Line up your American hopes, AJ will knock them down.

[soul_survivor]

Just off the top of my head; NFL, college football, MLB, NBA, college basketball, NHL, soccer, NASCAR, golf, tennis, and MMA are all far more popular sports and receive far more media coverage (screen and print) than boxing.

MMA? No, that's not true on any level.

Soccer or football as is it's real name? No, that's not true on nay level.

College sport bigger than boxing which garners millions of dollars per fight? No, not true again.

You're trying too hard.

[The Gambler1981]

Bit of a chicken/egg question; HW boxing was enormously popular in the US until the champions lost the belts to foreigners. It coexisted fine with the NFL before that. People don't want to watch anymore when losing starts to seem like a foregone conclusion.

Regardless, we couldn't compare that information anyway. Say boxing is the 8th most followed sport in the UK and 9th most popular in the US -- the US has 260 million more people. Even if it was 20th most popular sport it would probably calculate into a larger audience.

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/D...rris-Poll.aspx

There is a limited amount of large athletes, and those sort of athletes are in demand in the other sports. NFL and NBA existed but are exponentially more popular and pay much better, with much less risk. This started in the 80's really when did American heavyweights really fall off the mid 90's by that time less high quality athletes would not take up boxing because there was a better way.

Heavyweight boxing is a buggy whip industry in the US, other things replaced it and that isn't going to change outside the odd guy here or there. Which is how it is in most countries. Smaller weight classes still can get decent athlete because guy that size are not in demand for other athletic endeavors so those athletes still see boxing as a good opportunity.

Now it might be a viscous cycle but it started clearly, failing to account for that is not being intellectually honest.

[RED REP]

Dominic Breazele, Amir Monsour, Baby Miller, Bryant Jennings all KO that roided robot. And the UK crowds are gay - all singing along like a bunch dwarfs.

Breazele, Monsour and baby Miller...

LMFAO hahahahha. Oh my good god. Hahahahha.

[Pigeons]

MMA? No, that's not true on any level.

Soccer or football as is it's real name? No, that's not true on nay level.

College sport bigger than boxing which garners millions of dollars per fight? No, not true again.

You're trying too hard.

This post gave me a good belly laugh.

[bboy80]

I don't have much faith in Wilder to be honest. Luis Ortiz looks like the cream of the crop at the moment and the one everyone should be wary of but he isn't American sadly.

Shame really Ortiz looks decent, however hes pretty old & I expect the top 3 to avoid him for 2 years yet.

[stefl14]

The atmosphere was something you Americans cannot comprehend, the sport is treated with a far greater level of respect here in the UK.

UK fans do generate a great atmosphere but lets not pretend this is about respect for the sport. The people there last night were celebrities and football fans. They tag onto the hyped names like Joshua but they don't know boxing. Hell, I knew about 20 guys who went to Froch-Groves II and not one of them could tell you who Roberto Duran is.

[stefl14]

Another trash poster...You did nothing..The country did nothing...One man named Anthony Joshua won a fight..You guys are losers..Like I would laugh in your face in real life

Idiots are proud of the piece of rock they didn't choose to be born on....

This is the truth. Anybody who is proud or ashamed of something about which they didn't have a choice is a cretin.

[////]

There is a limited amount of large athletes, and those sort of athletes are in demand in the other sports. NFL and NBA existed but are exponentially more popular and pay much better, with much less risk. This started in the 80's really when did American heavyweights really fall off the mid 90's by that time less high quality athletes would not take up boxing because there was a better way.

Heavyweight boxing is a buggy whip industry in the US, other things replaced it and that isn't going to change outside the odd guy here or there. Which is how it is in most countries. Smaller weight classes still can get decent athlete because guy that size are not in demand for other athletic endeavors so those athletes still see boxing as a good opportunity.

Now it might be a viscous cycle but it started clearly, failing to account for that is not being intellectually honest.

Nothing changed in the 90s between the football/boxing relationship. They coexisted just like European middleweights coexist with football and Russian heavyweights coexist with hockey.

Now what could have possibly changed in the 90s that led to the extinction of US hevayweight champions? Hmmmm... Oh yeah communism collapsed and the outside world was suddenly allowed into professional boxing.

American heavyweights were NEVER good, they just didn't have anyone else to compete with. It's easy to dominate when the total roster of a division is 200 Americans 1 British guy, 1 West German, banned practically everywhere else. That's how it was back then.

[MDPopescu]

The atmosphere was something you Americans cannot comprehend, the sport is treated with a far greater level of respect here in the UK.

They can't understand, because they are only a British colony.

[stefl14]

Listen to all these nationalistic cretins.