So who's the next "great American hope" in boxing?

[Spicoli]

There is a huge Y that seperates hope from hype. Hype comes first. There is alot of talent out there and yes personality sells as much as ability, its a mutual package. Thing is it seems a trend to sell yourself as the villian. Boxing has become very much like 'Wrastlin. People do want to see people lose. I've been there...Whitaker, Mosley, Jones jr, Mayweather but at the same time the skill cannot be denied. We have guys today that have obvious skill, but have literally done nothing...put shovel to dirt or pen to paper wise. They are pushed as product, pre packaged and embrace the Jersey Shores approach to the sport. Yes, think Broner here. Berto had skill but you could see him derailing even while he was winning. He like ALOT of guys have 'hope' and 'hype' pushed ahead of simply mastering the basics and dicipline it will take to have a long telling career. He was never required to fix his mistakes because his hype was constant! Gamboa, Rios etc. They don't fix things they just pack on weight and drop trinkets on the scale. I know..back to American. You have a guy like Andre Ward on the other side who has all the ability and frankly top notch accomplishments but to some its like sitting a glass of sour milk under the nose of a very thirsty public. He's not a character and he's bland as hell, but he's a winner.

[TitoFan]

You're right, Spicoli... personality sells as much as ability. Boxing is not wrestling, but unfortunately the same principle applies. Maybe "Money" Mayweather is not such a bad guy deep inside, and he's just using his bad boy personna to sell tickets. He's got the ability to go along with the personality, so good for him. But like IamInuit said and I agree... there's been a slow, steady shift throughout the years where now we expect our heroes to be controversial bad boys. In and out of jail.... etc, etc. To be sure, there's been tremendous fighters (i.e. - stars) that haven't needed any of this B.S. to be universally liked and successful. You mentioned Mosley. There's a good example. Save for his issues with PED use, which a lot of fans won't forgive him for...... Shane always came across as a "good guy." When did you ever see Shane embroiled in a weigh-in push and shove contest?

I keep mentioning Sugar Ray Leonard. Maybe it's because back then... you didn't NEED any of these shenanigans to be popular with the masses. You just had to be good and exciting to watch.

You mentioned Ward. He's a wonderfully gifted fighter, with some impressive wins on this record. Why isn't he a household name, like Floyd? I dunno.... maybe it's the weight division he resides in.... maybe it's the lack of big names around him.... maybe it's his bland personality. Who knows?

Unlike some people here, I don't measure boxers solely on their PPV numbers. It's a matter of personal choice. I'll respect those who choose to use that as a measuring stick.... but I'll stick to my own criteria.