OPINION: Boxing NEEDS An American Star
When you take a look at the big names in boxing, one thing jumps out at you – the lack of a huge American star.
We’ve got some great boxers from America – Crawford, Haney, Davis and Lopez are the obvious ones, but beyond that you’re struggling to name any truly elite fighters. The other issue is that there are no real stars – the kind of fighters you’re excited to watch. The ones who the casual fans will sit up all night to watch.
It has been a downward trend for years.
Throughout history we’ve always had a line up of American star names in boxing. Going back to the fifties we had Rocky Marciano. In the sixties we had Ali, Liston, Patterson, the seventies gave us Foreman, Frazier, Norton, Shavers. The eighties was an embarrassment of riches – the four kings era had three Americans in Hagler, Hearns and Leonard. Tyson burst onto the scene, and Holyfield followed.
The nineties gave us De La Hoya, Bowe, Jones Jr, Hopkins. In the early 2000’s we got Mayweather and Ward, and from 2010 onwards we’ve seen the tap run dry. Crawford, Haney and Davis have kept the American flag flying. Deontay Wilder helped out for a while, holding the WBC belt. He won’t go down as a great though, because outside of the Fury trilogy, his record is full of very average fighters.
Where are the modern day stars though?
American Star Brings More Attention
When the country with the biggest economy in the world has a star, the money and interest in the sport increases. Whilst at the moment the money gap is being plugged by Saudi Arabia, will that be the case forever? It’s too early to tell.
What I do know is that without an American star and American interest, the sport on a global scale might start to wane.
We’ve got talented American boxers, but I can’t see any stars. The ones who you absolutely have to watch. The four kings era was full of amazing fights. You had to watch Tyson run riot through a division. Holyfield was a class act and fought the very best. Hopkins and Jones Jr dominated the middleweights, and Mayweather ran his mouth constantly, but always backed it up.
I appreciate the skills on show from the boxers we have now, but the excitement for me is coming from other directions. The Brits have dominated the heavyweight scene for a while, until Usyk showed up and cleaned everyone out! Alvarez has ruled the middleweights for a long time. In the lighter weights there’s some interesting fights to be made.
But very few American names are involved outside of the handful.
Can America Produce More Boxers?
The obvious answer is yes – there’s always the capability to produce an American star, it’s whether or not young fighters want to box. MMA is huge in the US, and it’s growing. Fight fans are increasingly switching away from boxing, frustrated by the politics and the difficulty in making big fights. Fans want to see a spectacle, not a social media argument.
It’s got to change. The Saudi’s are making it happen, but that work has to continue. If boxing is to thrive in the modern era, we have to put on shows where the best fight the best, at their best. We can’t see match ups happening when the fighters aren’t what they were.
That’s not an American problem, it’s a boxing problem. And it needs to be solved, quickly.
