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This has been discussed before, and it still amazes me how people can think otherwise. (Long read btw).
Americans have always ruled heavyweight boxing. Ali, Holmes, Frazier, Tyson, Louis, Hollyfield, Marciano, etc. Do you think its just a coincidence that there are no great American heavyweights anymore. That all of the sudden Americans just started to suck. That Wladimir Klitschko, at age 28, was knocked out in 2 rounds against Corrie Sanders and 5 rounds against Lamon Brewster, and all of the sudden at the age of 35 is now unbeatable?
Of course not. The top American HWs are all in other sports. No athlete in their right mind would go into boxing, get hit in the face for a living, risk their long term health, and deal with the corruption of boxing for a fraction of the money NBA and NFL players make if they had a choice. Very few athletes grow up today wanting to get into boxing. They do it because they know they have no chance at football or basketball, or simply because their size limits them.
Look at the weight classes that are not losing their best athletes to other sports.
Floyd Mayweather, #1 welterweight in the world. Andre Ward, #1 Super Middleweight in the world. Bernard Hopkins, #1 Light Heavyweight in the world. Timothy Bradley, #1 Light Welterweight in the world. Alot of young talent like Adrien Broner, Gary Russell. So if they can excel at the lower weights classes, they could certainly do the same at HW considering Americans have more heavyweight sized athletes than any other country. American boxing is strong at these lower weight classes because they cant do other sports. A guy like Mayweather, at 5'8 150, wouldn't have a chance at football or basketball.
Now there are still some people who would say, well the best boxers are still in boxing. And if an NBA or NFL player tried to go into boxing, or went into boxing at an early age, they still wouldn't be good.
Let's break it down and think about how absurd that is. Let's start with size. I find it laughable when people talk about the Klitschko brothers like they are some freaks of nature. They would simply be considered average sized in the NFL or NBA, if that. The average NBA player is 6'7, 240 lbs. You got guys like LeBron James, 6'8, 270 lbs, all lean muscle, not to mention an 85 in reach, blazing speed, and surreal explosiveness and athleticism. Or Dwight Howard. Now THAT guy is a true freak of nature. The Klits would look like a pedestrian next to him. 7'0, 285 lbs, ripped, 90 inch reach. That's right, 90 INCH REACH. On top of that, NBA players have crazy stamina, running up and down 40 min a game, 82+ games a season every other day, while most HWs nowadays gas out after 6 rounds throwing 30 punches. They would have nearly every advantage - size, speed, athleticism, stamina.
Now I'm not saying that any one specific guy like LeBron James would be an elite boxer. For all we know, they might have glass chins. But out of all the thousands of NFL and NBA players, surely a lot of them can fight and have strong chins.
To further prove this point, let's take a look at some of the "top" heavyweight boxers today.
Eddie Chambers, a 6'1 208 lb guy whose still flabby, is our best American Heavyweight.
Or Chris Arreola. You're saying an overweight, fat, out of shape guy who can't even stay away from cheeseburgers and pizza while training can be a top 10 heavyweight, but no elite NFL or NBA athlete could be?
Nikolai Valuev, SERIOUSLY? The guy had absolutely nothing but size, zero athletic ability, slow as molasses, no stamina, nothing. And he was 46-0 and heavyweight champ. A guy like Dwight Howard, superior in every possible way, couldn't do that?
Let's keep going. Tomasz Adamek, who ****in was a 175 pounder just a few years ago, is the 3rd ranked heavyweight in the world? A 40 year old Tony Thompson is top 5 heavyweight in the world?
Look at a typical top heavyweight boxer aka the competition of the Klitschkos.
And now look at typical NFL or NBA players.
Now I know physique isn't everything, but that is just laughable. Its not good to be too bulky, but it's a big difference to being fat and flabby. You're trying to tell me short, flabby non athletic people just so happen to make good boxers, and big, athletic, lean, elite athletes from the NFL and NBA make sucky boxers and all have glass chins? Common.
Now I know a lot of people try to make the case that athletes who tried to get into boxing from another sports have never been successful. That means absolutely nothing, because it's not like these guys were elite athletes. They are usually no name benchwarmers who couldn't make it in their sport, so of course they are not gonna excel in boxing.
Let's look at a better example, someone who actually has athletic ability, Seth Mitchell. He started playing basketball growing up and then dedicated his entire life to football. He never even put on a pair of gloves until he was 25, and only because he could not make it to the NFL and had career ending injuries. So he turned to boxing, and now he is 24-0 and a top 20 heavyweight.
So if Seth Mitchell, a 30 year old football player with no boxing experience and career ending injuries can be 24-0 and become a top 20 heavyweight in 4 years, whose a good athlete but by no means elite, you're saying an elite athlete in the NFL or NBA couldn't easily do the same and more? I'm not saying anyone could, but it would be absurd to say no one could.
I truly believe if every elite athlete in the NFL, NBA, even NHL, and other sports dedicated their lives to boxing, the Klits wouldn't be close to the top HWs, and everyone else who is in the top 10 now wouldn't be there.
