Which countries have never produced a world champion?

[RedZmaja]

Albania never had a boxing champ either.

[CubanGuyNYC]

That's because these countries have only been independent since 1991 or later and under communism (1945-1989) pro boxing wasn't encouraged.

The exception was the Croatian boxer Mate Parlov who had to box under the Italian flag

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mate_Parlov

He won the WBC World Light Heavyweight title so you can count him as a Croatian champ.

When it comes to Slovenia there was also Armand Krajnc (both parents were Slovenes who emigrated to Sweden) who won the WBO middleweight title:
http://boxrec.com/en/boxer/6963

There was also Fritzie Zivic, half-Croat and half-Slovene hall of fame boxing legend:
http://boxrec.com/en/boxer/9437

Good work. What do you suppose would’ve been Fritzie’s chances of being a boxing HOFer if he wasn’t born in the US? He may never even have taken up the sport.

[CubanGuyNYC]

There have been three Yemeni world champions, two male (Naseem Hamed and Sadam Ali), and one female (Isra Girgrah). Hamed was born and raised in Sheffield, England, and Ali was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, USA. Girgrah, although born in Yemen, lived in Canada from the age of three. It’s no coincidence that these three grew up where they did. Had they been born or raised in Yemen, they would not have been world champions. That’s without a shadow of a doubt. Once again, this supports my theory: culture, opportunity and resources. There might be those that would claim “Yemeni people can’t fight,” because no boxing champions actually come from there, but clearly that is not the case.

[RedZmaja]

Good work. What do you suppose would’ve been Fritzie’s chances of being a boxing HOFer if he wasn’t born in the US? He may never even have taken up the sport.

If he was born in his ancestral homes of either Slovenia or Croatia (back then both countries were part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia), he would have very small chances at the time. He would have to go abroad soon.

Before the communists came to power sport wasn't supported that much in Yugoslavia. They didn't even send an Olympic team on the 1932 Olympics in LA. There was no money for boxing.

Also, if he lived in Croatia he might even get killed during WWII like it happened to talented Croat heavyweight boxer Mijo Drvarić. Drvarić was the HW champion of the Ustashe run **** puppet state. The communist partisans who fought against it offered him to join them several times but he declined them saying that he doesn't care about politics and wants to focus on his boxing career. Because of this, they cowardly killed him in front of his home in 1944.

Here is a video of Mijo Drvarić with some rare old footage of boxers from the pre-WWII Yugoslavia, including his victory in the local HW championship:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgZ8iYn9Hjo

He was actually a middleweight but he went up to fight and beat the national HW champ who had 16 kilo (35 pounds) more.

That's why I always say that before the 90s boxing just didn't get the proper global talent. It was very hard to start a meaningful pro boxing career in most places in the world. Eastern Euros basically couldn't compete.

[billeau2]

India -population 1.5biillon and hopelessly embarassingly awful! Couldn't be any worse. And millions of Indians around the world .. not a Single pro world champ ever & best theyve ever done in the ams at tje Olympics & world championships is a couple of poxy bronzes. No indian male boxer has ever ever won a gold or even silver lol. Vijender Singh is a superstar celebrity over there they have really low standards! Tbe whole of South Asia is terrible.. Pakistanis are the worst boxers Ive ever seen in my life. Its quote funny seeing these nations get beat up at the commonwralth gamesby tiny nations lime Northern Ireland of just 1million people. They just cannot fight at all, I think race/DNA must have something to do with it. And almost all these fighters have feather fists and glass jaws. They have hopelessly low standards they aren't winners .

Nigeria for its huge population are terrible foo.

And Turkey like people have mentioned have always been terrible.Turks can't fight at all. All throughout the history of boxing theyve been useless.

:*******:

Actually when it comes to fighting different strokes for different folks... India and Pakistan have a venerable tradition of wrestling that is extensive... great martial arts of antiquity also... the Sikhs have a few guys who preserved the old battle arts are are quite good and not Gadga, or however you spell that mismash! Punjabi is a blade culture.. you want to see how they get down well bring the cutlery out and hide the big gloves.

[billeau2]

There have been three Yemeni world champions, two male (Naseem Hamed and Sadam Ali), and one female (Isra Girgrah). Hamed was born and raised in Sheffield, England, and Ali was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, USA. Girgrah, although born in Yemen, lived in Canada from the age of three. It’s no coincidence that these three grew up where they did. Had they been born or raised in Yemen, they would not have been world champions. That’s without a shadow of a doubt. Once again, this supports my theory: culture, opportunity and resources. There might be those that would claim “Yemeni people can’t fight,” because no boxing champions actually come from there, but clearly that is not the case.

