on. Less gyms, less programs for inner city youth all equals less of a pool to choose from.

 

I blame BIG MAAAAAAAAAAAAACS! :barf

This content is protected

 

They have produced several decent heavyweights. It's just a matter of the Klitschko brothers being too great for anyone else out there. If there were no Klitschkos in the heavyweight division... people would be raving about guys like Chambers, Arreola, Thompson, ect... much more. Let alone guys like Brock who were undefeated top contenders when Wlad knocked them out.

 

international competition is the answer, and personally i think the 70's 80's rankings and champions would have been diferent

 

Not an excuse, second string and third string make better money than the average boxer.. Maybe if boxing is cleaned up, and fighters r not left on the street when their careers are over, then the fight game will be booming again.