Soviet Domination

**.::|ULTIMATE|::.** · 08-19-2006, 10:22 AM

Originally posted by Mr. Violence

All the heavyweight champions are from the former Soviet Union...I had a feeling that once the Soviets got a hold of our technology and training methods of the West that that they would dominate. The problem was that their country was in such turmoil that their athletes could not properly train. It's kind of hard to worry about training when you don't know when your next meal is coming. Now that they are no longer in turmoil and can train properly they are kicking major ass.

Being champs of the current heavyweights dont really mean all that much imo.

Only person i will say is kicking ass is Sergei Lyakovich because he won in impressive fashion over a durable fighter.

**Mr. Ryan** · 08-19-2006, 10:25 AM

Originally posted by Mr. Violence

All the heavyweight champions are from the former Soviet Union...I had a feeling that once the Soviets got a hold of our technology and training methods of the West that that they would dominate. The problem was that their country was in such turmoil that their athletes could not properly train. It's kind of hard to worry about training when you don't know when your next meal is coming. Now that they are no longer in turmoil and can train properly they are kicking major ass.

I wrote an article on this subject, check it out:

PhilBoxing.com >> News >> Columns >> Ryan Songalia: Is the European Heavyweight Era here to Stay?

http://philboxing.com/news/columns.php?aid=861&id=6754

**Mr. Violence** · 08-19-2006, 10:28 AM

On a side note...I would just like to mention that I grappled and sparred with some Soviets...there must be something in the water over there. These guys are freakishly strong. It's like they have a genetic disposition to be freakishly strong by nature.

**LondonRingRules** · 08-19-2006, 10:48 AM

Originally posted by Mr. Violence

All the heavyweight champions are from the former Soviet Union...I had a feeling that once the Soviets got a hold of our technology and training methods of the West that that they would dominate. The problem was that their country was in such turmoil that their athletes could not properly train. It's kind of hard to worry about training when you don't know when your next meal is coming. Now that they are no longer in turmoil and can train properly they are kicking major ass.

** You don't know what your talking of. Former Soviet athletes ain't dominating, it's just the boxers who grew up in their system. Boxing was very popular there, a way out of poverty, so when the West opened up to them, they had the discipline, experience, and still had to hunger to succeed. Americans don't box much, so they have naturally declined in the sport.

The Soviets were easily on par with the US athletes overall before the country fell apart. You act like their athletes were emaciated waifs living in dumpsters, when in fact they were rock stars in their communities.

**Zerwas1** · 08-19-2006, 12:30 PM

Just give your basketball players 2 years of boxing lessons and you have a champ who can beat Valuev.

**BrooklynBomber** · 08-19-2006, 12:36 PM

Originally posted by Zerwas1

Just give your basketball players 2 years of boxing lessons and you have a champ who can beat Valuev.

YOu can be as athletic as Michael Jordan and have a size of Shaq, but no amount of training would help you to beat HW champ, in fact, he will most likely permanently injure/kill you in the ring.
Being a fighter is more of a psychological feat, just like athletism of a fighter, even though important, is there only to support the execution of fighter's skills.
So the guy who boxed for 2 years, no matter how talented, will get killed against a guy who fought for better part of his life.

**Nautilus** · 08-19-2006, 01:03 PM

Originally posted by LondonRingRules

** Boxing was very popular there, a way out of poverty, so when the West opened up to them, they had the discipline, experience, and still had to hunger to succeed. Americans don't box much, so they have naturally declined in the sport.

No, boxing was never popular, but it IS getting popular NOW. The martial arts were popular, like kararate, judo, kickboxing, but boxing was never popular.

I have never known a single person in the cities i have lived in who did boxing. I myself competed in weightlifting and powerlifting, and also did some martial arts for fun, so I came across quite a few people who considered careers in sports.

**Nautilus** · 08-19-2006, 01:06 PM

Originally posted by Zerwas1

Just give your basketball players 2 years of boxing lessons and you have a champ who can beat Valuev.

if it was true, it would have already happenned; so it is false

**BrooklynBomber** · 08-19-2006, 03:26 PM

Originally posted by Nautilus

No, boxing was never popular, but it IS getting popular NOW. The martial arts were popular, like kararate, judo, kickboxing, but boxing was never popular.

I have never known a single person in the cities i have lived in who did boxing. I myself competed in weightlifting and powerlifting, and also did some martial arts for fun, so I came across quite a few people who considered careers in sports.

It all really depended on where you lived.
I am from Odessa, and I had a lot of friends who did boxing, of course all of us did some martial arts at some point, due to their popularity, but there were alwasy a number of boxers that I knew.
So it all really depended on where you lived.

Soviet Domination