The Gradual Extinction of the great American Heavyweight

[Willow The Wisp]

A few casual sounding fans here have expressed their opinion that the heavyweights of today are richer because of the post communist infusion of eastern European fighters, now free to pursue a career in the professional ranks.

But I submit that those fighters serve as a REPLACEMENT in the division, rather than an addition to it.

Fact is, American citizens who want to work and are able to, have no difficulty in finding a good job that affords them a nice home, some land, college for their children, a good, sound vehicle or two, some world travel, a long and well financed retirement, and many other comforts; and every one of those jobs is easier to do than being a boxing pro.
I did it, and if I can do it, anyone can.

And thus, in America the sport of boxing is no longer a viable direction for young peope to pursue, and the sport is no longer filled with Americans, going back at least 40 years now.

So the Heavyweight division (to keep it simple), may have gained from the republics of the defunct Soviet Union, but it has lost an even greater talent from America.

To illustrate this, let's have a by-decade look at the 10 best American born big men in boxing, and you can decide for yourselves if there is a trend regarding what the U.S is contributing to the professional ranks.

The 1970's
1. Muhammad Ali
2. George Foreman
3. Joe Frazier
4. Ken Norton
5. Larry Holmes
6. Jerry Quarry
7. Jimmy Ellis
8. Ron Lyle
9. Earnie Shavers
10. Jimmy Young


The 1980's
1. Larry Holmes
2. Mike Tyson
3. Michael Dokes
4. Gerry Cooney
5. Tim Witherspoon
6. Mike Weaver
7. Pinklon Thomas
8. Michael Spinks
9. Bonecrusher Smith
10. Tony Tucker


The 1990's
1. Evander Holyfield
2. Mike Tyson
3. Rid**** Bowe
4. Tommy Morrison
5. George Foreman
6. Chris Byrd
7. Shannon Briggs
8. Michael Moorer
9. Larry Holmes
10. Oliver McCall


The 2000's
1. Chris Byrd
2. Hasim Rahman
3. Tony Thompson
4. Lamon Brewster
5. Joe Mesi
6. Larry Donald
7. Calvin Brock
8. Jameel McCline
9. Lance Whitaker
10.James Toney


The 2010's
1. Deontay Wilder
2. Andy Ruiz Jr
3. Jarrell Miller
4. Chris Arreola
5. Dominic Breazeale
6. Bryant Jennings
7. Gerald Washington
8. Malik Scott
9. Eric Molina
10.Travis Kauffman


The 2020's
1. Deontay Wilder
2. Andy Ruiz Jr.
3. Jared Anderson
4. Jarrell Miller
5. Charles Martin
6. Richard Torrez Jr
7. Michael Hunter
8. Jermaine Franklin
9. Jonathan Guidry
10. Cassius Chaney

[Smash]

Fact is, American citizens who want to work and are able to, have no difficulty in finding a good job that affords them a nice home, some land, college for their children, a good, sound vehicle or two, some world travel, a long and well financed retirement, and many other comforts; and every one of those jobs is easier to do than being a boxing pro.
I did it, and if I can do it, anyone can.
;

so its easy to find a good job that gives u all that? not so sure about that, most boxers would not trade what they do to try to attempt that, they love boxing & the 9 to 5 is easy, on paper only i think

what about the small guys? are they discriminated in the job market?

[billeau2]

A few casual sounding fans here have expressed their opinion that the heavyweights of today are richer because of the post communist infusion of eastern European fighters, now free to pursue a career in the professional ranks.

But I submit that those fighters serve as a REPLACEMENT in the division, rather than an addition to it.

Fact is, American citizens who want to work and are able to, have no difficulty in finding a good job that affords them a nice home, some land, college for their children, a good, sound vehicle or two, some world travel, a long and well financed retirement, and many other comforts; and every one of those jobs is easier to do than being a boxing pro.
I did it, and if I can do it, anyone can.

And thus, in America the sport of boxing is no longer a viable direction for young peope to pursue, and the sport is no longer filled with Americans, going back at least 40 years now.

So the Heavyweight division (to keep it simple), may have gained from the republics of the defunct Soviet Union, but it has lost an even greater talent from America.

To illustrate this, let's have a by-decade look at the 10 best American born big men in boxing, and you can decide for yourselves if there is a trend regarding what the U.S is contributing to the professional ranks.

