The Gradual Extinction of the great American Heavyweight

[famicommander]

I mean, it's factually true that Europe doesn't have American football, basketball, or baseball. There's a lot of sports that pay very well in the US that aren't boxing. What's the best analog in Europe, soccer? Being a heavyweight doesn't really benefit much with soccer. How many giant soccer players do you see? Average weight for a male soccer player is 170 lbs, well before the heavyweight limit.

So what's the equivalent high paying job that's pulling all the European heavies away from boxing? Not doubting, mind you, but I don't live there so I don't actually know what exactly is analogous to the major league sports that are the primary draws for American athletes. Feel free to tell us what is pulling all the Euro heavyweight size athletes.

Europe has basketball. Euroleague is the 2nd best league in the world after the NBA and several of the best players in the NBA came from Europe (Nikola Jokic, Serbia; Giannis Antetokuonmpo, Greece; Luka Doncic, Slovenia).

[crimsonfalcon07]

Europe has basketball. Euroleague is the 2nd best league in the world after the NBA and several of the best players in the NBA came from Europe (Nikola Jokic, Serbia; Giannis Antetokuonmpo, Greece; Luka Doncic, Slovenia).

Thanks. Didn't know that was a big thing, or comparable. I appreciate the heads-up.

A little research into it suggests that the average pay for Euroleague was 400k to 800k, topping out at 5.4 million, while average NBA salary was 8.5 million, with top pay 44 million, for the same 2021-2022 season. While that's way better than the 22-37k for a pro heavyweight boxer, that's still off by a huge multiple, so I'm not convinced that it's really apples to apples.

[al-Xander]

Back in the day boxing was never a profession. Boxers don't wait around. They have jobs.

Back in the day boxing was a profession. Fighters fight as many times as possible. Nowadays that's no longer the case. It's a part-time job with no other job the rest of the year.

We have the best fighter in the sport fighting once a year in the last four years. And fans are just okay with it.

[Inoue Body Shot]

I just watched the NFL Draft. To me those are the strongest and fastest athletes on the planet.

It's an easier route to the NFL/NBA and those guys are signing $150 - $200 Million Dollar deals now.

The NFL and NBA have taken the Heavyweight Champ athletes from America.

No other athletes can compete with America best imo.

[Atypicalbrit]

Quite curious if having to many uncollaborative promotions like PBC, GBP and Top Rank just made it difficult for American heavyweight boxing amateurs think it is not a lucrative option.

Despite being Heavyweights, if there is not fight that is a noteworthy draw under the same promotion, they won't get compensated as well as the fighters from the lighter weight classes that are getting those kinds of opportunities while not getting hit by CTE damaging shots by other heavyweights.

Just wouldn't know if it be worth it. Andy Ruiz was already planning retirement and somehow hit the lottery when Miller pulled out against AJ.

Those guys are behind the death of American boxing.

Arum is as crooked as they come and won't play ball.

Al Sharpton keeps running out of other people's money to spend and makes crap fights.

Oscar is literally a ******* addict who makes important business decisions while coked put of his mind

Change may be on horizon because if Prince Turkey decides he wants to put those three out of business, it will happen, so it's time to see if these guys can sharpen up and play ball because otherwise they'll all be gone in the next couple of years.

[Atypicalbrit]

I just watched the NFL Draft. To me those are the strongest and fastest athletes on the planet.

It's an easier route to the NFL/NBA and those guys are signing $150 - $200 Million Dollar deals now.

The NFL and NBA have taken the Heavyweight Champ athletes from America.

No other athletes can compete with America best imo.

So what you are saying is that the standard of athlete in the NFL/NBA is so poor, that the guys playing in it are not naturally gifted in those sports, they are just big, all round athletes that could be pretty good at any sport they picked?

Thats basically what that argument is saying.

I disagree and I think the guys at the top end in those sports are specialists who are naturally gifted and have attributes that shine in those particular sports.

I do not think you could get 10 year old LeBron James and turn him into the heavyweight champion, he's a natural at basketball, he's probably not a natural at boxing, and at heavyweight if you aren't a natural you will get chinned by a fat blob like Andy Ruiz no matter what sort of athletic shape you are in.

Andy Ruiz would put LeBron in the hospital. And any nfl player as well.

Get one of those 450lb ripped to shreds 100 meters in 6 seconds nfl guys and put them in the ring with Andy Ruiz and they will get sent to the shadow realm

[brettWall]

Back in the day boxing was a profession. Fighters fight as many times as possible. Nowadays that's no longer the case. It's a part-time job with no other job the rest of the year.

We have the best fighter in the sport fighting once a year in the last four years. And fans are just okay with it.

You may be right about that.

[elfag]

i thought its been bad since the 90s but realize the US basically ruled the division in the 90s and even when lennox became champ in the tail end, all the rest of the top guys were still american besides like a random golota.


The 2010s and 2020s its a massive drop off. the 2000s there were still mostly US heavyweights even if they werent the champs they still rounded out the top 10.

[brettWall]

Quite curious if having to many uncollaborative promotions like PBC, GBP and Top Rank just made it difficult for American heavyweight boxing amateurs think it is not a lucrative option.

Not always the case. Only few can be placed in that category. How many times did Ruiz call out Wilder, even invoked "we're in the same organization," should be easy to make. Then you have the Charlo brothers who got plenty of fights to take in their own PBC backyard, yet they'd rather take long layoffs.

[Willow The Wisp]

Back in the day boxing was never a profession. Boxers don't wait around. They have jobs.

Boxing has served as a full time profession for well over 300 years straight, and the other sports have caught up to it only recently.