My grandad said that guys go to the NBA and NFL because they are soft. Is this true?

There have been other contributing factors to the decline of boxing in the US other than the rise of these professional sports. Societal factors play a huge role as well - and if it is to be assumed that the underprivileged are the ones who will be attracted to boxing as a last resort then it would be worth bringing up other issues that have affected that groups over the past 30-40 years. I think the prison industrial complex has rounded up more than a few potential champions that could have had their lives straightened out had they walked into a gym instead of a jail. There is substantial research on the effects this industry has in the US. (Not excusing crimes but we know that a lot of these people are non-violent drug offenders). I have no doubt that some of these dudes over the past 30 years would have wandered into a boxing gym. All the other points people have made about other sports still stand: kids choose sports they like, can afford, that parents approve of. Typically those are going to be the sports that enjoy a massive infrastructure that is built into our cultural fabric. Football is the #1 example - but basketball and baseball both have strong, well funded, even govt subsidized foundations. These sports have a pipeline that you can go from pee-wee, traveling teams, AAU, HS to college, to degree. Some neighborhoods in the US have a pipeline from nickel bag of weed, to handcuffs, to county jail, and then to the pen. And it doesn't help that boxing has been outlawed in many prisons either. And that many neighborhood gyms have closed down. I think this has been as much an influence on the decline in boxing participation as other sports has been.

I see it all the time slick big talk basketball player come in a train and moment he has to to finally spar a kid with basics. that ego and lack of heart come out. Those kids kids would never think to go pro and stick with it. They think to themselves thisnis to hard , this is crazy, I rather shoot hoops, well at least I know how to get down a little bit . They leave they come back sometimes throughout the years.some dont. Same with football players. Same with all ages. 8 -17yrs. Fact is the kids are athletes know they cant take it. It would be like prison someone making them do it. What dad or mom would make their 8-17 yr old sign up and train to go pro?? These kids dont grow up having to show heart toughness mental toughness, they are shown love an education and law. Fighters are a rare breed

Think of who typically gets into boxing, it's poor kids. The best chance a poor kid has to get an education is through sports. You want to go to college? You better be rich or good enough at sports to earn a scholarship. No college is offering to pay your tuition to box. They'll pay if you can play football, basketball, baseball, or just about any other sport besides boxing. Yep I know guys who couldn't make it to the NFL, but they have college degrees

In NFL/NBA/MLB/etc. you are guaranteed to start at $400-600k/year depending on the league. It is violation/illegal to get any less than that. The pension plans, say for the MLB, is amazing. All have great pension plans but i'll tell you the one I know from the top of my head. After 43 days of playing in the MLB, you qualify for $34k a year when you retire. After 10 years of playing in the MLB you could make well over $100k a year after retirement. Playing 3 seasons for the NBA qualifies you for $57k a year at 62. 11 years of NBA qualifies you for $195k max. After reading this and knowing pro boxers could start at a whopping $5k a fight and if they're only decent, they could make $100-500k a fight after taxes. Why the f*ck would any top athlete join boxing!? For the glory? The sh*tty racist fans? Why? Don't even get me started on the non existant pension plans in boxing. The only money that takes care of retired pro boxers is whatevet they earned and saved during their careers. yep you don't have to worry about a promoter robbing you.

theres document comments from mma fighters, that say they tried boxing, said f that, and went back to mma HAHAHHA :boxing: = serious business

Are you serious? Are people still on about this same beat to death argument? It's a stupid argument I'm sorry. The best American heavyweights are in boxing because it is boxing we are talking about not the NFL. Unless there are some great heavweights who fought and decided to play NFL, who would they be? Are we talking about potential? Who the **** cares? How would you know? What is the potential of Eastern European men in the NFL if they decided to play in the NFL? What positions are we talking about? All the best welters are playing soccer in Europe and South America. All the best rugby players compete as strong men... All this is absurd. Deontay Wilder wanted to be a football or basketball player, but he had a kid and bad grades and couldn't get into a major university. So he turned to boxing. Seth Mitchell was a star college football player who had to stop because of knee injuries. So he turned to boxing. Bryant Jennings was a high school star who turned to boxing at 24 freaking years old. All guys who for various reasons couldn't make it past amateur football or basketball, all had success in boxing in some way, and Wilder and Jennings are probably the two best American heavyweights. Those are three guys who couldn't play football or basketball. Don't get all pissy when you don't have any clue what you're talking about. Show me a country where boxing used to be the biggest sport before soccer, rugby, hockey, or anything else overtook it and I'll tell you they probably have a lot of boxing talent going elsewhere.

