The NFL/Boxing Theory have some real weight behind it.

[Tom Cruise]

it's the same for loads of rugby players, but it would seem very odd to start claiming that is holding the UK heavyweight scene back

Exactly. Simply pointing at other sports and saying 'they took all our athletes' must be the dullest point in history. You need to look at why these other sports attract the athletes.

And i dont buy the bs that it is all down to money, though it must have some effect, because big american athletes coming through now would have grown up watching the 90's heavyweight scene which had some of the richest heavyweights in history. Also its not like these guys grew boxing and playing basketball until they were 18 and then decided to stop boxing. Outside of a few examples they have never boxed seriously before.

For me youth scouting and development is the biggest area where America has lost all its heavys, then the fact that a huge proportion of the US public will never even see the best guys fight (PPV, subscription channels etc) and what incentive is there to want to become the next world heavyweight champ?

Edit: just realized i posted this same argument a few comments back.

[SCtrojansbaby]

The football players/heavyweight boxer is without a doubt the dumbest theory in all of sports.

Football players have NO STAMINA they can't box 12 rounds

[TensionKiller]

It really does. I'm not saying that if the NFL guys boxed, they will be Lennox Lewises and Wladimir Klithscko's. I'm just saying that boxing really did lose multiple heavyweight champions to the NFL. Caliber wise? Who knows, but the theory is legit.

Look at some examples:

Seth Mitchell. Odds are, he will be in for a title shot by the end of 2013. He is a NFL reject. Imagine if he started at age 10?


Dominic Breazzle will probably not go far, but the fact that he boxed for one year and made the Olympics team is still impressive. Imagine he started at a very young age instead?



Former Heavyweight champions in regards to American Football:


Lennox Lewis

"I played football when I was young, I ended up going with boxing"
Lewis was a first team stand out and was scouted by numerous colleges.
Riddick Bowe was a WR and his coach begged him to play football instead of box.
Ray Mercer played football leading up to Army.
Tony Tucker.
Tyrell Biggs.



Once again, I'm not saying that any top NFL player could have become the HW Champ, but it will be pure ignorance to deny the fact that

Robert Griffin 3 or Cam Newton would have made great prospects.

Don't mean you can take a damn punch. People forget that boxing is about durability. Getting punched by a HW boxer repeatedly is no joke. NFL is tough, but it isn't boxing.

[TensionKiller]

The football players/heavyweight boxer is without a doubt the dumbest theory in all of sports.

Football players have NO STAMINA they can't box 12 rounds

So damn true.

They run 0.19 miles a game and average 12 minutes of play time...

[Haglerwins]

The football players/heavyweight boxer is without a doubt the dumbest theory in all of sports.

Football players have NO STAMINA they can't box 12 rounds

Brandon Jacobs 2x Superbowl winning Running Back for the New York Giants.

6'4"

265



Jacobs went 35-2 as an amateur heavyweight, twice winning the state AAU championship. He loved boxing but eventually turned to football due it to its college scholarship possibilities.

[SCtrojansbaby]

Brandon Jacobs 2x Superbowl winning Running Back for the New York Giants.

Jacobs went 35-2 as an amateur heavyweight, twice winning the state AAU championship. He loved boxing but eventually turned to football due it to its college scholarship possibilities.

LMAO at state AAU championships. Brandon Jacobs is from Louisiana. Winning an AAU championship in a talent void state is meaningless. Also Brandon Jacobs is known for geti tired playing football he would literally die trying fight 12 rounds

[ShoulderRoll]

He loved boxing but eventually turned to football due it to its college scholarship possibilities.

That says it all. Football stole him away from boxing. It's a shame because he was big and talented.

[ShoulderRoll]

it's the same for loads of rugby players, but it would seem very odd to start claiming that is holding the UK heavyweight scene back

Did the UK go from dominating the heavyweight boxing scene for 100 years to all of a sudden having 0 viable contenders?

That's the difference.

[Skittlez]

Ok actally I have to re think this theory.


I just saw Lennox Lewis vs Michael Grant

[Hougigo]

The NFL was around and very popular in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, etc. So why didn't it impinge on US boxing in those eras as well?

The reason American HWs are not where they used to be is the fall of the Soviet Union and the freeing up of Eastern Europeans to fight professionally.

Had the Soviet Union not existed, the history of the HW division would likely be very different.

Look how much they got paid then to how much they get paid now?
There are only a few boxers in the states breaking that million mark while almost everyone at least damn near every starter) is making over a million for playing once a week for at least 16 weeks.