Desperate American heels

Boxing in America isn't as popular today as it is in Britain. They're competing with much more popular sports for airtime. The performative heel act is a way to bring attention to themselves, build a following whether fans are repulsed, annoyed or find them amusing. In the UK you don't have to try as hard to build a following if you have a good record and it appears you have a promising future in the sport. In the US that isn't always enough, you have to do more to build a platform for yourself, sometimes that means behaving like a clown, the goal is to go viral, become a meme to boost your name recognition. The UK is so provincial by comparison you can bypass all those antics, because local Brits are very loyal to their guys as long as they're successful, you almost have a built-in following. America is filled with dominant winners in many sports, it's much harder to stand out. This dude cracked it. Well worded. Excellent post.

Can you respond to him by DM next time rather than derail this boxing thread please? Why he put some truth on this board for once. The woe is me movement ended with Biden/Harris losing chief

In non-US countries, an athlete may become a star by progressively winning. The public will acknowledge his talent and achievements and reward him with increased earnings, fame, and recognition as a great athlete. Self-promotion is a minuscule part of the job. In the US, an athlete’s talent and accomplishments may exceed his rewards if his self-promotion is not on par. Floyd is a great example. He may have been a superstar fighting out of a non-US country way before the Oscar fight if he had the Money persona before that fight. Zab Judah may have been a more high profile fighter than Floyd outside of boxing circles when they fought in 2006. As an example (using Instagram Followers since it is a decent gauge of popularity with all 3 having a profile). US-based Edgar Berlanga (689k+) has similar earnings/fame/recognition as a far more talented and accomplished US-based David Benavidez (700k+) Mexican-based Gilberto Ramirez (3.9m+) doesn’t have that problem. In the US, the greater the self-promoter, the greater the reward.

So 2. No, it’s more. BoxingScene even saw fit to write a whole article about it recently. Too Hot to Handle: Mexican underdogs bring a different heat to Britain and Ireland ​https://www.boxingscene.com/articles/too-hot-to-handle-mexican-underdogs-bring-a-different-heat-to-britain-and-ireland

So 2.

And most of those will still fail, later. No? I realise this is your thing bashing British boxers. But they perform at par. We live on small, sports-mad island which is densely populated and fairly tribal. People like you would call a Brit a hypejob if he sold out a decent sized indoor arena in his town. Johnny Fisher would sell 5k tickets bashing you and me up. Never mind anybody someone has heard of. He's probably even by his own admission now not likely to win a British title. You'll be on here saying Sam Noakes or whoever is a hypejob if he loses to that American kid. Ultimately you follow boxing and by extention the British scene you should know better by now how to discern a guy with a cult following and someone with real potential. No, dudes like Venado and Mauricio Lara are legit world level.

Really, the Transatlantic Slave Trade slavery to which you refer was a European thing. European ships sailed to West Africa, where they traded goods for enslaved Africans. These enslaved people were then transported across the Atlantic to the Americas; mostly to the Caribbean and Brazil, and goods produced by their labor were then shipped back to Europe. Only approximately 3.6% of all enslaved Africans transported to the Americas were brought to the United States. While millions of Africans were forcibly brought to the New World, the vast majority were sent to the Caribbean and Brazil. Out of the estimated 12.5 million Africans shipped to the New World between 1525 and 1866, roughly 388,000 were directly transported to North America, according to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database. America, founded in 1776, achieved independence from Britain at Yorktown, ******ia, on October 19, 1781, when British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered his army to General George Washington and his French allies. The Founding Fathers held complex and often contradictory views on slavery. While many personally opposed it and acknowledged its incompatibility with the ideals of liberty and equality, they also recognized its deep economic and social entrenchment in the colonies. The issue deeply divided the nation, leading to compromises in the Constitution that ultimately delayed abolition and contributed to future conflict, and a Civil War, which saw more Americans die than any other Military conflict in U.S. history. The outcome, of course, was the abolition of the horrific practice of forced labor in the United States. As a people, we've come a very long way, and since reconstruction in the 1860s and 70s following the war, people of African decent in the United States have enjoyed a higher standard of living than people of African decent in any other nation on earth, by far; living in nations where blacks make up greater than 10% of the population. And yet; opportunities for equality improvement still exist. Can you respond to him by DM next time rather than derail this boxing thread please?

Funny I thought it was born on SLAVERY Really, the Transatlantic Slave Trade slavery to which you refer was a European thing. European ships sailed to West Africa, where they traded goods for enslaved Africans. These enslaved people were then transported across the Atlantic to the Americas; mostly to the Caribbean and Brazil, and goods produced by their labor were then shipped back to Europe. Only approximately 3.6% of all enslaved Africans transported to the Americas were brought to the United States. While millions of Africans were forcibly brought to the New World, the vast majority were sent to the Caribbean and Brazil. Out of the estimated 12.5 million Africans shipped to the New World between 1525 and 1866, roughly 388,000 were directly transported to North America, according to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database. America, founded in 1776, achieved independence from Britain at Yorktown, Virginia, on October 19, 1781, when British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered his army to General George Washington and his French allies. The Founding Fathers held complex and often contradictory views on slavery. While many personally opposed it and acknowledged its incompatibility with the ideals of liberty and equality, they also recognized its deep economic and social entrenchment in the colonies. The issue deeply divided the nation, leading to compromises in the Constitution that ultimately delayed abolition and contributed to future conflict, and a Civil War, which saw more Americans die than any other Military conflict in U.S. history. The outcome, of course, was the abolition of the horrific practice of forced labor in the United States. As a people, we've come a very long way, and since reconstruction in the 1860s and 70s following the war, people of African decent in the United States have enjoyed a higher standard of living than people of African decent in any other nation on earth, by far; living in nations where blacks make up greater than 10% of the population. And yet; opportunities for equality improvement still exist.

