By Tom Donelson

Boxing is an international sport. This is hardly a news flash to any serious student of boxing history. With yet another Heavyweight crown passing over to a former member of the Soviet Empire, there have been more than enough ink spilled on the idea that, yes, boxing is an international sport.

One only has to look at the lower weight divisions to see the international aspect of the sport. Mexican fighters have always been a staple of these lower weight divisions and Showtime boxing guru Al Bernstein recently observed that Mexican fighters hold one out of every four titles below the Middleweight limit.

What has changed is that many European fighters, in particular fighters from behind the former iron curtain, are now challenging American fighters in divisions that Americans formerly held sway. 

It used to be that divisions between the Middleweights through the Heavyweights were strictly American affairs with a few foreign fighters thrown in as an extra. Today, it is the American fighters that are becoming the afterthought.

The Heavyweight level is just one division in which Europeans dominates. When Jeff Lacy fought Joe Calzaghe, he found himself stuck in a buzz saw.  Calzaghe nearly decapitated the Floridian slugger when the Welsh bomber kept using Lacy face as a punching bag. 

After the fight, it became apparent that Lacy may not have been even the second best Super Middleweight, that honor is going to the winner of the Mikkel Kessler- Markus Beyer scrape later this fall. 

With Bernard Hopkins impending retirement and the aging of Antonio Tarver and Roy Jones, the light heavyweight level is another division that is slowly being strangled by the Europeans. Hungarian Zsolt Erdei and Polish Tomasz Adamek both own a piece of the light heavyweight title along with Clinton Woods of the UK.  And Joe Calzaghe is preparing to make his move into the light heavyweight division. 

Europeans hold most of the major titles at 175, and while Bernard Hopkins is recognized as the legitimate light heavyweight champion due to his victory over Antonio Tarver; Hopkins is ready for retirement. Below him are even more European fighters, and the only real American threat under the age of 30 that exists is Chad Dawson.  The Cruiserweight division is not much different as foreigners dominate the top ten and most of the legitimate championship belts. 

So why is this happening?  The one excuse often given is that the best American Heavyweights are playing in the NFL.  Another reason is that Europe amateur boxing programs are superior to those in the United States.   All you have to do is look at the recent Olympics to know that American amateur boxers rarely earn medals whereas Cubans and European fighters clean up.  Most of the leading Central Europeans have extensive amateur backgrounds and vast international experience before turning pro. 

From the 1950's through the early 90's, the best Central European fighters did not turn pro but fought as a ward of the state.  They stayed amateurs until they retired or defected. When the Berlin wall came crashing down and the Soviet Empire with it, many of these fighters became professionals and they brought their skills with them.

Just look at the heavyweights.  Serguei Lyakhovich and Wladimir Klitschko have excellent boxing skills and don't just depend upon power to win fights.  While Oleg Maskaev still fights in the traditional European stand up style, he always had his own exceptional skills to go with his power.

European fighters are proving to be more flexible than their American counterpart. When Lyakhovich fought Lamon Brewster, he out boxed the heavy-handed American and easily out pointed him.  Maskaev used his in-fighting skills to greab a lead on two of the judges' scorecard going into the final round in his second fight with Hasim Rahman before stopping him. 

Other Russian fighters such as Sultan Ibragimov have shown similar skills and if you look even in the Cruiserweight division, you will find many Russian and Central European fighters ready to challenge for titles.  Many Russians learn their trait in the amateur ranks before making it on the professional scene.  In contrast, many American Heavyweights have started their professional career with very little amateur experience.

Right now, the one division above Welterweight that American fighters truly have some domination is Middleweight, and the person in charge is Jermain Taylor.  Presently, he is the best of the Middleweights and Winky Wright is a clsoe second.  This is the only division that you can truly say that the best two fighters are Americans. 

Even in the Middleweight division, there are excellent European fighters with the potential to defeat either Wright or Taylor.  Sluggers such as Arthur Abraham are serious threat to Jermain Despite his recent loss to Spanish fighter Javier Castillejo, Felix Sturm has the skills to give the top two Americans trouble. 

The Mexican domination of the lower weight divisions may be the results of many Mexican fighters being hungrier and starting their professional career earlier.  The European resurgent is due to the collapse of the Soviet Empire, which allowed many talented fighters to turn pro and earn a living at their trade.