Who will be the next Great Black Hope after Haye?

[Flawless.]

The Soviet fighters weren't allowed to turn pro until the 1990's. Now they have turned pro and are already completely dominating the heavyweight division.

Olympic Heavyweight champions

* 1904 – Samuel Berger (USA)
* 1908 – Albert Oldman (GBR)
* 1920 – Ronald Rawson (GBR)
* 1924 – Otto von Porat (NOR)
* 1928 – Arturo Rodríguez (ARG)
* 1932 – Santiago Lovell (ARG)
* 1936 – Herbert Runge (GER)
* 1948 – Rafael Iglesias (ARG)
* 1952 – Ed Sanders (USA)
* 1956 – Pete Rademacher (USA)
* 1960 – Franco De Piccoli (ITA)
* 1964 – Joe Frazier (USA)
* 1968 – George Foreman (USA)
* 1972 – Teófilo Stevenson (CUB)
* 1976 – Teófilo Stevenson (CUB)
* 1980 – Teófilo Stevenson (CUB)
* 1984 – Henry Tillman (USA)
* 1988 – Ray Mercer (USA)
* 1992 – Félix Savón (CUB)
* 1996 – Félix Savón (CUB)
* 2000 – Félix Savón (CUB)
* 2004 – Odlanier Solis Fonte (CUB)
* 2008 – Rakhim Chakhkiev (RUS)


Funny you best amateur boxer couldn't cope with the best American amateur champions, how would they compete with the best pro back in those days

Watch young Foreman destroy that Russian in the final

[werewolf]

Yeah, Cubans used to do amazingly well in the Olympics, and that's another reason that the heavyweight division is much more of a real world wide division now and much better and stronger now than it ever was before - not only the former USSR fighters are competing, but many Cuban emigrants are competing too, and black Africans too, and they weren't before.

[THE REAL NINJA]

The big, strong Soviets were all in the military during the cold war

When the Soviet Union collapsed, tons of Soviets went into the amatuers and eventually turned pro.

examples:
Wladimir Klitschko was the 1996 olympic gold medalist
Alexander Povetkin was the 2004 olympic gold medalist
There are tons of other Soviet medalists as well

The Eastern European heavyweight fighters are completely dominating the amatuers and pros now.

[Flawless.]

The big, strong Soviets were all in the military during the cold war

When the Soviet Union collapsed, tons of Soviets went into the amatuers and eventually turned pro.

examples:
Wladimir Klitschko was the 1996 olympic gold medalist
Alexander Povetkin was the 2004 olympic gold medalist
There are tons of other Soviet medalists as well

The Eastern European heavyweight fighters are completely dominating the amatuers and pros now.

And the Americans were not???

[Flawless.]

Yeah, Cubans used to do amazingly well in the Olympics, and that's another reason that the heavyweight division is much more of a real world wide division now and much better and stronger now than it ever was before - not only the former USSR fighters are competing, but many Cuban emigrants are competing too, and black Africans too, and they weren't before.

Cubans HW their are not that many and once Cuban as well allows fighter to go pro their would be a massive influx. Black Africans have just started to box now and have produced 2 champs

[THE REAL NINJA]

And the Americans were not???

The Americans lived in freedom and were allowed to do whatever they want.

The big strong Soviets were forced to go into the military.

[werewolf]

And the Americans were not???


No, not really.

Now the reason you don't see that many great white american boxers and you see so many great white eastern european boxers is because they have a tremendous boxing training program over there, whereas in the US most of the boxing clubs, and there aren't that many of them anyway, are in non-white areas. I think the only college with a boxing program is West Point, and I don't know of any US high schools that have one.

[werewolf]

"Now the reason you don't see that many great white american boxers..."

Plus white people in the USA have become mentally and physically soft.

[Flawless.]

"Now the reason you don't see that many great white american boxers..."

Plus white people in the USA have become mentally and physically soft.

You have not seen UFC have you

[werewolf]

You have not seen UFC have you

Good point. They're some rough customers. Where do they get their training, anyway? Do a lot of them come from wrestling backgrounds? There ARE wrestling programs in the schools.

As for the mentally soft, no debate.