No, not really. Just look at the Mexicans that get brought over to the UK to get fed to their fighters, only to upset the apple cart. And most of those will still fail, later. No? I realise this is your thing bashing British boxers. But they perform at par. We live on small, sports-mad island which is densely populated and fairly tribal. People like you would call a Brit a hypejob if he sold out a decent sized indoor arena in his town. Johnny Fisher would sell 5k tickets bashing you and me up. Never mind anybody someone has heard of. He's probably even by his own admission now not likely to win a British title. You'll be on here saying Sam Noakes or whoever is a hypejob if he loses to that American kid. Ultimately you follow boxing and by extention the British scene you should know better by now how to discern a guy with a cult following and someone with real potential.

Slippery slope, this thread. Personally, I'm very proud of where I come from, and grateful as well. But I am pretty well traveled and proud also to be an avowed citizen of the world; and I've witnessed first hand that no one people, culture or nation is superlative in every measure. The United States was a nation born from crushing the largest expeditionary force ever assembled by Great Britain at that time, and by the late 19th century supplanted her as the world's most powerful nation, both militarily and economically. Today, the U.S. hosts 4.22% of the world's population yet holds approximately 32% of the world's liquid, investable wealth, estimated at $67 trillion. It stands that these conditions are going to give both Americans and the British something of an attitude when conceptualizing each other. What you're more likely observing with these boxers, however, are behaviors relating to subcultures within the U.S. ^^^^^^^

Think about what you said there. By definition most fighters from all nations will fall off when they get to world level. Not just in boxing but all sport and competition. Anyone at the top in this sport is standing on the vanquished. No, not really. Just look at the Mexicans that get brought over to the UK to get fed to their fighters, only to upset the apple cart.

UK fighters usually suck once they get to the world level, though. Let’s be honest. Heel or not. Think about what you said there. By definition most fighters from all nations will fall off when they get to world level. Not just in boxing but all sport and competition. Anyone at the top in this sport is standing on the vanquished.

Boxing in America isn't as popular today as it is in Britain. They're competing with much more popular sports for airtime. The performative heel act is a way to bring attention to themselves, build a following whether fans are repulsed, annoyed or find them amusing. In the UK you don't have to try as hard to build a following if you have a good record and it appears you have a promising future in the sport. In the US that isn't always enough, you have to do more to build a platform for yourself, sometimes that means behaving like a clown, the goal is to go viral, become a meme to boost your name recognition. The UK is so provincial by comparison you can bypass all those antics, because local Brits are very loyal to their guys as long as they're successful, you almost have a built-in following. America is filled with dominant winners in many sports, it's much harder to stand out.

Well considering Mayweather was the highest paid fighter of all time by going the “heel” route. Kinda the correct thing to copy. Mayweather already had a respectable resume before he turned heel. These guys like Berlanga just talk.

Well considering Mayweather was the highest paid fighter of all time by going the “heel” route. Kinda the correct thing to copy.

Oh well, another one bites the dust. "I'm a legend in the making, here's my hit list, I'm going up to heavyweight one day, etc." Whack!

UK fighters usually suck once they get to the world level, though. Let’s be honest. Heel or not. Proportionately speaking it's probably about the same. I've seen plenty of US hypejobs come and go in my lifetime, and their fall from grace is usually higher because of the media backing they've been given. I've actually appreciated many US fighters, I am just bored of these 'heel' characters which is the purpose of this thread. I prefer guys like Bivol and Beterbiev who just put in their work like professionals.

We call it American exceptionalism. It's why the UK was never able to recover its glory from before 1938. 'American exceptionalism' was a term invented by foreign policy hawks to justify bombing and invading Third World countries. I am going to assume you don't support that.

Why does the United States produce more 'heel' characters in boxing than any other nation? British media will usually refer to 'the brash American', with brash being a polite way of saying 'obnoxious imbecile'. Berlanga is the latest one who follows Miller, Lopez, Broner and countless others. Far from being a sign of confidence, it's quite obviously massive over compensation. It's not entertaining to me either, observing such characters usually makes for an embarrassing/uncomfortable experience. Nor is it necessary to sell PPVs as some will no doubt imply. Ricky Hatton was a pretty dull character outside the ring but he did the hard graft of building a local following, fighting regularly and putting on good performances. He wasn't even an elite talent, just slightly below that. At root, I view the American heel as desperate. Desperate to 'make it' by any means necessary, even at the cost of one's dignity. US culture, after all, gave us that appalling show Jackass. We call it American exceptionalism. It's why the UK was never able to recover its glory from before 1938.

Why does the United States produce more 'heel' characters in boxing than any other nation? British media will usually refer to 'the brash American', with brash being a polite way of saying 'obnoxious imbecile'. Berlanga is the latest one who follows Miller, Lopez, Broner and countless others. Far from being a sign of confidence, it's quite obviously massive over compensation. It's not entertaining to me either, observing such characters usually makes for an embarrassing/uncomfortable experience. Nor is it necessary to sell PPVs as some will no doubt imply. Ricky Hatton was a pretty dull character outside the ring but he did the hard graft of building a local following, fighting regularly and putting on good performances. He wasn't even an elite talent, just slightly below that. At root, I view the American heel as desperate. Desperate to 'make it' by any means necessary, even at the cost of one's dignity. US culture, after all, gave us that appalling show Jackass. What about Faces that turned and became a heel? Have there been many/any of those? Could spice boxing up in a bit. Nash out - His Majesty