This theory has been proved correct time and time again. Social forces shape us in the ring which is why the most downtrodden ********** usually supplied most of the fighters in the USA.

[CubanGuyNYC]

If he was born in his ancestral homes of either Slovenia or Croatia (back then both countries were part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia), he would have very small chances at the time. He would have to go abroad soon.

Before the communists came to power sport wasn't supported that much in Yugoslavia. They didn't even send an Olympic team on the 1932 Olympics in LA. There was no money for boxing.

Also, if he lived in Croatia he might even get killed during WWII like it happened to talented Croat heavyweight boxer Mijo Drvarić. Drvarić was the HW champion of the **** puppet Ustashe state. The communist partisans who fought against it offered him to join them several times but he declined them saying that he doesn't care about politics and wants to focus on his boxing career. Because of this, they cowardly killed him in front of his home in 1944.

Here is a video of Mijo Drvarić with some rare old footage of boxers from the pre-WWII Yugoslavia, including his victory in the local HW championship:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgZ8iYn9Hjo

Fucking terrible.

Cuba had her first boxing world champion in 1931, with the ATG “Kid Chocolate” (only the second Latin-American boxing champion, behind Panama’s Al Brown). In the fifties, before the communists came into power, Cuba had an economy on a par with Italy. What made all this possible? Without a shadow of a doubt, Cuba’s proximity to the United States.

That's why I always say that before the 90s boxing just didn't get the proper global talent. It was very hard to start a meaningful pro boxing career in most places in the world. Eastern Euros basically couldn't compete.

As the world economy continues to improve (and I’m hopeful it will), countries that show an interest in the sport will find success. Boxing hasn’t caught on in India and China, for whatever reason. If it ever does, there will be plenty of representatives from those countries in the pro ranks. I have little doubt of that. For the time being, they just don’t care.

[RedZmaja]

Fritzie...

Here is a picture of him together with the great Yugoslav inventor Nikola Tesla:





Tesla attended his bouts at Madison Square Garden. These pictures were taken after Zivic beat Armstrong for the second time. After Zivic won the first fight by UD, Tesla supposedly told him before the second fight that he will win by KO (''Srušit ćeš ga, sinko, nokautom!"). After the fight Tesla organized a huge dinner in his honor and this is where the picture was taken.

This is very interesting because Tesla was pretty much a recluse, especially since 1937 after his health deteriorated and it wasn't usual for him to be hanging out like this.

He was definitely a big fan of Zivic but probably also a big fan of boxing too and was interested in the intricacies of sweet science.

[CubanGuyNYC]

This theory has been proved correct time and time again. Social forces shape us in the ring which is why the most downtrodden ********** usually supplied most of the fighters in the USA.

There was a time when there were great ***ish boxers. They’ve disappeared, right along with the rise of ***s on the socio-economic ladder in the United States. The Chinese and Indian people I’ve observed, at least in the US, are much more concerned with academic excellence and business success than any athletic pursuits. It goes a long way towards explaining their lack of representation in sports in general.

I’m a big chess enthusiast. Whenever I play in a tournament, I see very few white kids and virtually no black or Hispanic kids. At least 90% of the children there are Asian, Indian or otherwise. It’s not because they’re somehow athletically inferior or intellectually superior. These are choices molded by their respective cultures.

[CubanGuyNYC]

Here is a picture of him together with the great Yugoslav inventor Nikola Tesla:





Tesla attended his bouts at Madison Square Garden. These pictures were taken after Zivic beat Armstrong for the second time. After Zivic won the first fight by UD, Tesla supposedly told him before the second fight that he will win by KO (''Srušit ćeš ga, sinko, nokautom!"). After the fight Tesla organized a huge dinner in his honor and this is where the picture was taken.

This is very interesting because Tesla was pretty much a recluse, especially since 1937 after his health deteriorated and it wasn't usual for him to be hanging out like this.

He was definitely a big fan of Zivic but probably also a big fan of boxing too and was interested in the intricacies of sweet science.

That...is...awesome. Thanks for sharing. Even that giant brain wasn’t immune to nationalistic pride. Haha