The NFL/Boxing Theory have some real weight behind it.

[techliam]

God, posters here are idiots.

Lennox Lewis talking about football. Considering he's from the UK he isn't talking about American Football, he's talking about SOCCER! He wasn't scouted to play American football in college.

He spent most of his childhood and early adult life in Canada, and represented them in the Olympics. Not sure what football means in Canada.

[ShoulderRoll]

God, posters here are idiots.

Lennox Lewis talking about football. Considering he's from the UK he isn't talking about American Football, he's talking about SOCCER!

He played Canadian (i.e American) football, I believe. Imagine if he had been recruited into the NFL...he'd never have been world heavyweight champion.

[Capaedia]

God, posters here are idiots.

Lennox Lewis talking about football. Considering he's from the UK he isn't talking about American Football, he's talking about SOCCER! He wasn't scouted to play American football in college.

Woooord?



Do you recognise the dude in the helmet?

[Dr Rumack]

Woooord?



Do you recognise the dude in the helmet?

James Toney

[croz]

The NFL started getting big in the modern era in terms of stealing super athletes like Cam Newton RG3, Ray Lewis, Adrian Peterson etc.
It didn't start stealing these super athletes in the 70's because these super athletes didn't exist...
Once again like pointed out, Lennox Lewis at 6'5-6'6 if he was a boxing AND football prospect from Brookyn today. Age 18, he have to decide to either turn pro Boxer or top College football. He will pick football.

Your response had nothing to do with what I said. My point was, if the NFL is supposed to be responsible for stealing athletes today then how come boxing's HW division has almost always been full of fat asses, even when boxing was "supposedly" one of the biggest sports. Out of shape heavyweights are nothing new. The HW shortage has always existed.

Also on what you said, college football and baseball were still much bigger than boxing then too. College football was the major American football outlet back then.

[Weebler I]

Not this nonsense again.

Every nation has multiple sports which compete for athletes, it has always been the case and this is nothing new.

[cdsimple]

The NFL started getting big in the modern era in terms of stealing super athletes like Cam Newton RG3, Ray Lewis, Adrian Peterson etc.
It didn't start stealing these super athletes in the 70's because these super athletes didn't exist...
Once again like pointed out, Lennox Lewis at 6'5-6'6 if he was a boxing AND football prospect from Brookyn today. Age 18, he have to decide to either turn pro Boxer or top College football. He will pick football.

Very good point. Just to add to that, more than likely, Lennox probably wouldn't be faced with the choice of choosing boxing or football because it is so hard to find a boxing gym these days he probably wouldn't get exposure to the sport at all.

I will use myself as an example. Coming out of high school, i was a really good athlete. I excelled at baseball and football and ended up playing football in college on scholarship. Where I live, boxing just doesn't exist. We all knew about the big names like Tyson and Holyfield, but if I wanted to try to box, It would have been very difficult for me to find a gym. I really didn't get to try boxing until i was 22 or so, but once I did, I instantly fell in love with it. If I had a chance to box while i was in school, I probably would have dropped all sports and concentrated on boxing but I just didn't have any exposure to it until I was older because boxing gyms are nonexistant.

[Capaedia]

James Toney

It's actually Kelly Pavlik.

If you don't believe that, it's Lennox Lewis.

[ShoulderRoll]

Not this nonsense again.

Every nation has multiple sports which compete for athletes, it has always been the case and this is nothing new.

But not every nation has dominated heavyweight boxing like the USA. That's why this is relevant.

[Weebler I]

But not every nation has dominated heavyweight boxing like the USA. That's why this is relevant.

It is reflective of a general decline in US boxing's popularity. Less interest, less participants, fewer champions.

The idea that football is stealing talented boxers is just b/s, they were never boxers in first place, you can't take something that doesn't exist.