All potential American HW greats goes to Football instead of boxing

There are exceptions but on average soccer players are not rough and tumble like American football players. You have to be tough and not fear pain to succeed in boxing. Some of these soccer players fall down if you breathe on them. Rugby players would be better suited to the sport.

It's not that difficult to work out, of course if there was more interest in boxing than in football in Europe and South America, they would have a larger talent pool as well. It's not a one-way street. The difference is that the United States did at one point completely dominate the heavyweight division, featuring the UK. Sometimes. Hell, if Europe was as much about boxing as it is about football, it would probably dominate the sport. It's an excuse, maybe a cop-out. But there is truth to it. All the potential heavyweight greats from England, Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, Ireland, South Africa, Wales, Italy, France, Romania, Argentina, Japan, Samoa, and Fiji have gone into rugby instead of boxing. South African heavyweight talent went into golf.

All the potential heavyweight greats from England, Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, Ireland, South Africa, Wales, Italy, France, Romania, Argentina, Japan, Samoa, and Fiji have gone into rugby instead of boxing.

Seth Mitchell actually proves our point. He was a football player who only got into boxing at 25 years old. And look how far he got...he was the first one to knock out Timur Ibragimov in either the amateurs or the pros. Imagine if he had been in boxing since childhood instead of going to football? what's so difficult to understand about this? honestly, some of the people who can't see this are being a little too sensitive. the klitschko's are great. its not as if having that opinion can conflict with the initial opinion. it actually might have helped their legacy if there was a legitimately great fighter or two, american or not. it most definitely would have improved there place in history.

Seth Mitchell actually proves our point. He was a football player who only got into boxing at 25 years old. And look how far he got...he was the first one to knock out Timur Ibragimov in either the amateurs or the pros. Imagine if he had been in boxing since childhood instead of going to football?

why is it that you think this way? our two best HW prospects are / were former basketball and football players. both got very late starts in boxing. wilder won olympic bronze with just over 20 fights leading in to the trials. mitchell started boxing at 25. mitchell and wilder are great examples of why the theory is sound. there's no great shame in losing in mitchell's case. it's not at all an indictment of his potential as a fighter that he was unable to win a big HBO fight with only five years of experience with boxing. mitchell and wilder type athletes are common in the NBA. thats all you've got. huge men with athletic talent. to think that the division wouldn't be better off without these two sports is wrong. i'm not saying that the americans would be preordained great fighters, but they're a hell of a lot better off than the tony thompson's of the world, who have no talent. or the chambers of the world, who is really only a LHW or a CW. these guys are huge and talented. if you guys were more familiar with the leagues i think you'd be more likely to see why the theory is supported universally by american boxing media. I guess that your two best US hopes would be ranked around #100 or so worldwide, so if that what Football brings to boxing - :popcorn: I do not know the best Football team in US, but how many of them do you think has the mentality to be hit and fight with fists? In EU we do also has like 20-30 other sports which are more appealing to youth and has larger membergroups. But US folks talks like it is only in the US that boxing has to compete with other sports.

being an excellent athlete much better than being a regular guy. most of the current american HW don't have the mental strength to stay away from the buffet and train hard. being coordinated, strong, huge, and fast is better than being tony thompson. just think about the argument you're making... put these guys in a boxing gym at 10 and you'd have dedicate and driven fighters. I think you missed my point entirely. They go into football because they don't wan't to fight. People who get into boxing do so because they have something inside of them that other athletes don't. Being 6'8'' and athletic is no guarantee that you will be able to take a punch for 12 rounds or to beat another for 12 rounds, just to prove a point that you are a bad ass.

The problem with this theory is that being an excellent athlete doesn't mean you are also an excellent fighter. People who thrive in boxing have something more than just athletic ability. You know the old cliche.. Boxing is 90% mental being an excellent athlete much better than being a regular guy. most of the current american HW don't have the mental strength to stay away from the buffet and train hard. being coordinated, strong, huge, and fast is better than being tony thompson. just think about the argument you're making... put these guys in a boxing gym at 10 and you'd have dedicate and driven fighters.

why is it that you think this way? our two best HW prospects are / were former basketball and football players. both got very late starts in boxing. wilder won olympic bronze with just over 20 fights leading in to the trials. mitchell started boxing at 25. mitchell and wilder are great examples of why the theory is sound. there's no great shame in losing in mitchell's case. it's not at all an indictment of his potential as a fighter that he was unable to win a big HBO fight with only five years of experience with boxing. mitchell and wilder type athletes are common in the NBA. thats all you've got. huge men with athletic talent. to think that the division wouldn't be better off without these two sports is wrong. i'm not saying that the americans would be preordained great fighters, but they're a hell of a lot better off than the tony thompson's of the world, who have no talent. or the chambers of the world, who is really only a LHW or a CW. these guys are huge and talented. if you guys were more familiar with the leagues i think you'd be more likely to see why the theory is supported universally by american boxing media. exactly.....