Why choose boxing if you have those other options. They are a little safer, and you don't need to worry about a promoter robbing you.

Vlad has been KTFO by sloppy fat lazy American fighters.:rofl: What does that say about him? They don't get any fatter and lazier than Ross Purrity and Lamon Brewster. A fat MW made Vitali quit on his stool just like a bi.tch. What does that say about him? It says our soft and lazy is good enough to beat your best. That's what it says. Russian Kostya Tszyu was KTFO by a crack-head living out of his car. Ask Vassili Jirov about those fat lazy Americans.:lol1: Youre mentally challenged. What does that say about American primary education? Cause you sure as **** ain't got no college.

American fighters don't have any use for Eastern European idols.:lol1: We got ours...always have and always will. Why so butt hurt? Why so culturally prejudice and whats with the ethnic bigotry? What must be in the mind of the man who is at peace with the thought that "potentially/if we wanted to/we would be the best"? Well you are not and that is the reality. That is some sad, pathetic, racist *****. The fact remains that while America produces the best basketball players in the world, it does not produce the best hockey players or soccer players. And that is perfectly fine. I'm sure that if America had the culture of soccer and put the same resources towards the sport as say does Spain then they would be competitive and most likely produce the same amount of good players. But there is no culture, and even though America probably by far on a youth level puts more money into soccer than any other country (with every damn kid playing the sport) it never amounts to anything because you do not have the culture in place or the coaching for the sport. It does not mater where you come from. Its all about money and resources with some exceptions. And whoever has the best schools produces the best athletes for this or that sport. At the moment America does not have a great amateur boxing program. At the moment MLS is far from being on par with other top leagues. And that's what it is. How can someone compete with the Canadians in terms of hockey? Canadian families spend thousands of dollars yearly on their kids hockey programs, there is an immense amount of money in the sport and on top of that they have great coaching and facilities on every damn corner.

Again, the best American heavyweights are all football and basketball players who got into boxing late. Is that a coincidence, too? Are you serious? Are people still on about this same beat to death argument? It's a stupid argument I'm sorry. The best American heavyweights are in boxing because it is boxing we are talking about not the NFL. Unless there are some great heavweights who fought and decided to play NFL, who would they be? Are we talking about potential? Who the **** cares? How would you know? What is the potential of Eastern European men in the NFL if they decided to play in the NFL? What positions are we talking about? All the best welters are playing soccer in Europe and South America. All the best rugby players compete as strong men... All this is absurd.

Today american kids grow up soft they play video games and instagram text. Go to the movies. Now imagine those big arce tall or huge kids who would be the heavyweights. Lazy , sloppy , limited.. But huge tall never messed with due to intimidation .thats who your looking for. The ones that arent as sloppy lazy or limited are playing football basketball baseball and video games and girls .. 1 out of every 20 men in a room would even remotely know how to defend themselves in a fight . Most people are afraid of fighting or being exposed or hurt or embarrassed in front of people. Most people talk and have big egos but cant fight to save their lives . And would run in most cases.. natural human aggression is what you see in most street fights. Guys fighting other guys based off what they see or have seen on tv/internet. Some have experience , some know an art . Put all 20 of those men in a room Same size in weight , mostly around the same height. Give them a survey like this.. If you had choose a profession in which you would compete with all 19 other men in this room Which would you choose NfL boxing NbA MLB Mind you , none have ever played either sport. What would they choose and why. money aside. One guy was right. He said dads want football basketball and baseball players. Like 10 percent of boxing is family. 20 percent are the lifers. 40 percent to the mid bloomers (teenagers) 30 percent go to the late bloomers(start as an adult) Most hall of famers or elite fighters are in the 10 and 20 percentile

NFL is waaay more dangerous than boxing.

