When did all the best American heavyweights start playing in the NFL?

[StarshipTrooper]

End thread, man. I can't see how this is even a debate. Not to mention that none of the top heavyweights from America are even remotely gifted athletes; ****, when was the last time we had a heavyweight that looked like this??

The truth is before the 1980s rolled around football players and basketball players didn't make jack **** compared to top fighters. The big money didn't start rolling in until the 80s.

Poet

[nomadman]

End thread, man. I can't see how this is even a debate. Not to mention that none of the top heavyweights from America are even remotely gifted athletes; ****, when was the last time we had a heavyweight that looked like this??

About a year and a half ago.

[paulf]

About a year and a half ago.

Yeah, he's from an earlier era... and he grabbed a world title.

[Japanese Boxing]

This is an argument about physical skills, when we're talking about a game that requires much more thinking, than it does of being a physical beast. Even though Foreman had limited skills earlier in his career, he was smarter than a lot of his opposition and landed and set up things exactly how he had to. He wasn't a slouch, great boxers are tacticians, not brutes.

[Brother Jay]

Was it after Lennox beat Holyfield? Earlier? Later? When exactly did all the great American heavyweights suddenly up ship and bugger off to play in a sport where they wouldn't get their arses kicked by Europeans/Canadians?

I need a year and preferably a month please.

What kind of nonsense is this?

Boxing in America has been a dying sport period. Not just the HW class.

Boxing doesn't put back into the communities.

There are no boxing scholarships. Kids grow up in America playing football, basketball, baseball and even soccer.

If you're in high school and you have a chance to get a free ride on a scholarship from those sports or track and field or maybe lacrosse, then that's what you're going to take.

Stop pretending that Euro boxers are have figured out anything aside from putting the biggest fuckers that they can find into the ring. It certainly has ABSOLUTELY ZERO to do with better or even equal skills.

Chris Byrd was twice the boxer of either Klitschko brother. As was James Toney. As was Ike Ibeabuchi.

In fact, the Euro-fighter with the best boxing skills at HW in the last 10 years IMO was Siarhei Liakhovich. The guy had solid skills and didn't have to be 6'7 to stand a chance.

I'm sure no American will lose any sleep because the Klitschkos ruled a talentless division for a few years. Especially when one considers that Americans had dominated everyone else at HW for decades.

As the old saying goes "The sun has to shine even on a dog's ass sometimes".

[nomadman]

Yeah, he's from an earlier era... and he grabbed a world title.

Amir Mansour has a pretty decent body. Nice full muscle bellies, impressive back and ab development, good proportions and all that fruity crap.



He's not quite the amateur bodybuilder type that Weaver was, I'll give you that, but I bet he could still crush an apple between his buttcheeks no problem.

[nomadman]

What kind of nonsense is this?

Boxing in America has been a dying sport period. Not just the HW class.

Boxing doesn't put back into the communities.

There are no boxing scholarships. Kids grow up in America playing football, basketball, baseball and even soccer.

If you're in high school and you have a chance to get a free ride on a scholarship from those sports or track and field or maybe lacrosse, then that's what you're going to take.

Stop pretending that Euro boxers are have figured out anything aside from putting the biggest fuckers that they can find into the ring. It certainly has ABSOLUTELY ZERO to do with better or even equal skills.

Chris Byrd was twice the boxer of either Klitschko brother. As was James Toney. As was Ike Ibeabuchi.

In fact, the Euro-fighter with the best boxing skills at HW in the last 10 years IMO was Siarhei Liakhovich. The guy had solid skills and didn't have to be 6'7 to stand a chance.

I'm sure no American will lose any sleep because the Klitschkos ruled a talentless division for a few years. Especially when one considers that Americans had dominated everyone else at HW for decades.

As the old saying goes "The sun has to shine even on a dog's ass sometimes".

Lennox Lewis wasn't American.