ERROL SPENCE JNR has the chance to show how good he is when he faces Lamont Peterson. But he still has a long way to go if he is going to take over from Floyd Mayweather as America's biggest boxing star. The unbeaten IBF welterweight champion from Texas takes on veteran Washington native Peterson in a must-watch clash in the early hours of tomorrow morning in New York. Click Here To Read More]
Floyd was in an era where he fought and beat two very popular boxers to get his shine which helped him a lot. DLH and Hatton were very popular. Spence is in the wrong era for that. Crawford and Thurman aren't exactly household names.
I feel like nobody is very big right now.
Yep this. You need the opposition to raise yourself to the level Mayweather achieved. While Spence has plenty of very good opposition at welter like Mayweather did none of them are big stars/draws.
Mayweather had De La Hoya to make him a star in the US. He had Hatton to make him a star in the UK the next big boxing market. Then of course he had a global star in Pac who he himself made his name beating Mexican legends, Oscar and Hatton.
I think Spence knows this hence why he called out Canelo he may go onto to unify welterweight but that alone won't make him a star, he needs to go for the big names, the big draws.
I think "tribalism" is a cop-out or should be strictly used when talking about American fighters(particularly African Americans). Look at the UK, Joshua receives a lot of praise from white Britians. I think it is more of the culture of racism that exists in certain fabrics of America.
It is hard to parse out all the competing loyalties and prejudices, but racism is at the top of the list as a factor in America. Skinheads and bigots will always cheer for a white foreigner over a Black American.
I agree. Spence would have been in the mix in the 80's. I do get your point that there are a lot of bigots. There has always been a sort of tribalism in boxing and other sports -- Jews cheering for Jewish boxers, Italians for Italians, Puerto Ricans for Puerto Ricans and so on, but the superstars seem to transcend all that.
I think "tribalism" is a cop-out or should be strictly used when talking about American fighters(particularly African Americans). Look at the UK, Joshua receives a lot of praise from white Britians. I think it is more of the culture of racism that exists in certain fabrics of America.
I was referring to the modern era of boxing. Spence would probably be a star in the 80's
I agree. Spence would have been in the mix in the 80's. I do get your point that there are a lot of bigots. There has always been a sort of tribalism in boxing and other sports -- Jews cheering for Jewish boxers, Italians for Italians, Puerto Ricans for Puerto Ricans and so on, but the superstars seem to transcend all that.
Spence won't become a superstar because Americans don't support their own. Americans would much rather root for a foreigner who resembles their complexion than an exciting fighter like Spence who is a once in a generation type of talent.
You trying to say that White Americans identify more with White Europeans than they do African Americans, Asian Americans or Mexican Americans? :lol1:
Will Spence even be as big a star as Andre Berto?
Has Mr. Warren had a chance to hear Spence in interview?
Comparing him to Floyd is like comparing Tom Hulce to Tom Cruise. Spence could decapitate his next 20 opponents within the first 10 seconds and his celebrity will never rival Floyd Mayweather's.. Ever.
Let's see...Sugar Ray Leonard, Sugar Ray Robinson, Holyfield, Joe Louis, George Foreman, Hagler, Muhammed Ali part 2, Frazier, Floyd Patterson and others. All enjoyed broad support. Should I mention the 1984 and 1976 U.S. Olympic teams? No one was rooting for the white guys from other countries. Spence has to overcome 2 major hurdles to become a national celebrity: the decline in interest in boxing and the lack of a big name American superstars to fight.
I was referring to the modern era of boxing. Spence would probably be a star in the 80's
Spence won't become a superstar because Americans don't support their own. Americans would much rather root for a foreigner who resembles their complexion than an exciting fighter like Spence who is a once in a generation type of talent.
Let's see...Sugar Ray Leonard, Sugar Ray Robinson, Holyfield, Joe Louis, George Foreman, Hagler, Muhammed Ali part 2, Frazier, Floyd Patterson and others. All enjoyed broad support. Should I mention the 1984 and 1976 U.S. Olympic teams? No one was rooting for the white guys from other countries. Spence has to overcome 2 major hurdles to become a national celebrity: the decline in interest in boxing and the lack of a big name American superstars to fight.
Lomachenko is more of a household name than the CURRENT guys you mentioned, so is GGG
AND THEY ARE FOREIGN, bob does know how to build a name
All true, but none of those guys can carry a PPV event of any consequence on their own. It might well be that the state of American boxing is such that the better-known boxers will always be foreign now. That is one of the points I tried to make. Unless the international boxers fight and defeat a few American icons, the casual fans will never know who they are and most Americans won't care. The problem is there are no such American icons today and none on the horizon. It is a bummer because there are few young talented American boxers who in all likelihood will unknown to the American public.
Spence won't become a superstar because Americans don't support their own. Americans would much rather root for a foreigner who resembles their complexion than an exciting fighter like Spence who is a once in a generation type of talent.
What is Warren babbling about? No has suggested Spence is going to be a big attraction like Mayweather. The era is of mega PPV fights is over. Boxing is less attractive to young athletes these days than other sports, and American boxing is no longer dominant in the international arena. Because of this and other reasons, boxing is less interesting to the American public and PPV as a business model is less viable. There will be the occasional PPV fight now and then, but not much more than that. It isn't likely that Wilder, Spence, Crawford or any other boxer is going to catch the public eye as Mayweather, Oscar, Mike Tyson or Ali did.
Lomachenko is more of a household name than the CURRENT guys you mentioned, so is GGG
AND THEY ARE FOREIGN, bob does know how to build a name
People want him to be like floyd so bad, they wanted Broner to be like Floyd so bad.
He's not like floyd he will likely end his career at 154-160, he fights different too--WAY MORE OFFENSIVE
ERROL SPENCE JNR has the chance to show how good he is when he faces Lamont Peterson. But he still has a long way to go if he is going to take over from Floyd Mayweather as America's biggest boxing star. The unbeaten IBF welterweight champion from Texas takes on veteran Washington native Peterson in a must-watch clash in the early hours of tomorrow morning in New York.Click Here To Read More]
What is Warren babbling about? No has suggested Spence is going to be a big attraction like Mayweather. The era is of mega PPV fights is over. Boxing is less attractive to young athletes these days than other sports, and American boxing is no longer dominant in the international arena. Because of this and other reasons, boxing is less interesting to the American public and PPV as a business model is less viable. There will be the occasional PPV fight now and then, but not much more than that. It isn't likely that Wilder, Spence, Crawford or any other boxer is going to catch the public eye as Mayweather, Oscar, Mike Tyson or Ali did.
1)Mayweather was the WORLD's biggest draw, not just "America's".
2)Spence nor any boxer shouldn't be concerned about being the type of draw that FMJ was. He was by far the biggest money maker in boxing history.
3)Warren hasn't shown himself to be a big superstar maker in all of his years. Nor does he have the tools, he just isn't that bright.
4)Spence MIGHT become the draw GGG and Canelo have become if he beats Lamont Petterson then Thurman then Crawford. If he does that, he'll have a pedigree better than those bigger draws.