The only sport with a guaranteed contract is pro baseball. In the NFL and NBA you can be cut (eliminated) and your money earnings stops. The average career for a running back in the NFL is about 3.5 years! Getting caught in the chest with a round house elbow from someone 7' tall weighing 290lbs will leave a mark!!! However in football you need to take the ball over a designated area. Basketball needs to drop through a hoop 10' in the air and you must do it more than your opponent. In boxing you try to render your opponent unconscious! Of course people get unconscious in the other sports too! hahaha.....:headbang:

Why isn't hockey taking all the euro heavyweights and soccer taking all the non-American welter-through-middleweights? When has boxing ever been the biggest sport in hockey or soccer playing countries? Show me these countries where boxing declined in popularity at the same exact time as the rise of hockey or soccer and I'll say those sports probably are taking a lot of boxing talent that used to exist. That's the point here. Boxing was the biggest sport in the United States, the NFL and NBA rose in popularity, and boxing fell off to the niche sport it is today in the States. If you're arguing there isn't a clear, obvious connection between the rise of one and fall of the other, you're wrong. Again, the best American heavyweights are all football and basketball players who got into boxing late. Is that a coincidence, too?

To say the nba and NFL have better athletes is insane. They are common athletes as a whole. some can fight and some cant. didnt micheal westbrook used to fight. How did that go when the NFL ran out on him??? Lebron is a black man who is tall and has good muscles mass for his height. that doesnt mean he has punching skills and power in his left hook and a granite chin. All with the heart of a lion Reflexes of cat. He is a black man whonis tall who decided to shoot hoops. He can dunk do to height and jumping . Long arms. He may take punches like amir khan.he may punch with the skill of mayorga. He may have the superior footwork of brandon rios with a defense like kirklands.. No He is a black man who is tall and shoots a basketball. This is like saying all our best navy seals are in the NFL. lmao Its character , heart , belief , toughness, mental toughness , discipline , passion that set apart boxing and any sport and the navy seals. Id bet lebron has non of that of a fighter and never woyld have. He would have quit inna gym somewhere cause he doesnt have those qualities.cause he is soft.

Why isn't hockey taking all the euro heavyweights and soccer taking all the non-American welter-through-middleweights?

Ask the Klitschkos. Juan Diaz. Chris Algieri. What other sports can they play and make millions?

You don't have to be tall to join the NFL. 5' 10" is actually just perfect for like 4 positions in the NFL. Like it's literally the ideal height for 3-4 different positions. Yeah that's true I guess he could have been a running back. I don't know what other positions are around 5'10", I've never really been into chick sports.

Tyson was like 5'10", was NFL or NBA ever an option for him? Same with the vast majority of historical HWs. US boxers faded because they were never very good and international exposure changed boxing. Nothing to do with the NFL or NBA. You don't have to be tall to join the NFL. 5' 10" is actually just perfect for like 4 positions in the NFL. Like it's literally the ideal height for 3-4 different positions.

In NFL/NBA/MLB/etc. you are guaranteed to start at $400-600k/year depending on the league. It is violation/illegal to get any less than that. The pension plans, say for the MLB, is amazing. All have great pension plans but i'll tell you the one I know from the top of my head. After 43 days of playing in the MLB, you qualify for $34k a year when you retire. After 10 years of playing in the MLB you could make well over $100k a year after retirement. Playing 3 seasons for the NBA qualifies you for $57k a year at 62. 11 years of NBA qualifies you for $195k max. After reading this and knowing pro boxers could start at a whopping $5k a fight and if they're only decent, they could make $100-500k a fight after taxes. Why the f*ck would any top athlete join boxing!? For the glory? The sh*tty racist fans? Why? Don't even get me started on the non existant pension plans in boxing. The only money that takes care of retired pro boxers is whatevet they earned and saved during their careers.