ReEvaluating Past Greats (In regard to Eastern Euros)

[PEBBLES!]

Is anyone going to post a link to these numbers???

[BennyST]

I did have the numbers somewhere. I'll have to find them again, but the most registered amount of pro boxers was at a peak during the fifties and sixties, with a drop since then and a massive drop in the last twenty years of both gyms and pro, registered boxers.

It really is quite a staggering drop in numbers. I can't remember off the top of my head unfortunately, but there was a study done on this exact subject (numbers in boxing and its decline) and what was most staggering was the amount of registered gyms and boxers was something insane like less than one eighth of fighters and even less gyms since its heyday in the fifties.

The difference between the TS post and the info above is that the info above came from a definitive study of all numbers of registered boxers from all major boxing countries and the info from the TS is BS.

[BattlingNelson]

I did have the numbers somewhere. I'll have to find them again, but the most registered amount of pro boxers was at a peak during the fifties and sixties, with a drop since then and a massive drop in the last twenty years of both gyms and pro, registered boxers.

It really is quite a staggering drop in numbers. I can't remember off the top of my head unfortunately, but there was a study done on this exact subject (numbers in boxing and its decline) and what was most staggering was the amount of registered gyms and boxers was something insane like less than one eighth of fighters and even less gyms since its heyday in the fifties.

The difference between the TS post and the info above is that the info above came from a definitive study of all numbers of registered boxers from all major boxing countries and the info from the TS is BS.

^^^in the light of this post and the failure of the TS in providing a source for his outragerous postulates this thread might as well be closed and the TS banned if such unfounded claims is provided by him again.

[SonnyboyReturns]

Is anyone going to post a link to these numbers???

Yes I would like a source, seems fallacious to me.

[Steak]

Alright, please listen to this, because Ive mentioned it a million times...

Eastern European boxers were denied from going into professional boxing, yes. BUT THEY STILL COULD FIGHT IN THE AMATEURS. most specifically the Olympics.

a 19 year old George Foreman still beat the best Soviet heavyweight in the world in the Gold Medal Olympic match, and Pete Rademacher(who lost to Floyd Patterson) beat an "Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR", Lev Mukhin, in his Gold Medal Olympic match.

this suggests that, while there would have been some Soviet Heavyweights in the division that would be doing well, that guys like Ali, Foreman, Frazier in their prime really should not have had too hard a time against them.


and to suggest that 'if the Soviets put more priority on boxing they would have been the best' is flat out ******. IF India decided its national sport was boxing and had every kid training in it since birth then the sport would be dominated by Indian fighters. Or IF America put more emphasis on football/soccor then Americans would be much more of a force in it. Thats just ******, you cant just do this 'make believe' stuff.

[Die Antwoord]

Alright, please listen to this, because Ive mentioned it a million times...

Eastern European boxers were denied from going into professional boxing, yes. BUT THEY STILL COULD FIGHT IN THE AMATEURS. most specifically the Olympics.

a 19 year old George Foreman still beat the best Soviet heavyweight in the world in the Gold Medal Olympic match, and Pete Rademacher(who lost to Floyd Patterson) beat an "Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR", Lev Mukhin, in his Gold Medal Olympic match.

this suggests that, while there would have been some Soviet Heavyweights in the division that would be doing well, that guys like Ali, Foreman, Frazier in their prime really should not have had too hard a time against them.


and to suggest that 'if the Soviets put more priority on boxing they would have been the best' is flat out ******. IF India decided its national sport was boxing and had every kid training in it since birth then the sport would be dominated by Indian fighters. Or IF America put more emphasis on football/soccor then Americans would be much more of a force in it. Thats just ******, you cant just do this 'make believe' stuff.

Im not sayin gyou are wrong, but what I am saying was most of the best athletes in russia and eastern europe werent going into boxing nor did they have the amateur system that the U.S. had. They only fought other eastern euros until the olympics. The same things happening in the U.S. now. The amateurs suck and thats why the pros are sucking.