"The US is not doing as well in boxing because they're all in the NBA & NFL" - agree?

[Mikhnienko]

but it is the only other country that dominated the HW division before the NFL and NBA became popular.

and that's the argument.

NFL/NBA were around during American dominance and used to have 2 leagues each just like the NHL. Wiki says NBA had 17 original teams and the ABA 11. The number of pro players isn't much different for either sport. Your "popular" argument is laughable.

"In the 1970s and 1980s, the NFL solidified its dominance as America's top spectator sport and its important role in American culture."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History...ootball_League

While on topic the majority of top amateur boxers still don't go pro in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and almost none in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan while Cuba, China still can't. Wonder what you'll start to blame if they ever decide to.

You were basically competing against yourselves and calling yourself World Champions as you love to do and once a few more countries start competing, Americans see a decline and the excuses start. That's the argument.

[FUC_U_PAYME]

NFL/NBA were around during American dominance and used to have 2 leagues each just like the NHL. Wiki says NBA had 17 original teams and the ABA 11. The number of pro players isn't much different for either sport. Your "popular" argument is laughable.

"In the 1970s and 1980s, the NFL solidified its dominance as America's top spectator sport and its important role in American culture."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History...ootball_League

While on topic the majority of top amateur boxers still don't go pro in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and almost none in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan while Cuba, China still can't. Wonder what you'll start to blame if they ever decide to.

You were basically competing against yourselves and calling yourself World Champions as you love to do and once a few more countries start competing, Americans see a decline and the excuses start. That's the argument.

from 1922-1991 how many gold medal did the ussr win at hw lhw shw?

[Mikhnienko]

from 1922-1991 how many gold medal did the ussr win at hw lhw shw?

USSR didn't start competing in the Olympics until 1952.....don't continue in the discussion.

[bojangles1987]

NFL/NBA were around during American dominance and used to have 2 leagues each just like the NHL. Wiki says NBA had 17 original teams and the ABA 11. The number of pro players isn't much different for either sport. Your "popular" argument is laughable.

While on topic the majority of top amateur boxers still don't go pro in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and almost none in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan while Cuba, China still can't. Wonder what you'll start to blame if they ever decide to.

You were basically competing against yourselves and calling yourself World Champions as you love to do and once a few more countries start competing, Americans see a decline and the excuses start. That's the argument.

You know nothing about the impact and popularity of basketball and American football on American culture if you really believe they difference in popularity between the 70s and now is not immense. Which tends to be a common theme with those who are arguing against their impact on American heavyweight boxing. It isn't just the number of professionals in those sports.

From a young age, before a kid is even ten years old, he is playing Little League football or basketball. The two sports dominate the poorer neighborhoods that boxers tend to come from. They dominate television coverage. They offer a sh**load more money than boxing. The athletes in these sports are seen everywhere, they are the biggest stars in America. Thousands upon thousands of kids play in high school or college, whereas they used to end up in a boxing gym. You can't even find a boxing gym anymore. Every large kid with special talent is pushed to play these sports, even if they don't want to.

[FUC_U_PAYME]

USSR didn't start competing in the Olympics until 1952.....don't continue in the discussion.

ok from 1952-1991 then?

[ROSS CALIFORNIA]

the soviet union was left out of our "golden era" of heavyweights so who knows

Would it have really mattered anyway? Look at all the Soviet fighters from the past 10 years. None of them would have been top contenders back then. Only the Klitschko's would have made any kind of difference, because they are special, but they are not Soviets/Russians. Special in the way they are abnormally good for Eastern European or Russian fighters.

[New England]

NFL/NBA were around during American dominance and used to have 2 leagues each just like the NHL. Wiki says NBA had 17 original teams and the ABA 11. The number of pro players isn't much different for either sport. Your "popular" argument is laughable.

"In the 1970s and 1980s, the NFL solidified its dominance as America's top spectator sport and its important role in American culture."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History...ootball_League

While on topic the majority of top amateur boxers still don't go pro in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and almost none in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan while Cuba, China still can't. Wonder what you'll start to blame if they ever decide to.

You were basically competing against yourselves and calling yourself World Champions as you love to do and once a few more countries start competing, Americans see a decline and the excuses start. That's the argument.

that you had to wikipedia the league says enough man. we live this life.

basketball really started to pick up steam during the time of michael jordan. football's popularity has only grown to it's current magnitude in the last 10 years, with a good deal of that having to do with HD televisions and big screens, which help immensely in following a football game.

i am sorry. you know boxing, and i like you, but you are wrong.

[Mikhnienko]

ok from 1952-1991 then?

If you think i would go through that effort for you you're mistaken but i did address something similar in a past thread and the stats are somewhat applicable.

http://www.boxingscene.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=549818

Olympic Boxing Medal Count 1952-2008

USA Total – 62

USSR (1952-1988), Unified team (1992), FSU (1996-2008 i only included four FSU countries Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan) Total - 91

Poland had a successful Boxing history during the Soviet era and if you include their totals to the above totals the count is 128.

Olympic Boxing Medal Count 1996-2008

Russia - 20
Kazakhstan - 13
USA - 13
Ukraine - 9
Belarus - 2

USA - 13 (population 311 Million)

Above 4 FSU Nations - 44 (population 214 Million)

Val Barker Trophy Winners during this period

1996 - Vassiliy Jirov (Kazakhstan)
2000 - Oleg Saitov (Russia)
2004 - Bakhtiyar Artayev (Kazakhstan)
2008 - Vasyl Lomachenko (Ukraine)

That's from a prior thread. Including these Olympics since we have reached the medal round for post FSU 1996-2012 stats

Russia - 24 - (4 these games)
Kazakhstan - 16 - (3)
Ukraine - 14 - (5)
USA - 13 - (0)

[ROSS CALIFORNIA]

There really is no explanation why there are no more good American HW fighters. The NFL and NBA were around when back then too, so you can't completely blame them. The top ten Eastern European fighters of the past ten years or so have not been that good. Not better or even close to being as good as the top ten American HW's in the 60's-90's. There just isn't an interest in HW boxing here for some reason. Of course other sports here does have a little to do with it, but you can't completely put the blame on that.

[ROSS CALIFORNIA]

From a young age, before a kid is even ten years old, he is playing Little League football or basketball. The two sports dominate the poorer neighborhoods that boxers tend to come from. They dominate television coverage. They offer a sh**load more money than boxing. The athletes in these sports are seen everywhere, they are the biggest stars in America. Thousands upon thousands of kids play in high school or college, whereas they used to end up in a boxing gym. You can't even find a boxing gym anymore. Every large kid with special talent is pushed to play these sports, even if they don't want to.

I've never looked at it like that, but that is so true. I guess you'd have to be American to really know that.