The problem with this theory is that being an excellent athlete doesn't mean you are also an excellent fighter. People who thrive in boxing have something more than just athletic ability. You know the old cliche.. Boxing is 90% mental

we've got a very different definition of gifts, then, especially at HW. scott can't break a grape. He lacks power, but in terms of skill I'll take Scott > Wilder and Jennings

Thank you New England. I remember visiting Ron Lyle's gym in Northeast Denver when I was a little kid in the late 80's, and there were tons and tons of HW size kids training in there. I went back to his gym again a few years ago before he died, and there were virtually NO HW size athletes training in his gym. It was all smaller weight kids ranging from 120-160 mostly. But it's not just the US, the division as a whole is weaker than it's ever been aside from 3 fighters. There's some younger potential out there though, so we'll see what happens. Malik Scott is BY FAR the most gifted American HW and the most pure fighter skill wise. we've got a very different definition of gifts, then, especially at HW. scott can't break a grape.

Thank you New England. I remember visiting Ron Lyle's gym in Northeast Denver when I was a little kid in the late 80's, and there were tons and tons of HW size kids training in there. I went back to his gym again a few years ago before he died, and there were virtually NO HW size athletes training in his gym. It was all smaller weight kids ranging from 120-160 mostly. But it's not just the US, the division as a whole is weaker than it's ever been aside from 3 fighters. There's some younger potential out there though, so we'll see what happens. Malik Scott is BY FAR the most gifted American HW and the most pure fighter skill wise.

Come on guys - I really do like US and has family connections in NY. I am just tired of US folks saying that they do not dominate the HW scene due to other sports - or because HW is in bad shape. US is still the nation with the most world-champs. why is it that you think this way? our two best HW prospects are / were former basketball and football players. both got very late starts in boxing. wilder won olympic bronze with just over 20 fights leading in to the trials. mitchell started boxing at 25. mitchell and wilder are great examples of why the theory is sound. there's no great shame in losing in mitchell's case. it's not at all an indictment of his potential as a fighter that he was unable to win a big HBO fight with only five years of experience with boxing. mitchell and wilder type athletes are common in the NBA. thats all you've got. huge men with athletic talent. to think that the division wouldn't be better off without these two sports is wrong. i'm not saying that the americans would be preordained great fighters, but they're a hell of a lot better off than the tony thompson's of the world, who have no talent. or the chambers of the world, who is really only a LHW or a CW. these guys are huge and talented. if you guys were more familiar with the leagues i think you'd be more likely to see why the theory is supported universally by american boxing media.

Aside from Wlad, Vitali, and Haye.....the division is in bad shape. There's some up and comers who look decent enough though. David Price, Mike Perez, Deontay Wilder, Malik Scott, Bryant Jennings, and even guys like Denis Boytsov and Kubrat Pulev look decent enough so far. We'll see what happens. There's some younger potential there.

Come on guys - I really do like US and has family connections in NY. I am just tired of US folks saying that they do not dominate the HW scene due to other sports - or because HW is in bad shape. US is still the nation with the most world-champs.

They are pampered and protected, always having their home officials to help them when needed. Example: - Castillo-Mayweather I - Joe Cortez helped Floyd in Hatton-Mayweather - referees permit Ward to foul Floyd and Ward will never leave the US to fight a decent opponent, because they can't fight without the security blanket of their shady home officials. Mayweather-Castillo I wasn't a robbery, it was a close fight that could have gone either way, and Floyd set the record straight in the rematch. Hatton was initiating every clinch when he'd just rush forward blindly after getting popped, and last time I check, Joe Cortez didn't throw the check right hook that sent Ricky flying into the ring post. Stop getting so bent out of shape just because the US has the best boxers in the world P4P still, professionally. It's not like other countries don't have great fighters, they do. You're problem is that you hate America so much, you let it blind you when analyzing fighters. S**t, you were hyping up Seth Mitchell was a potential Wlad opponent, even though I told you months and months ago that Mitchell was average at best.

Oh and the US still has the best boxers P4P of any country.

But they do have the best boxers still. Mayweather and Ward are in the top 3 P4P.

No one's making excuses. Even the HW's from other countries, except the Top 3, aren't very good. David Price has some real potential though. I've heard he's chinny though.