Has there ever been an Eastern European fighter who was a big star in the US?

[jreckoning]

It's hard for Americans to identify with eastern european robots trying to go to war.




I will say for as crazy as Golota was he could put 20k people in an arena like nothing.

[nubianpiye]

So the answer is pretty much no? I mean none of these guys have been ppv stars

[rickJen]

Most of them are in tennis, men and women.

[nubianpiye]

That's true some have been dominant sharapova was a huge star globally right?

[Dodger07]

GGG will be if he beats Canelo

[nubianpiye]

GGG will be if he beats Canelo

GGG has been a very good fighter and would be the obvious choice but despite incredible knockouts and being entertaining he can't draw his ppv fights so far have drawn terribly

[Eff Pandas]

Yea I think the first guy hit it right off with GGG + Golota in recent times & idk that I'd call either a legit star. I'd certainly be hard pressed to think of anyone bigger in the last couple decades doe.

I think in general its hard for a foreigner to become popular in the US & few ever reach the popularity their skill & entertainment value should have gotten them to (imo).

[NChristo]

Going way back you could bring up Kid Kaplan.

[PRINCEKOOL]

Back in the early 1990's, there was a light heavyweight who was really popular on the east coast of america called? Arkady Popov.

There is not much video footage of him, because i think a Russian media company has the copy rights to all of is fights (Roy Jones Junior mentioned him as one of the most talented fighters he had ever sparred with! He mysteriously disappeared in the summer of 1991, back into Russia for unknown reasons...

[New England]

So the answer is pretty much no? I mean none of these guys have been ppv stars

klitschko vs lewis 2 would have been an enormous ppv, and vitali would have been a big part of the draw for that.