Is this the GOLDEN AGE for British/European Prizefighting???...

Looooooooooooooooong GONE R the Days when Americans could COUNT on Our Euro & British Brethren 2 B EASY MARKS to Pad a Resume w/ (Where have U GONE, Frank Bruno & Brian London???::)....Since Lennox, they've Admittedly Been Putting it Down QUITE WELL...

Lennox, Calzaghe, Hamed, Hatton, the Klits, Kessler, etc...& Now Carl Froch...REED Isn't Up to Speed on ALL the History of British/European Boxing, but is it SAFE to Say that THIS is the "Golden Age"????....



REED:dunno:

 

I dunno.... but I hope the Brits are happy this week.... cause they're gonna be crying next week.

 

You are right REED,...but for a couple of reasons.

Euro fighters have advanced and their training and sparring rivals American fighters now.

Combine that with the fact that America and Americans have reached an alltime peak of laziness in recent years. Both sportswise and every otherwise.

And don't be surprised if this current trend continues.

 

Who can forget the way they billed Maskaev/Rahman II for the WBC title? Rahman, the reigning WBC Champion was "America's Last Line of Defense"! :: It's the golden age for sure for the euros.

 

Europeans have styles that are too well suited for the amatuer game,.. Mikkel Kessler has a quintessential European style,.. but as Calzaghe showed,..if you weavel in close, and vary your attack from body to head,.. you've got them, Calzaghe for the record doesnt have a 'European style',.. if European amatuers are serious about becoming the best they can be in the pro-game,.. they're better off relocating to America, and using American coaching and sparring, it is the country where the pro-game has been historically nurtured and has usually produced the best fighters,... If not, they can stay well protected by German promoters and make a hefty living as manufactured champions indulging in scanned, hand-picked 'voluntary defences' in quarterly house-fights infront of apathetic audiences..

Felix Sturm, is probably your best possible example of this.

 

It's a good point, because we have definitely registered on the radar alot more in the last few years. I don't think it's so much a "boom" or anything, moreso that more fighters from these ends are taking risks and crossing the pond to make the big fights happen, whilst American fighters are realising the support hometown fighters can get over here, and are coming over here as well, for the atmosphere and the money. With more fighters taking matters into their own hands now, through promotional companies like Golden Boy and Hayemaker Promotions, guys like Warren and King are having less of an influence, and fighters are less likely to stay protected in their own countries, they are actually making these big fights happen. The talent has always been here, it's just now the big fights are happening.

 

It seems like a golden age, because our success has been fairly sporadic, and not all that significant in the years before. We've produced some good fighters, but not many who have been considered amongst the best p4p.

I think seeing the brits at or near the top of world boxing is gonna be something we are gonna become familiar with. We've just come back from a positive Olympics....and the word is, the next crop are gonna be even better for 2012. Inspiration breeds talent.....Hatton, Calzaghe and Khan are house hold names....they sellout stadiums, and kids look up to and want to be just like them. The Haye and Froch fanbases are growing too.

 

Not exactly, to be honest Britain has always had pretty good fighters, ever since the bare knuckle days. Don't forget Boxing is FROM England.

America might be the boxing mecca now, but it's actually an English sport.

There have many solid Brits ever since Randy Turpin beating Robinson, but I think recently boxing is on the RISE in England.

Where as in America you complain of boxing dying, boxing seems to be increasing in popularity here. I've seen lots of people becoming fans in recent years that previously had no interest in it.

Coverage is better now that it was a few years ago.

And really, I think it's mainly just that the good British fighters are going over to America now and beating some of the Americans, instead of staying at home, being protected by Werren.

One of the best things to happen to British boxing is Werren having a bit less of a monopoly on British boxing now.

And even Werren himself overprotecting his fighters a bit less as a result.

 

In many ways, Ricky Hatton leaving Allegedly Warren and taking big money fights in the states, and Calzaghe following him eventually, has raised the stakes in terms of what British fighters aspire to. No longer are the 15 WBU title defences at Neasden leisure centre for comfortable Sky money enough for the more ambitious fighters, they want international TV money, press attention, MBEs...that, plus the TV networks not showing the same interest in paying lots of doe for mediocre domestic fodder (I don't mean Sky's Friday night fare, which is cheap enough) unless its PPV worthy, which means a headline opponent, paying the fighter more etc.

 

It's certainly been a great 15 years or so for British & European boxing. I have a feeling that the concurrent decline of US boxing has played at least as significant a role in that success as has a rise in standards here though.

 

That was my line of thinking too.

Hatton and Calzaghe have been pretty good for British boxing, and they've kind of set the bar by leaving Werren, and spurred people on to really go for it, instead of staying in their comfort zone like you said, being fed stiffs by Werren, milking their WBU title.

 

If Ricky loses on Saturday, he will have played to role of "lovable loser" to perfection.

 

Been that way for a while. From middleweight to heavyweight, you have a few legit young world class US fighters. Cunningham, Pavlik, Dawson and Taylor, arguably Cloud. Dirrell and Ward will break into the group eventually. That´s it.

 

So now you Brits are claiming boxing as a british sport as well? :nono:

 

In it's modern form it is English isn't it?:dunno: Although obviously 'boxing' has been around since year dot. They had boxing at the Grecian Olympics.

 

It's as British as football is. :hammert:

 

Boxing is British you ignorant Canadian cunt.

 

And yet every single Euro trash fighter wants to come here to prove he can fight.

 

yes, the money is completely irrelevant.

 

:atu:

Boxing has been around forever MWS. Just like football. The Brits might have popularized it or whatever, but it doesen't make it their's. Boxing and football are universal sports.

 

:bears:

 

Boxing originated in England. Why exactly are you arguing that point?

 

Because it isn't true. :dunno:

 

Modern boxing certainly did. What could be loosely termed 'boxing' before it died with the roman empire.

It bears little resemblance with what we call boxing.

 

Come on, Penius, these guys don't like British to me. :nono:

 

This sport is dead S_D. That picture is supposed to be Greek in origin.

The boxing we all watch originated in England. Look up a guy called James Figg.

 

:: I'm just messing with you man.

As far as I know, however, the Greek boxing was in fact called "pugilism"

 

I know pal.

I find this stuff really interesting (or did, not so much anymore). Boxing has a rich history, even if you only focus on the modern variant.

 

Yeah, my knowledge is lacking on anything before John L Sullivan. A historian I am not, but one day I'd really like to sharpen up on the many centuries of boxing.

 

I'm no historian but there's plenty of good books out there. Hell, if you have enough reference points (names etc) you can just use the net.