Eastern European heavyweights taking over.

[Kid Achilles]

Mark my words, Ivan Drago of Rocky IV was a prophetic figure. Within five or six years, at least 50% of the world top heavyweights will be of Eastern European ethnicity.

Toney and Brewster are the only serious contenders we have left, and Toney (not even a natural heavyweight) only has a few more fights left in him. The Russians, Ukrainians, Germans, etc. are tougher and hungrier than American heavyweights. All of the best American athletes over 200 pounds are playing pro ball which seriously saps our talent pool.

There will still be some great American boxers in the lighter divisions but it'll be some years before a great American heavyweight arrives on the scene again.

[PBDS]

Mark my words, Ivan Drago of Rocky IV was a prophetic figure. Within five or six years, at least 50% of the world top heavyweights will be of Eastern European ethnicity.

Toney and Brewster are the only serious contenders we have left, and Toney (not even a natural heavyweight) only has a few more fights left in him. The Russians, Ukrainians, Germans, etc. are tougher and hungrier than American heavyweights. All of the best American athletes over 200 pounds are playing pro ball which seriously saps our talent pool.

There will still be some great American boxers in the lighter divisions but it'll be some years before a great American heavyweight arrives on the scene again.

...I have been saying this for a while and I believe it's nearly here right now. Look at ********* top 15 heavies and you can see it already. IMO that 50% may be an underestimation and if our heavies don't get their **** together then it could be more like 75-80%.

[jabsRstiff]

That doesn't tell me that the Eastern Euros are good....just tells me that boxing has lost a lot of its appeal here in America.

[PBDS]

That doesn't tell me that the Eastern Euros are good....just tells me that boxing has lost a lot of its appeal here in America.

...I think it's likely a combination of the two.

[RAESAAD]

It is just weird not seeing a black guy dominate the HW scene.Hopefully peter can learn to box better and clean all these Tall sorry ass white boys out.......I like that Ibragimov dude tho he fights with passion.....the bitchkos and valevs are something I don't like tho.

[ChrististheAnswer2]

Here is an article that I think adresses this issue quite well...

AFRICAN AMERICANS HAVE GIVEN UP ON BOXING!
12 January, 2006 by Pedro Fernandez


THE CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS OF BOXING

Oakland, CA-What has gone unnoticed, at least from a media point of view, is the lack of Black involvement in boxing. Before you say wait a second, African Americans dominate many weight classes, including the cherished heavyweight division, of that I’m well aware. Support for the game though, by African Americans since the end of the real Mike Tyson era, has almost evaporated to non-existence.



BOTH NBA & NFL OPERATE WITH FUTURE IN MIND

There are a couple of reasons, if not more that may begin to explain this phenomenon as to why Blacks have abandoned boxing. First of all, there are so many other sports out there, but predominantly basketball and football, which are marketed with a “future” in mind. Boxing, and the people that run it, are only concerned about how much profit they can make today. As the TV Man suggested here a month or so ago, Mike Tyson deserves some of the blame, as people who got wired on boxing because of Tyson could only appreciate instant knockouts, and lost interest after his bubble burst.

DID THE BLACK BOXING FAN DIE OFF?

When I talk to the old time promoters, they tell me that the percentage of Black ticket buyers fell by the wayside in the early 1980’s, if not a few years prior. Did they just get old and die off? Economics surely plays a role as Blacks here in the U.S. on a whole, make far less than Whites, racial equality or not. But there were always African-Americans at the fights I attended as a kid. Now when I go to a club show, the percentage of African American ticket buyers is a non-factor. When four Blacks headlined a card last year in the Staples Center, Bernard Hopkins-Howard Eastman, & Jermain Taylor-Daniel Edouard, and 12,000 people turned out, it was an almost all White crowd.

REASONS KING DID GREAT NUMBERS IN ST. LOUIS


Having discussed economics, I should tell you almost 18,000 African American fans turned out in St. Louis last year to watch Cory Spinks get knocked out by Zab Judah. Those numbers had a lot to do with promoter Don King scaling the house cheap, and support from the St. Louis city government and media. This is the exception to the rule. In the late 1970’s, you could get a ticket to a fight at Caesars Palace maybe for $25 or $50, tops for the cheap seats at fights like Larry Holmes-Muhammad Ali.


BOXERS ARE NOT “HOUSEHOLD” NAMES ANYMORE!

In the early 1980’s while boxing was at its most recent zenith, fighters like Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns, Marvin Hagler, and Larry Holmes were African Americans who were “household names.” What kept boxing in the public eye was the national TV exposure it received on ABC, and to a lesser extent, NBC & CBS. During the NFL season, it wouldn’t be a shock at all to see one network counterpunch pro football with a live fight, or the NBA would be on one channel, with live (delayed on west coast) boxing on another.

MERCHANT COMES UP WITH ANSWER TO ALL THIS

Up until this point, African Americans were not only fighting professionally, their demographics were at least on the chart when it came to planning a boxing promotion. The lack of boxing on Network TV is surely to blame to a great extent. I think HBO’s Larry Merchant, the Godfather like figure that he is, said it best, “There are two things people talk to me about at the supermarket. One of them is, ‘where’s the real superstar in the heavyweight division,’ and I tell them, ‘he’s playing linebacker somewhere.’”

Pedro Fernandez

[PBDS]

...Good article CITA!!

[jabsRstiff]

I'm generally annoyed by Pedro Fernandez.....but I can't argue with that article.

[brian leflore]

don't worry I'm going to bring it back to america