Americans have always ruled heavyweight boxing. Ali, Holmes, Frazier, Tyson, Louis, Hollyfield, Marciano, etc. Do you think its just a coincidence that there are no great American heavyweights anymore. That all of the sudden Americans just started to suck. That Wladimir Klitschko, at age 28, was knocked out in 2 rounds against Corrie Sanders and 5 rounds against Lamon Brewster, and all of the sudden at the age of 35 is now unbeatable?
Of course not. The top American HWs are all in other sports. No athlete in their right mind would go into boxing, get hit in the face for a living, risk their long term health, and deal with the corruption of boxing for a fraction of the money NBA and NFL players make if they had a choice. Very few athletes grow up today wanting to get into boxing. They do it because they know they have no chance at football or basketball, or simply because their size limits them.
Look at the weight classes that are not losing their best athletes to other sports.
Floyd Mayweather, #1 welterweight in the world. Andre Ward, #1 Super Middleweight in the world. Bernard Hopkins, #1 Light Heavyweight in the world. Timothy Bradley, #1 Light Welterweight in the world. Alot of young talent like Adrien Broner, Gary Russell. So if they can excel at the lower weights classes, they could certainly do the same at HW considering Americans have more heavyweight sized athletes than any other country. American boxing is strong at these lower weight classes because they cant do other sports. A guy like Mayweather, at 5'8 150, wouldn't have a chance at football or basketball.
Now there are still some people who would say, well the best boxers are still in boxing. And if an NBA or NFL player tried to go into boxing, or went into boxing at an early age, they still wouldn't be good.
Let's break it down and think about how absurd that is. Let's start with size. I find it laughable when people talk about the Klitschko brothers like they are some freaks of nature. They would simply be considered average sized in the NFL or NBA, if that. The average NBA player is 6'7, 240 lbs. You got guys like LeBron James, 6'8, 270 lbs, all lean muscle, not to mention an 85 in reach, blazing speed, and surreal explosiveness and athleticism. Or Dwight Howard. Now THAT guy is a true freak of nature. The Klits would look like a pedestrian next to him. 7'0, 285 lbs, ripped, 90 inch reach. That's right, 90 INCH REACH. On top of that, NBA players have crazy stamina, running up and down 40 min a game, 82+ games a season every other day, while most HWs nowadays gas out after 6 rounds throwing 30 punches. They would have nearly every advantage - size, speed, athleticism, stamina.
Now I'm not saying that any one specific guy like LeBron James would be an elite boxer. For all we know, they might have glass chins. But out of all the thousands of NFL and NBA players, surely a lot of them can fight and have strong chins.
To further prove this point, let's take a look at some of the "top" heavyweight boxers today.
Eddie Chambers, a 6'1 208 lb guy whose still flabby, is our best American Heavyweight.
Or Chris Arreola. You're saying an overweight, fat, out of shape guy who can't even stay away from cheeseburgers and pizza while training can be a top 10 heavyweight, but no elite NFL or NBA athlete could be?
Nikolai Valuev, SERIOUSLY? The guy had absolutely nothing but size, zero athletic ability, slow as molasses, no stamina, nothing. And he was 46-0 and heavyweight champ. A guy like Dwight Howard, superior in every possible way, couldn't do that?
Let's keep going. Tomasz Adamek, who ****in was a 175 pounder just a few years ago, is the 3rd ranked heavyweight in the world? A 40 year old Tony Thompson is top 5 heavyweight in the world?
Look at a typical top heavyweight boxer aka the competition of the Klitschkos.
And now look at typical NFL or NBA players.
Now I know physique isn't everything, but that is just laughable. Its not good to be too bulky, but it's a big difference to being fat and flabby. You're trying to tell me short, flabby non athletic people just so happen to make good boxers, and big, athletic, lean, elite athletes from the NFL and NBA make sucky boxers and all have glass chins? Common.
Now I know a lot of people try to make the case that athletes who tried to get into boxing from another sports have never been successful. That means absolutely nothing, because it's not like these guys were elite athletes. They are usually no name benchwarmers who couldn't make it in their sport, so of course they are not gonna excel in boxing.
Let's look at a better example, someone who actually has athletic ability, Seth Mitchell. He started playing basketball growing up and then dedicated his entire life to football. He never even put on a pair of gloves until he was 25, and only because he could not make it to the NFL and had career ending injuries. So he turned to boxing, and now he is 24-0 and a top 20 heavyweight.
So if Seth Mitchell, a 30 year old football player with no boxing experience and career ending injuries can be 24-0 and become a top 20 heavyweight in 4 years, whose a good athlete but by no means elite, you're saying an elite athlete in the NFL or NBA couldn't easily do the same and more? I'm not saying anyone could, but it would be absurd to say no one could.
I truly believe if every elite athlete in the NFL, NBA, even NHL, and other sports dedicated their lives to boxing, the Klits wouldn't be close to the top HWs, and everyone else who is in the top 10 now wouldn't be there.
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