I am conflicted by the NFL/Heavyweight Boxing theory. Both sides make great points.

[RadioBox]

First off before we even start this.. let's cut the crap and throw the NBA Boxing theory out the window.. The good 'super heavys' throughout the years from America like 6'5 Bowe and 6'5 Tucker would be shooting guards in the NBA. There has never been a 6'8+ American Heavyweight that was any good and boxing over shadowed the NBA for long stretches during the 60's-90's. The NBA look soft and it is almost absurd to think that the likes of Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, or Kobe Bryant could have gone to war against Bowe,Lewis,or Vitali.

The NFL is another matter all together. That is a physical sport with most of their players ranging from 6'0-6'6.. most of them are 230+ Pounds and have lived a life of brutal contact and seem to fit the boxing mode a lot more than their taller but much softer NBA Counterparts.


The likes of Ray Lewis being a successful Holyfield like fighter seem a lot more realistic than guys like Carmelo being a successful Lewis like fighter.


That being said.... I always feel that boxing is a special driven character sport. That it takes a lot more courage and desire to be a top tier boxer than it takes to be a top tier athlete from any other sport.


Seth Mitchell is often used as an example with people pointing to the fact that he started boxing in his 20's and have reached 2nd tier level as of right now. They than state if you could train NFL athletes early on... they could not only duplicate but go far beyond what Mitchell has achieved.

But, who's to say that Mitchell isn't special? Maybe Mitchell got an innate ability to become what he has become.. a ability that the vast majority of NFL players don't have? Instead of acting like Mitchell would have been the 'norm'.. maybe he is an exception.

I don't know if the NFL Players could have made great Heavyweight boxers, but looking at the 90's Heavyweights like Lewis,Bowe,Holyfield,Tyson,Bruno,Morrison,Tua, and Ruddock.. it sure seem like they could have made great NFL Players.

[Jc8804]

Have you ever seen kobe fight. Lmao

Mitchell for all he is ,has no punch resistance

[NEETzsche]

you need to be more than athletic to succeed in boxing.

[Interloper]

These modern day Herculean athletes definitely have the reflexes and coordination to do it, but you need natural talent as well to succeed in boxing, and being a pro in another sport doesn't guarantee that.

[$Bullsfam$]

I want you to call the bad boy pistons of the 80-90s soft to their face


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[dc3383]

To succeed in boxing its something you need to do from being a child; nobody can go into the NFL or NBA who just stated in there 20's. Its the sane thing in boxing you may win some fights but you won't beat top level comp who has been doing it there whole life.

[Jloro]

To succeed in boxing its something you need to do from being a child; nobody can go into the NFL or NBA who just stated in there 20's. Its the sane thing in boxing you may win some fights but you won't beat top level comp who has been doing it there whole life.

lol I rewatched Sergio vs Dzinziruk the other day and they mentioned something like that and look how that turned out.
Sergio starts at 20 and ****s up the lifelong boxer

[RadioBox]

I want you to call the bad boy pistons of the 80-90s soft to their face


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I would if I was Prime Lennox Lewis. Get my point?
As bad as they are.. Prime Lewis at 245 pounds will crush them.
Prime Tyson would have broken their stomach muscles.

The 'baddest' of the NBA = Johnathan Banks of Boxing.

In fact I will bet good money that Banks will school the entire NBA 1v1 in a fight.

[CubanGuyNYC]

There was a similar discussion just recently on this board. My belief is that great athletes from other sports might have done well as boxers if they dedicated their lives to the sweet science, but it's far from guaranteed.

The notion that there are no great American heavyweights anymore because they're in the NBA or the NFL is misguided, in my opinion. Most successful boxers start at a very young age, long before anyone could tell what they might be good at in the future. Most of the kids that aren't cut out for boxing will move on to something else at an early age, perhaps basketball or football. Does it seem reasonable to believe that every single great American athlete has set out for a pro career in every other sport but boxing?

Let's assume for a moment the NBA-NFL theory for heavyweights is correct. How come Americans aren't dominating every other weight division? What are the 5'8" and under guys doing? The fact is that boxing, like every other sport, requires a special inclination that goes beyond sheer athleticism. As great as Muhammad Ali was as a boxer, would he have made a great football player or basketball player? Not necessarily.

[Humean]

There is no doubt that the presence of sports like Basketball and American Football has taken a portion of talent away from American Heavyweight boxing. Those sports offer more money and usually at an earlier stage of career and they also provide more support in a variety of other ways. It would be a no brainer to take those routes over boxing unless you had a great aptitute and love for boxing over those sports.