Thread: So much for USA boxing

I didnt see any posts in regards to the last USA mens boxer being eliminated so i figured id start it up. IVe only focused on the last two Olympics, but how is the USA team in such a decline? What happened to the powerhouse USA boxing team that would dominate (Cuba aside) its competition and was guaranteed at least a couple of medals? This really makes me think that boxing is dying out and as a diehard fan and an on/off amateur fighter this is really disheartening.


Also, what did you guys think of Errol Spence's elimination. I feel like he won that fight but i don't think id call it a robbery, especially in comparison to his previous fight which was just horrible and rightfully overturned. Also, it feels as if team USA has to not only win fights but dominate them in order to get a decision and even dominating is not always a guarantee of victory (RJJ, Mayweather, Griffen, Holyfield, etc). Im not saying other countries arent on the wrong side of controversial decisions but from what I've witnessed I really feel like the judges hate the U.S.

Hey ez..... welcome to the forum. I've been following the boxing myself, mostly rooting for the Puerto Rican fighters. Sadly, the last one was eliminated today also, although the best two had been eliminated earlier (Jantony Ortiz and Felix Verdejo). But on the U.S. boxing, I've heard more than one commentary about how this year's team was weak. Don't know what's causing the decline, but there's many theories. It'll probably bounce back in the next games, but it's gonna take some concerted efforts to make it happen. And regarding the judging, it's been downright horrible. I thought the pros were bad... these Olympic judges have made some frightful mistakes. There's been at least two overturned decisions that I know of.

On a side note... you're the first new saddo'er I've seen with an E-mail address for a name.

thanks for the reply, this place has been kinda dead recently. Anyway, im not new to this site, Ive been visiting it weekly for a couple of years now i just made a new username today because i cant remember the password for my old one (bigge233).


I caught Jantony Ortiz's first fight and was blown away by the kids skill. I didnt follow up on him though and im surprised to hear that he lost.

Anyway i hope it does bounce back but at this rate it doesn't look good. In 2008 i felt like we had a chance at gold with Russell Jr. but he had a mishaps which resulted in him not fighting at all.

As for my opinion on the decline, i feel as if interesting in the sport as a whole is declining and that is hurting team USA. Things such as bad decisions, greedy promoters, mismanagement of fighters, other sports such as UFC coming up, and a few other things i cant remember at the moment have killed peoples interests in the sport and team USA's boxing team reflects that.

Anyway, im happy to be back in the suddoboxiing community and ill try to get more involved in the forums than i have in the past. I could talk boxing all day, lol

Originally Posted by ez396979@yahoo.com

I didnt see any posts in regards to the last USA mens boxer being eliminated so i figured id start it up. IVe only focused on the last two Olympics, but how is the USA team in such a decline? What happened to the powerhouse USA boxing team that would dominate (Cuba aside) its competition and was guaranteed at least a couple of medals? This really makes me think that boxing is dying out and as a diehard fan and an on/off amateur fighter this is really disheartening.


Also, what did you guys think of Errol Spence's elimination. I feel like he won that fight but i don't think id call it a robbery, especially in comparison to his previous fight which was just horrible and rightfully overturned. Also, it feels as if team USA has to not only win fights but dominate them in order to get a decision and even dominating is not always a guarantee of victory (RJJ, Mayweather, Griffen, Holyfield, etc). Im not saying other countries arent on the wrong side of controversial decisions but from what I've witnessed I really feel like the judges hate the U.S.

Welcome on board. I havent been following it strictly so missed that bout.

Im not sure all the judges score body shots well either, theres some weird stuff going down alright.

The judging of amateur and particularly Olympic amateur boxing has always been controversial. The criteria used and the subjectivity of the judges does seem to be inconsistent. Punching correctly with points scored by connecting with the knuckle part of the glove seems to take precedence over effective combinations or ring craft. Leaning on is not always punished and like Andre noted body punching is not utilised or rewarded like it would be in the pros.

The rest of the world started caring about boxing, that is why the US decline has set in, true story.

Originally Posted by THE PHILOSOPHER

The rest of the world started caring about boxing, that is why the US decline has set in, true story.

We always cared but you started caring less. Your great teams 76, 84 have been declining for years. Ward was your last great fighter.

Originally Posted by Master

Originally Posted by THE PHILOSOPHER

The rest of the world started caring about boxing, that is why the US decline has set in, true story.

We always cared but you started caring less. Your great teams 76, 84 have been declining for years. Ward was your last great fighter.

How is ward our last great fighter? Im a brit. Our next great amatuer fighter is about to be announced over the next few days. Our last one is frankie gavin.

P.s the soviets boycotted the 84 games.

Originally Posted by THE PHILOSOPHER

Originally Posted by Master

Originally Posted by THE PHILOSOPHER

The rest of the world started caring about boxing, that is why the US decline has set in, true story.

We always cared but you started caring less. Your great teams 76, 84 have been declining for years. Ward was your last great fighter.

How is ward our last great fighter? Im a brit. Our next great amatuer fighter is about to be announced over the next few days. Our last one is frankie gavin.

P.s the soviets boycotted the 84 games.

Sorry thought you were a yank.

I actually thought your gitl did enough to pull it back in the last round there.

USA: Population of 314.1 million - 0 Medals in Boxing

Ireland: Population of 4.6 million - 4 Medals in Boxing

Shame about the rest of the games...

Comparing amateur boxing to pro boxing is like comparing MMA to Kung Fu or Snooker to Pool. It’s two completely (Though similar) different sports.

Maybe society has changed now and the black kids that dominated the USA amateur scene back in the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s have more options now.

I don’t know the answer but remember the USA amateur boxing still does top the all time medal list and when you consider that they have stunk the place out for the past 3 or 4 Olympics that just shows how strong the USA Olympic boxing team previously were.

The handling of the amateurs has been piss poor, we used a trainer that couldn't sit next to the ring. The good news is now that we know there's a problem and it's this drastic then steps will be taken to remedy the situation.

I liked Claressa Shields. She's got it.