The 1970's
1. Muhammad Ali
2. George Foreman
3. Joe Frazier
4. Ken Norton
5. Larry Holmes
6. Jerry Quarry
7. Jimmy Ellis
8. Ron Lyle
9. Earnie Shavers
10. Jimmy Young


The 1980's
1. Larry Holmes
2. Mike Tyson
3. Michael Dokes
4. Gerry Cooney
5. Tim Witherspoon
6. Mike Weaver
7. Pinklon Thomas
8. Michael Spinks
9. Bonecrusher Smith
10. Tony Tucker


The 1990's
1. Evander Holyfield
2. Mike Tyson
3. Rid**** Bowe
4. Tommy Morrison
5. George Foreman
6. Chris Byrd
7. Shannon Briggs
8. Michael Moorer
9. Larry Holmes
10. Oliver McCall


The 2000's
1. Chris Byrd
2. Hasim Rahman
3. Tony Thompson
4. Lamon Brewster
5. Joe Mesi
6. Larry Donald
7. Calvin Brock
8. Jameel McCline
9. Lance Whitaker
10.James Toney


The 2010's
1. Deontay Wilder
2. Andy Ruiz Jr
3. Jarrell Miller
4. Chris Arreola
5. Dominic Breazeale
6. Bryant Jennings
7. Gerald Washington
8. Malik Scott
9. Eric Molina
10.Travis Kauffman


The 2020's
1. Deontay Wilder
2. Andy Ruiz Jr.
3. Jared Anderson
4. Jarrell Miller
5. Charles Martin
6. Richard Torrez Jr
7. Michael Hunter
8. Jermaine Franklin
9. Jonathan Guidry
10. Cassius Chaney

Well sir ww... Boxing has always been about the crucible. Or has it? You look at some of these Mexican American fighters like Torres for example, they come from middle class homes. You see this a lot more in the other divisions but we're talking heavyweights here.

George Foreman once made some remarks about Oscar de La Hoya versus Fernando Vargas making the point that de La Hoya may have had money but he was not wearing silk pajamas lol.

We're talking toughness, and America has always been a violent society. But it still is. So this leads me to believe that that violent background is not enough in and of itself. Of course kids nowadays use guns more than hands but I don't know... There are gifted trainers around and a lot of kids who still box.

I would say the socioeconomics of the sport are more in play here. How many other opportunities now exist for good athletes. Even in the middle divisions as the trainer Bread points out, you have football quality athletes... At least at the cornerback position lol. And then we have all the other sports that attract.

[Hous]

Simple. Most large athletic American men will choose to pursue a more popular and lucrative sport when given the choice. If boxing were more popular than football and basketball then I bet Americans would be all over the heavyweight division.

[Spray_resistant]

Simple. Most large athletic American men will choose to pursue a more popular and lucrative sport when given the choice. If boxing were more popular than football and basketball then I bet Americans would be all over the heavyweight division.

I always found this explanation to be unfounded as kids don't get into sports because they're lucrative, they get into them for fun and if they're good at it they stick with it and make money later.

Who is thinking about money at 9 years old?

[Smash]

Who is thinking about money at 9 years old?

bill haney

[Smash]

interesting concept here, u have wilder & many have called his legs bird legs & then u have the Dodo an extinct birdlike creature, connection here i wonder?

[kafkod]

Fact is, American citizens who want to work and are able to, have no difficulty in finding a good job that affords them a nice home, some land, college for their children, a good, sound vehicle or two, some world travel, a long and well financed retirement, and many other comforts; and every one of those jobs is easier to do than being a boxing pro.

Surely, this has ben true for a long, long time. The US has been the world's largest economy - with all the employment opportunities that provides to its citizens - since before the start of the 20th century. And for most of that time, right up until the last 20 years or so, US boxers dominated the HW division.

[Hous]

I always found this explanation to be unfounded as kids don't get into sports because they're lucrative, they get into them for fun and if they're good at it they stick with it and make money later.

Who is thinking about money at 9 years old?

You set an arbitrary age and ignored the popularity aspect entirely. Nevertheless, a lot of athletes get into sports at a young age and choose sports to focus on around High School age. Athletes that are good at one sport are commonly good at other sports, and most teenage boys are going to be drawn to what is most popular and what what they are best at. When they are getting out of HS and thinking about which college they are going to go to, they are definitely thinking about their career and which will set them up to make the big bucks.

[kafkod]

interesting concept here, u have wilder & many have called his legs bird legs & then u have the Dodo an extinct birdlike creature, connection here i wonder?

Nah, Dodos lived on the island of Mauritius, not in the US and I've never heard of a HW boxer from Mauritius who had skinny legs like Wilder.

But wait ... I've never heard of any HW boxer from Mauritius. If they ever existed, they are now as extinct as the Dodo. So maybe you are on to something there.