By Adam Laiolo: Its always the same story, you are unproven until you’ve fought in America. America may be where the money is, but it is certainly not where the talent is. I’ve never believed the thought that American fighters are the best in the sport. They’re not even second. America’s supposed dominance comes from two things – PPV numbers and Population numbers.
Quite simply put – if you have more people in a country, then it’s more likely you’ll get talented people. It’s not like the US think, that they are all born with Uncle Sam’s raw nerve and determination like some sort of gift given to them from above for purely being American. I think not. See, talent comes from all over the world whether you’re from the US or Timbuktu, anyone from Beverly Hills to Buckingham Palace to a shanty town in New Mexico, it doesn’t matter, if you’ve got the talent to fight then you should. European fighters have had their names tainted by the likes of Sven Ottke and more recently Denis Inkin who almost refuse to fight outside of their own country, but you can’t tar every European fighter with that same brush.
I mean it’s not like America is dominating the sport either, how many world champions are from the US? With the recent destruction of overhyped and half talented fighter Kelly Pavlik, you’d think the US would reconsider, but no now it’s ‘Bad’ Chad Dawson who’s the one to dominate. Don’t make me laugh, a win over a shot Antonio Tarver and scraping past Glen Johnson looks better on paper.
I mean if Britain had a fighter who came over with a good knockout record and had only beaten an over-rated Jermain Taylor and Edison Miranda, America would tell us that knockout record means nothing because we didn’t fight a load of average US fighters.
But because he’s American, that’s justified. Take Mikkel Kessler for example, what a fine fighter he is. He’s fast, incredibly strong, excellent chin and exceptional skills and a record to boot and America still won’t acknowledge him after him cleaning out a whole division. Oh but because Joe Calzaghe beat him, that’s means he’s not so good. Naive again America, see with wins over Anthony Mundine and Librado Andrade, both talented fighters on a world stage, this doesn’t make him just another European.
He’ll come over, if you let him, and he’ll take out both Pavlik and Chad Dawson, no problem. I think and always have that its one rule for the US and another for everyone else and it’s this arrogance that blinds them to the fact that they aren’t as good as they believe. Their next generation of boxing pedigree, the amateurs, came home from Beijing medal-less.
And don’t tell me that doesn’t mean anything, The US weren’t saying that when they were doing well at the Olympics a few years back. So I don’t see where the next line of US champions is coming from and this is why your re-using all your old champions until they’re so far shot you don’t even credit fighters for beating them to a pulp.
That why Bernard and Roy Jones are still here with Oscar still hanging around, getting the biggest fights and paydays for Americans because the truth is simple, there isn’t really anyone to take their place. Pavlik showed he isn’t up to it and Chad Dawson will get exposed when he faces a real challenge.
So what do we need the US for? PPV numbers certainly, with a population like that who can argue. But when was the last time America staged a fight that drew over 30,000 people to watch it ringside? Americans will pay to watch it from their armchairs where they don’t have to move and the fried chicken is only a few inches away, but won’t go and watch it.
The fact is simple, America can promote and broadcast your fight better than anyone else, but when it comes to acknowledging other fighters from other cultures they’re not so keen. It’s time to wake up America, your fighters don’t dominate your PPV numbers do.
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