Desperate American heels

[Toffee]

'Baddest' seems to sell in the US. Remember how many really thought Tyson would beat Lewis? Tyson was 'bad' and Lewis must be soft because he spoke fairly well and played chess.

Better beats bad. The 'bad' is just theatre.

[PBR Streetgang]

Let's bring it back to boxing. Why can't more US fighters build a local following in the manner of say Hatton or Calzaghe?

I'm not sure that the US has the same close-knit regional ties for guys to consistently pull in big numbers while staying at a certain level.

Jose Ramirez, Vinny Pazienza, Terrence Crawford, Arturo Gatti could always count on filling out their local arenas.

[Coverdale]

I'm not sure that the US has the same close-knit regional ties for guys to consistently pull in big numbers while staying at a certain level.

Jose Ramirez, Vinny Pazienza, Terrence Crawford, Arturo Gatti could always count on filling out their local arenas.

Great answer, thank you. And what's interesting is that none of the names you mention behaved like heels.

Kelly Pavlik had a good local following and wasn't a heel, also.

[MulaKO]

I'm not sure that the US has the same close-knit regional ties for guys to consistently pull in big numbers while staying at a certain level.

Jose Ramirez, Vinny Pazienza, Terrence Crawford, Arturo Gatti could always count on filling out their local arenas.

Jermaine Taylor was another who comes to mind
Little Rock Arkansas

[NihonJim]

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.

Funny I thought it was born on SLAVERY

[ShoulderRoll]

UK fighters usually suck once they get to the world level, though. Let’s be honest. Heel or not.

[PBR Streetgang]

Great answer, thank you. And what's interesting is that none of the names you mention behaved like heels.

Kelly Pavlik had a good local following and wasn't a heel, also.

Don't forget that Money Mayweather started off as "Pretty Boy Floyd"....I think Floyd realized that playing the heel would generate revenue. It's not just boxing...look at MMA with guys like Chael and Conor.

[Nash out]

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 ****e boxing up in a bit. Nash out - His Majesty

[TheIronMike]

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.

[Coverdale]

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.