Why dearth of Black heavyweights?

[Frank Ducketts]

I always thought you were black, since you only like black boxers.

Yeah, but you only like white fighters so go figure.

[catskills23]

Perhaps some people in the media portray him as black. He doesn't receive a lot of racist hate mail does he?

The "one-drop rule" makes no sense at all.

Most of the great American boxers were actually mixed. Tyson's father was 1/2 white, and his mother was part white too. Ali has some white ancestry on both sides. George Foreman and Joe Louis were also of mixed race.

Interesting how African boxers rarely seem slick and athletic like the African-American boxers, they are usually stiff and robotic like Joshua Clottey.

How do you know tysons father was half white?

[catskills23]

Burner is on the money.

I went to a black high school and college and I will tell you strait: Black kids don't box anymore. Kids that are gifted athletically are pushed by their parents into Basketball and Football programs by the time they're 8-10 years old, in hopes they'll end up in the pros and hit the financial gravy train.

Black and white youths that box do so as a hobby or to stay out of trouble. For example, the black kid from Missouri that won the US Golden Gloves championship a few years ago got into boxing when the was 19 to lose some weight.

It's a different era, a different standard. You guys can tell yourself it's simply Europe rising up if that makes you feel good, but that's not really the case. The Klitschkos are excellent excellent heavyweights, but are there any quality Black American heavyweights to test themselves against as with past eras?? No.

The 70s-80s are long gone.

While its true that the lack of the quality american heavyweights is due to big athletic black kids choosing basketball or american football over boxing because of less risk and a much better chance of more financial rewards . What americans conveniently forget is that boxing up until the early nineties was a predominantly american sport . 90% of heavyweights during the 20th century were american so there was a much smaller pool of european heavyweights too pick from so there chances of them competing against the much larger pool of american fighters was much smaller. Now that there are much more foreign fighters boxing now they have much a much better chance of getting to the top. Why americans refuse to acknowledge this contibutory factor is beyond me . It plays just a big a role in the shift of power to the europeans as the reduction of americans choosing boxing over other NBA or NFL.

[monaroCountry]

Eastern Euro fighters are now more able to compete in the big leagues and are proving to be far better than their American counterparts. Its really the case of tough ass hungry Russians versus pampered MacDonalds eating Americans.

[dvb]

i think the drop in popularity in boxing and heavyweight boxing in america obviously stops kids being influenced to become boxers(regardless of thier skin colour).

if a really talented and charsmatic heavyweight who was american started to dominate kids would want to be just like him and boxing would then have more kids who are naturally amazing athletes coming through amatuers into the pros and making boxing even bigger and popular again.

i dont know if other sports have stolen better athletes away from boxing and lack of superstar boxers have not drawn them in either.

but in europe football(soccer) is the biggest sport there and in the world(even bigger than any U.S sport) and there still seems to be loads of boxers (black and white)coming through who are champions or top
contenders.

maybe there needs to be some who fights an exciting talented style who is likable and charismatic to bring more sporty kids to become top boxers.

shame floyd cant be more entertaining to the non boxing fan and be more active and positively influential by bringing american kids into the sport.