People claiming eastern euro "phase" is "done", sad news for you..

[HarvardBlue]

I for one like the diversity in the sport. However, I don't like being told everyday the next big thing in boxing is coming from the region. Just like I don't want to hear that any defensive fighter we see is the next Floyd Mayweather.

[-PBP-]

AIBA has already bridged that gap to a large extent. Amateurs these days fight under the 10-point must system with no headgear and pros are allowed to compete if they want to (a couple got their arses handed to them in Rio, in fact). The only major difference remaining is the length of the fights, and even on that count there is the WSB which is five rounds

Also there are plenty of fighters from that part of the world already in the pros who can fight in the trenches. Beterbiev, Shafikov, Gassiev, Chudinov, Zhakiyanov, Golovkin, etc. There is not really a single style that can be used to describe all Eastern Euros and Central Asians. For example the Kazakh school and Uzbek school are different and there is even variation within these countries (Golovkin's style for example is actually not a typical Kazakh style compared to the most famous amateurs like Sapiyev and Yeleussinov)

USA will always out-perform any single EE/CA nation as long as it has the largest talent pool. There are many more American fighters than Russian, Ukrainian, Kazakh, etc. It would be surprising if the USA wasn't #1

Govovkin works on inside fighting a lot as you can see in his training videos with Abel. That's one of the reasons why I think he has been one of the more successful fighters.

But I think in general, fighters coming out of the amateurs have struggled with inside fighting. Even Lara and Khan who were great amateurs struggled to learn that facet of the game.

I am interested to see if these new fighters coming out of the amateurs are better equipped for the pro game.

[MASTERBX]

These EE fighters will be nothing but cannon fodder for Black American fighters
to make their name off of by kicking their a.sses, this is nothing new. they did the same with other ethnic fighters (Irish, Italians, Mexicans). because they were stuck behind that iron curtain they weren't exposed to the pro-style of the Black American fighters. They are learning just like ALL others before them there are levels to this sh.i.t!

[Randomum]

Every country or region has their dominance in this sport, and eventually lose it. There was Pacquiao, and Donaire from Philippines; Martinez, Maidana, and Matthysse from Argentina; Barrera, Morales, Marquez from Mexico. Each lost their dominance now it appears to be USA, and Great Britain. That is one of the beautiful things about this sport every region is represented and can shine (at least in a weight class). Its not like basketball, football, soccer, hockey, baseball, rugby where a few regions dominate the sport and the other countries might as well be spectators.

[RetroSpeed05]

How come Kazakhstan is eastern euro? OK, Eu is not a continent thus doesn't have clear cut borders but how come you can call a central Asian country a European one? Same is applied for Ukraine.
Caucasians, Middle East and Asia are not Eu (also africa and americas, in case you don't know).

I usually go with former soviet fighters. I think thats what most mean anyway because not all of them are Russian or Europeans but they get associated with Russian because they speak it.

[////]

These EE fighters will be nothing but cannon fodder for Black American fighters
to make their name off of by kicking their a.sses, this is nothing new. they did the same with other ethnic fighters (Irish, Italians, Mexicans). because they were stuck behind that iron curtain they weren't exposed to the pro-style of the Black American fighters. They are learning just like ALL others before them there are levels to this sh.i.t!

the only cemented american p4p fighter came out of a white penis bro

sad times



all those pure brothas fell like dominos to white lightning ward and his slow-twitch groinshots

[boliodogs]

IDK why anyone would want this phase to end. Eastern Euros are good for boxing, as is any other nation that produces quality, exciting fighters.

Well said and true. It won't end. It's just getting started.

[TheCell8]

As long as the Eastern Europeans, or more appropriately the former Soviet countries, keep pumping out Olympic Medals and World Championships, the "Eastern European Phase" will never end. They'll always have the next man up. Keep in mind that Kovalev flamed out as an amateur and wasn't good enough to make the Olympic team, nor did he win any championships.

[Prince Madison]

usyk, golovkin, beterbiev, lomachenko- there will be kings.

[Eff Pandas]

Boxing fans gotta be among the most bipolar of sports fans so I wouldn't worry about trying to rationalize with them as a whole. You'll never get the overwhelming majority to not turn on a dime about anything & everything like its the greatest thing ever or the worst thing ever. Anyone who's paying attention to the guys on the come up can see there are a bunch of Russian & ex-soviet fighters still coming up that will be making an impact in the sport.