Why is France not a boxing powerhouse?

[TheMyspaceDayz]

The French throw in the towel before the fight begins.

[Smash]

i asked a french guy if boxing was popular in france, he laughed and said he cant even remember if he had ever heard a boxing report on tv there or heard of a boxer mantioned in a bulletin, nuff said i think

he said team sports are popular there, football and rugby huge then things like tennis and cycling and bowls or something like that

[Szef]

French can't fight for shyt

They are like the Indians of Europe

[Marchegiano]

It just isn’t a popular sport over there. Look how big of a star AJ was over here after winning a gold medal, then look at Tony Yoka...

That may settle atm, but, until the later 30s and early 40s the French kind of controlled boxing. NY was the mecca, but outside of NYSAC and NY it'd be fair to say the French IBU had more global impact than the USA's NBA.

During their time as a behind the scenes power the French had good contenders and that's about it. The IBU members started to shift toward Germany, Italy, and Spain. They were all able to get champions out of it before they lost majority control as well.

I have legitimately always wondered how the French held such control in boxing while failing to crown a HW champion.


When the Irish pop happens in the US and NY the Irish are champions.

Queen Vic's Diamond Jubilee = Bob Fitzs gets crowned.

Canada gets a champion just as Canada looks poised to overtake the homeland as the most important nation in the BE and therefore in the world at that time.

France takes over Europe in an economic sense. Consolidating power in sports and other activities like film, but, they fail to crown a HW champion. 1909 cycling, 1910 boxing, etc.

Germany and Italy rise, each get a champ.


Just kinda odd isn't it? Usually the champion reflects the people group putting the most into boxing, unless, they're French. That's not being ant French, just a fact. It's always been something I wanted to answer but never got around to because I'm pretty sure the answer isn't in boxing so much as economics and what was going on in the world at the time.

[GrandpaBernard]

Because their sworn enemies brits keep whooping em

[ShoulderRoll]

Boxing was England's sport.

The French preferred that fruity savate.

[Beercules]

The French throw in the towel before the fight begins.

French can't fight for shyt

They are like the Indians of Europe

[UNBANNED]

i asked a french guy if boxing was popular in france, he laughed and said he cant even remember if he had ever heard a boxing report on tv there or heard of a boxer mantioned in a bulletin, nuff said i think

he said team sports are popular there, football and rugby huge then things like tennis and cycling and bowls or something like that

Yeah football and tennis are the biggies I think. And France has produced elite athletes in those sports

[Bunch Pag]

As soon as anyone says "it's going to be a war" they all go in hiding...

[RJJ-94-02=GOAT]

That may settle atm, but, until the later 30s and early 40s the French kind of controlled boxing. NY was the mecca, but outside of NYSAC and NY it'd be fair to say the French IBU had more global impact than the USA's NBA.

During their time as a behind the scenes power the French had good contenders and that's about it. The IBU members started to shift toward Germany, Italy, and Spain. They were all able to get champions out of it before they lost majority control as well.

I have legitimately always wondered how the French held such control in boxing while failing to crown a HW champion.


When the Irish pop happens in the US and NY the Irish are champions.

Queen Vic's Diamond Jubilee = Bob Fitzs gets crowned.

Canada gets a champion just as Canada looks poised to overtake the homeland as the most important nation in the BE and therefore in the world at that time.

France takes over Europe in an economic sense. Consolidating power in sports and other activities like film, but, they fail to crown a HW champion. 1909 cycling, 1910 boxing, etc.

Germany and Italy rise, each get a champ.


Just kinda odd isn't it? Usually the champion reflects the people group putting the most into boxing, unless, they're French. That's not being ant French, just a fact. It's always been something I wanted to answer but never got around to because I'm pretty sure the answer isn't in boxing so much as economics and what was going on in the world at the time.

Honestly, I had no idea of France’s boxing history, I never knew they had that sort of influence.

From an economic perspective, France did relatively well in the 20’s in comparison to some of the other European nations who were all crippled from WW1. They were a lot harsher on Germany at Versailles which helped their economic recovery but their economy was by no means strong. By the the 30’s the Depression had hit them and by the end of that decade they were dealing with a Second World War.

Unsure exactly how this affected boxing in the country, but I imagine their economic state following WW2 reduced their spending on sports and led to them losing all of their influence over boxing- that’s complete conjecture though, I’ve never looked into it.