Do you think heavyweight boxing has decreased as NFL salaries have increased?

Question

Some speculate that professional heavyweight boxing is so talentless now because the best 250-pound American athletes are recruited to play football. Any truth in this?

Answer 1

No. I believe that this is a very bias and unfair observation.

Heavyweight division is by no means at it's all time best but it's definitely not talentless. Well, if we are referring to American heavyweights only then it definitely is and it doesn't look as if it will be getting any better, but the fact is that there are several excellent heavyweights out there at present time and they're all Eastern Europeans. Men like Klitschko brothers (Wladimir especially), Ruslan Chagaev and Aleksander Povetkin are talented, very skilled and accomplished boxers that would either be world champions or in the elite circle of title contenders in any era of professional boxing. When you have athletes of their caliber around and also some other very interesting fighters, such as David Haye, Nikolay Valuev, Samuel Peter and very soon Aleksander Dimitrenko and Denis Boytsov, in the mix it's really not fair to call this division talentless or uneventful..

And most importantly - heavyweight division is not in current state because Americans left, but because these athletes, particularly Eastern Europeans, have arrived. They are dominating the division because they are the best. They're the most disciplined, most skilled and most complete heavyweights out there today and that's why they're on top. It's that simple.    

The way I see it, this division right now has only one huge problem and that's the lack of undisputed champion of the world. Wladimir Klitschko is the top man, we all know that. But he is still one or two fights away from this recognition and as soon as he or maybe someone else of the people that I mentioned earlier unifies the major titles things will improve dramatically. Because, the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world is and has always been probably the most important person in world of sports and one of the most respected people on this planet in general and as soon as he is established all this criticism should disappear and boxing's flag division will be right back in the spotlight and put this sport in the center of media attention once again.

Answer 2

some but people box for the love not money the real ones do anyway

Answer 3

I feel that it is not because of the money so much, but most young kids idolize NFL or NBA players instead of boxers. There are not national heroes in todays boxing like Joe Louis or Muhammad Ali. Kids don't dream of being Klitchko or and of these other heavyweights, they dream of playing in the NFL or NBA like Ray Lewis or Lebron James.

Answer 4

Has been a fact for well more than 30 years. NBA as well. One example: Ken Norton's son---Dallas Cowboys.

       Before then, a promoter did a tour of the Western college football locker rooms. He had a good contract offer for a potential "Great White Hope". No takers.

      Yet, if there conceptually is an ideal heavyweight: 220 pounds. Yes, many greats in the 190's.