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

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.

Yeah, he's from an earlier era... and he grabbed a world title. :boxing: Amir Mansour has a pretty decent body. Nice full muscle bellies, impressive back and ab development, good proportions and all that fruity crap. http://answers.bettor.com/images/Articles/thumbs/extralarge/Amir-Mansour-aiming-shot-at-WBF-title-against-Raymond-Ochieng-Boxing-news-70651.JPG 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.

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.

About a year and a half ago. http://www.boxnews.com.ua/photos/2321/Vitaly-Klitschko-Shannon-Briggs59.jpg Yeah, he's from an earlier era... and he grabbed a world title. :boxing:

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?? http://i44.tinypic.com/33lypn5.jpg About a year and a half ago. http://www.boxnews.com.ua/photos/2321/Vitaly-Klitschko-Shannon-Briggs59.jpg

Try this..... 1972: Best NFL running back makes $60,000.....Muhammed Ali rakes in millions.....And other big name fighters make a king's ransom in comparison as well. 2012: Best NFL running back makes millions.....Any fighter not named Mayweather makes chump-change in comparison. 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?? http://i44.tinypic.com/33lypn5.jpg

See, these guys are all ex-ball players too besides Malik Scott. Mitchell - football till he was injured. Bryant Jennings - played football & basketball from a little kid all through highschool. Deontay Wilder - dreamed of playing in the NBA or the NFL his whole life, but gave up college football and basketball to care for his sick daughter (spina bifida). None of these american's planned on being boxers, it just happened by pure chance. How could I forget that all the greats of the past planned on becoming boxers from the very start. It wasn't to escape poverty, or prison, or because they were bullied at school. They weighed the pros and cons, looked at the long term prospects and drew out a three step business plan to maximise their earnings. I can respect that.

What do you think about the lower weights? Any changes? No, only big guys now fear getting punched in the head for a living.

Just be glad we don't play soccer either...then you'd really have nothing.

To put it simply, because Boxing is dead in America. The physically gifted athletes are not choosing to devote their lives to boxing, which is very high risk and very low reward sport, when there are more lucrative and safer sports, that can actually give them a life and a livelihood and a free education. If you're 6'9 240 pounds an an amazing athlete, and you have a choice between Football/basketball, which will give you a free ride in college and a multi million dollar pro, or average paying amatuer carreer. And boxing, where you wont make any money whatsoever for at least few years, and you have to get a job on the side just to stay alive What's the smarter choice? Hmm, when you put it like that I wonder why anybody ever considered becoming a boxer. It doesn't seem like the safe, stable profession I always thought it was.

NFL has the shortest schedule of all the professional sports and great pay for the schedule. It also has a great history with a great support network from college and universities. Although most don't make it, getting a top grade education for free is well worth it over boxing. Plus I don't see why when the finish college/university they would be early 20's so there is time to switch to boxing if they know they are not gonna make it professionally in the NFL. No no, you have to start boxing at an early age. You can't just put on the gloves in your late teens or early twenties after a childhood spent playing another sport and expect to become, say, middleweight champion of the world and earn a number 3 spot on the RING pound for pound list.

Here's how I think it boils down over the ages. 1930s: Look ma, I'm athletically gifted and a whiz on the football field. I think I'll go into boxing and make my fortune. 1950s: Well what do you know, I can run real fast, dunk a basketball and benchpress a fridge. Looks like boxing is the only logical choice for me. 1970s: I'm seven feet tall, I'm quicker than a speeding bullet and my fast-twitch muscle fibres are off the chart! Look out boxing, here I come! 2000s: Yeah, getting hit in the head for a living doesn't sound so appealing. And what exactly are the promotion opportunities? Any pension plans?

show me some american heavyweights who aren't fat and out of shape. most young athletes in america will go into a sport like football or basketball that provides scholarships to universities, boxing doesn't offer these kids anything. I don't see how this concept is hard to understand. Football and basketball are massively popular and the hundreds of professional athletes that play it now would not have around 30 years ago. And around 30 years ago, the heavyweight division began a decline that continues to this day. It's not a coincidence.

See, these guys are all ex-ball players too besides Malik Scott. Mitchell - football till he was injured. Bryant Jennings - played football & basketball from a little kid all through highschool. Deontay Wilder - gave up college football and basketball to care for his daughter. I'm not disputing that. There is a reason that since Lewis-Bowe-Holyfield era was done, the skill level of HW's has dropped significantly. Malik Scott, I remember being really excited about him. Than he had his injury and manager problems and it really threw his career off. He came back last February after 3 years and still looked quick and his skills looked the same. But he needs to step up and fast.

The smarter choice is football if you wanna play it safe, but guess what? I don't like playing it safe, and as a boxing fan I realize the HW division is wide open right now and once the Klitschkos leave it's easy pickings and if that athlete has a personality he could be on an easy 1 way trip to being an American superstar making millions of dollars fighting guys like Hasim Rahman. You gotta look at the bigger picture man. Sure the NFL is a safer choice, but the HW division right now is just BEGGING for a money maker. There's younger up-and-coming HW's that I like really. I don't like Seth Mitchell, don't see why everyone thinks he's going to be the next really good HW. I like David Price from the UK, he looks pretty solid and heavy handed as f**k. I like Bryant Jennings, he looks pretty good, the best American HW i think. I liked Mike Perez and Deontay Wilder, but will they ever step up???? I'm not sure. I liked Malik Scott a lot, but his injury and manager problems threw his career off. He's still only 31, and has a lot of skill, but he needs to step up and do so fast. Kubrat Pulev looks pretty good as well.

If you're 6'9 240 pounds and an amazing athlete, and you have a choice between Football/basketball, which will give you a free ride in college and a multi million dollar pro, or average paying amatuer carreer. And boxing, where you wont make any money whatsoever for at least a few years, and you have to get a job on the side just to stay alive, and if you win a title still be making 1/10 of what NBA/NFL players make, What's the smarter choice? The smarter choice is football if you wanna play it safe, but guess what? I don't like playing it safe, and as a boxing fan I realize the HW division is wide open right now and once the Klitschkos leave it's easy pickings and if that athlete has a personality he could be on an easy 1 way trip to being an American superstar making millions of dollars fighting guys like Hasim Rahman. You gotta look at the bigger picture man. Sure the NFL is a safer choice, but the HW division right now is just BEGGING for a money maker.

To put it simply, because Boxing is dead in America. The physically gifted athletes are not choosing to devote their lives to boxing, which is very high risk and very low reward sport, when there are more lucrative and safer sports, that can actually give them a life and a livelihood. It's not dead, as evidence by the large number of PPV buys in America still. HW Boxing is dead in America, I'll give you that one for sure. If another star in the making doesn't appear before Floyd and Manny retire though, It'll be interesting to see what happens to American Boxing fans.

Stop making excuse the real problem is Black men can't compete with Big strong White European men. Back in the day these men wern't allowed to box professionally. Even though the Klitschkos are boring I can't see a 205 pound Fraizer or a 215 pound Ali compete with the Klitschkos they would have been knock out. Has nothing to do with skin color.

NFL has the shortest schedule of all the professional sports and great pay for the schedule. It also has a great history with a great support network from college and universities. Although most don't make it, getting a top grade education for free is well worth it over boxing. Plus I don't see why when the finish college/university they would be early 20's so there is time to switch to boxing if they know they are not gonna make it professionally in the NFL.

Maybe it's because as a nation we've turned into pussies? :dunno: