By James Blears
The names of the current crop of world heavyweight champions don’t trip off the tongue in the same way as the role call of Johnson, Dempsey, Marciano, Muhammad Ali and Tyson.
Veteran boxing promoter Bob Arum’s convinced we’re never going to see any US fighter ever again get close to their sheer greatness or acclaim.
He argues that The seeds of greatness viz the heavyweight division are just not there in the gyms any more, because the young developing big guys are being enticed by bright lights elsewhere in sport.
Blunt as usual, Arum put it this/his way:
“You can’t tell a big sixteen or seventeen year old kid, who’s in high school, to spend the time in the smelly gym honing his skills like Muhammad Ali did, when they can play football and basketball before cheering cheerleaders. And figure that they’re going to make it in professional sports and make a lot of money.
“The last American- heavyweight champion- super heavyweight champion in the Olympics- forgetting about Tyrell Biggs in 1984 because people didn’t come- was George Foreman in 1968. And that says it all!”
Mr. Arum said that Mike Tyson was the last great from the United States, and there’s little prospect of anyone else on the horizon.
He advised fight fans to get their maps out and look much further afield to Eastern Europe and Africa, where a more vivid future lies, with big and still hungry heavyweights ready and waiting to thrust greatness upon themselves.
