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Does nationality or "culture"( 
) play such an important factor in the sport that it could possibly lead fans to neglect a fighter's talent and skills? Or does talent and ability trump any other factor in the sport?
Now, personally I think nationality plays a minor role in a fighters career early on but skills will always trump that factor in the long run.
Sure, a fighter from Iceland may have an extremely limited fanbase or audience at first but if his skills and talents are good enough, he could very well break barriers and transcend languages and nationalities.
Boxing's biggest audience may very well come from Mexico, but that does not mean that Mexican fight fans will ignore any talent hailing from other countries such as the USA, UK, Kazak, Ukraine, Nicaragua, etc.. etc.. simply because said fighters don't hail from their home country.
When Floyd Mayweather Jr faced off against Saul Alvarez, 8 out of 10 households in Mexico tuned in for the showdown. I seriously doubt every last one of them was only tuning in to watch some redheaded ginger get schooled over 12 rounds.
Recently, I've seen silly posts over fighters being treated unfairly or not given just due because they are not from the "right culture". If such situation was indeed the case, neither Floyd Mayweather Jr nor Manny Pacquiao would be the number 1 and 2 PFP champions and most decorated fighters in the sport right now.
Fighters can be controversial, thugs, pimps, dishwashers, tax evaders, etc.. but that doesn't change the fact that once they step inside the squared circle, everything revolving around those men boils down to two fists and the skills they posses at beating down the man standing directly in front of them.
For those seconds, minutes or however long it may be that the fighters are inside the ring for, their race, color, nationality, past and future stand still and nothing else matters except for what they bring to the table that night. Their nationality won't make them punch harder, their "culture" won't make them move faster, their race won't give them the heart of a Lion, their fans won't take the pain for them... none of that matters at that point and that's the beauty of it.
So personally, I don't see how anything else can matter in such a brutal sport unless it's skills and talent. Trust me, I enjoy rooting for my fighters just as much as the next guy but to downtalk anyone else or play the victim role in such a diverse sport is ridiculous at this point. You have an African American fighter as the top draw in the sport, a Filipino fighter as the 2nd biggest draw in the sport and a Rican and Mexican following suit as number 3 and 4 respectively... to even suggest "culture" alone is the main culprit behind a fighter's success/hate at such an elite level in the sport is preposterous to say the least.
Now, what are your thoughts? Am I overlooking something or does skill, courage and talent indeed, trump all?
) play such an important factor in the sport that it could possibly lead fans to neglect a fighter's talent and skills? Or does talent and ability trump any other factor in the sport?Now, personally I think nationality plays a minor role in a fighters career early on but skills will always trump that factor in the long run.
Sure, a fighter from Iceland may have an extremely limited fanbase or audience at first but if his skills and talents are good enough, he could very well break barriers and transcend languages and nationalities.
Boxing's biggest audience may very well come from Mexico, but that does not mean that Mexican fight fans will ignore any talent hailing from other countries such as the USA, UK, Kazak, Ukraine, Nicaragua, etc.. etc.. simply because said fighters don't hail from their home country.
When Floyd Mayweather Jr faced off against Saul Alvarez, 8 out of 10 households in Mexico tuned in for the showdown. I seriously doubt every last one of them was only tuning in to watch some redheaded ginger get schooled over 12 rounds.
Recently, I've seen silly posts over fighters being treated unfairly or not given just due because they are not from the "right culture". If such situation was indeed the case, neither Floyd Mayweather Jr nor Manny Pacquiao would be the number 1 and 2 PFP champions and most decorated fighters in the sport right now.
Fighters can be controversial, thugs, pimps, dishwashers, tax evaders, etc.. but that doesn't change the fact that once they step inside the squared circle, everything revolving around those men boils down to two fists and the skills they posses at beating down the man standing directly in front of them.
For those seconds, minutes or however long it may be that the fighters are inside the ring for, their race, color, nationality, past and future stand still and nothing else matters except for what they bring to the table that night. Their nationality won't make them punch harder, their "culture" won't make them move faster, their race won't give them the heart of a Lion, their fans won't take the pain for them... none of that matters at that point and that's the beauty of it.
So personally, I don't see how anything else can matter in such a brutal sport unless it's skills and talent. Trust me, I enjoy rooting for my fighters just as much as the next guy but to downtalk anyone else or play the victim role in such a diverse sport is ridiculous at this point. You have an African American fighter as the top draw in the sport, a Filipino fighter as the 2nd biggest draw in the sport and a Rican and Mexican following suit as number 3 and 4 respectively... to even suggest "culture" alone is the main culprit behind a fighter's success/hate at such an elite level in the sport is preposterous to say the least.
Now, what are your thoughts? Am I overlooking something or does skill, courage and talent indeed, trump all?
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