Why did America lose heavyweight dominance

:huh Are you serious. Besides Fraizer and Mike Tyson who are HOF heavyweights, what other American heavyweights have you seen that employed a bob and weave style? Now as for Bobbing and Weaving which is called by many names, has never been passé and is used by fighters in all weight divisions. It is a necessary part of boxing. As for styles, the most winning styles ever has come from America.

 

Consider these Top US Heavyweights:

Deontay Wilder
Bryant Jennings
Tony Thompson
Dominic Breazeale
Gerald Washington
(Seth Mitchell)

All started boxing well after age 20. Started. All of them switched from another sport (basketball, football).

Why would the top US boxers all start boxing after age 20? Isn't that strange? Is it typical for the top heavyweights of other nations?


How are these guys starting after age 20 and yet rising to the top of the heap? Is that not astounding?

Why aren't they being beaten by equivalently athletic/physically gifted USA boxers that started boxing at a young age (as you're supposed to do)?

The answer is obvious: because there aren't any equivalently athletic/physical USA boxers that started boxing young. So Deontay Wilder can get by on raw physicality and a crash course in "boxing".

Why?

 

I sort of agree with the premise but not in the exact way it is phrased. My way of saying it is: boxing is becoming a niche sport in the USA. The heavyweight division is just the canary in the coalmine.

 

Have you every watched rugby there is tons of head on collisions and lots of players get severely injuried and paralysed . Luckily there not soft boys and need Padding or fat boys who need oxygen after 10 seconds of play

 

You only need to look at the shape of the so called top American HW's and then look at the specimens in other sports to see that our better big men don't get into boxing.

 

Football produces way more forceful and violent collisions.

 

Physical shape doesn't mean fighting ability. And nfl are aloud use steroids so that might help

 

Margially, and there still sissy boys wearing padding and helmets. And then unfit far boys who need oxygen every 10 minutes. Seriously there's 90 year olds who would put nfl players cardiovascular fitness to shame

 

Of course alone it doesn't but it sure helps. Many top boxers both past and present where in excellent physical shape. And steroids are highly illegal in football and will get you suspended and cost you money.

 

The iron curtain came down and Eastern Europeans are coming to America. After the Klitschkos there are more excellent boxers coming up the ranks....................

 

The demise of US heavyweights is just the sign of things to come. Fact is at the grass roots level boxing in the US is dying.

There once was a time when US success at the Olympics was guaranteed now it's in tatters because the support isn't there anymore for amateur boxers. Also US amateur boxing has never really adapted to the change of scoring system in international bouts training a style more suited to professionals. But if US boxers don't succeed in the amateurs on an international level how can they expect to attract participants.

Look at 2 of the USA's top heavyweights. Wilder and Jennings didn't have extensive amateur careers. Why not? The answer the amateur game didn't have the funding or infrastructure to compete with other sports. Wilder started boxing at 20, Jennings did every sport apart from boxing at high school.

That combined with PPV turning it into a niche sport and competition from other sports, many that offer college scholarships to young athletes, has seen fewer picking up boxing as their sport of choice.

So yes potential boxers are moving to other sports because boxing can no longer compete. But that's only half the story, because while the US has declined other nations have embraced boxing. Boxing in Germany has boomed as fighters from eastern Europe have turned pro and begun to dominate.

 

:huh

Head to head tackles in rugby are the norm and frequently against more than one and you must immediately carry on rather than running off the field. :deal P4P rugby is harder impact wise and cardio wise.



BOT America's dominance was due to a number of factors but with eastern european fighters now free to compete we get a truer picture.
Also as a nation of immigrant's don't quite a lot of American champions or their parents hail from elsewhere?

 

That is what you should say. But H2H the average player from both sports and the rugby player will be involved in more playing time and more tackles.

 

Cardio yes, but the impact is heavier in NFL.

Rugby hits are less trong BECAUSE of the cardio element to the sport.
NFL players line each other up and smash each other, then takle a break, recover and do it again. Also due to their padding, they can basically launch themselves missile like.

Obviously you cant do that in rugby (as its a continuous sport) or else you'd be in a complete heap after 5 minutes, most likely with a dislocated shoulder.

Theres also the unseen element of hitting in NFL. Guys are coming at you from different angles, and you often dont see the hit coming.

In rugby, the tackler is nearly always visible, unless hes scragging you from behind, which isnt so much about impact.
In NFL, you can get LEVELLED by a guy running from behind you. You can also get hit without the ball in NFL.

So, in conclusion, rugby players need to be fitter(cardio wise), and more rounded athletes.
NFL players tend to be bigger/stronger and hit harder, DUE to the fact that their cardio doesnt need to be as good. You can afford to carry an extra 10-20lbs in NFL, as your cardio isnt as important as your explosiveness and raw strength.

When I played rugby in America, I found the Americans could all hit hard(although not technically legally by rugby standards) and were powerful. Their skills tended to be pretty poor though as they only took up the sport in college.
They needed Irish/Ozzie/kiwi etc guys to come in and fill in at prop/scrum half/fly half.
Little off topic, but there ya go!:good