Thread: Former Soviet amateur system.

Why are the fighters from the former Soviet countries so dominant at the amateurs? What makes their amateur system so good?

They were older and had been boxing a lot longer than the American and British amateurs. They were allowed to do nothing but train and go to school. These guys weren't the down on their luck Rocky Balboa types they were groomed as kids to be boxers and that's the career they had.

Discipline and Motivation. You find the right raw material and the finished product is closer to your vision. Lets not forget that much of their national teams and athletic programs were tied to their military system.

Between hardship and the welfare and *ahem*protection of your family, those were great motivators. Same goes for many of the international Chinese gymnasts, etc. ... of course, I could be wrong....

Originally Posted by J_Undisputed

Discipline and Motivation. You find the right raw material and the finished product is closer to your vision. Lets not forget that much of their national teams and athletic programs were tied to their military system.

Between hardship and the welfare and *ahem*protection of your family, those were great motivators. Same goes for many of the international Chinese gymnasts, etc. ... of course, I could be wrong....

I heard Emanuel Steward once said that the place the Klitschkos grew up in make Detroit look like Club Med.

Ionas Chepulis was 29 when he fought the 19 year old George Foreman in the 1968 Mexico City Summer Olympics

The Cubans did the same thing hence the Tefelo Stevenson and Felix Savon aura's of invincibility...they were professional aged fighters that fought as amateurs

Originally Posted by El Kabong

Ionas Chepulis was 29 when he fought the 19 year old George Foreman in the 1968 Mexico City Summer Olympics

The Cubans did the same thing hence the Tefelo Stevenson and Felix Savon aura's of invincibility...they were professional aged fighters that fought as amateurs

Used to really piss me off when they would send their Red Army team to all the Amateur hockey scrums.

I've watched a documentary on Cuban boxing called Victory is Your Duty. It shows you just how much dedication the kids put into boxing and how much of their lives is just consumed by boxing.

I'm sure it must be a similar situation in Russia, being a former communist nation.

Originally Posted by VG_Addict

Originally Posted by J_Undisputed

Discipline and Motivation. You find the right raw material and the finished product is closer to your vision. Lets not forget that much of their national teams and athletic programs were tied to their military system.

Between hardship and the welfare and *ahem*protection of your family, those were great motivators. Same goes for many of the international Chinese gymnasts, etc. ... of course, I could be wrong....

I heard Emanuel Steward once said that the place the Klitschkos grew up in make Detroit look like Club Med.

Having lived in Detroit and in the Ukraine I can say that I never once felt an ounce of fear in the Ukraine even with a war 120 KM away. Detroit however, is a scary place. I'll be headed back to the Ukraine in October, poor place but great place.

Kiev is like one big ghetto, but it isn't scary.