Why does USA amateurs suck at amateurs ? But then shine as a pro ?

[Master]

There has been a decline, whereas the UK fighters have improved.

The standard has declined because there are easier routes to make a living and the hunger is not there.

[IamInuit]

You don’t get spoon fed no hopers in the amateurs. When you see the guy for the first time its in the ring. With few exceptions on that list those people get guided to their "0" records. They are creations.

For the most part over the last decade Americans are matched soft. Wilder is a great example boasting a big 0 record having not done a thing really. Same with Thurman. Gets cold feet for a Shawn Porter fight. Lots of mouth on these guys though.

But the elephant in the room is that they are effectively 2 different sports.

Count your blessings though. Look at Rigo. An incredible record and fighter but he's still fighting in the cheap seats. Meanwhile you have frauds calling themselves champions raking in tens of millions of dollars.

[Britkid]

The UK had the London Olympics; there has been lots and lots of investment put into all Olympic sports and boxing has taken advantage.

The connection is, the US post the collapse of the Warsaw pact has seemingly lost interest in the Olympics and this has cost the amateur sport. And when the US is not successful at a sport it seems to die off for them, boxing is slowly going that way.

[Master]

So the key in investment and exposure of the sport results in better talent attracted to the game.

[denilson200]

You don’t get spoon fed no hopers in the amateurs. When you see the guy for the first time its in the ring. With few exceptions on that list those people get guided to their "0" records. They are creations.

For the most part over the last decade Americans are matched soft. Wilder is a great example boasting a big 0 record having not done a thing really. Same with Thurman. Gets cold feet for a Shawn Porter fight. Lots of mouth on these guys though.

But the elephant in the room is that they are effectively 2 different sports.

Count your blessings though. Look at Rigo. An incredible record and fighter but he's still fighting in the cheap seats. Meanwhile you have frauds calling themselves champions raking in tens of millions of dollars.

Great post. Good points.

And Rigo ? I mean. Look. You're not gonna see him begging for change in the streets but it's almost a disgrace the way the boxing world has treated him. He must be foaming at the mouth at the big fights and big paydays he's missing out on.

He'd be highly favoured to beat Frampton and Santa Cruz, but they're gonna make mint fighting each other in the summer, meanwhile he was gonna fight Jazza Dickens on a Terry Flanagan undercard.

It beggars belief. And I agree with all your points about the amateur system

[IamInuit]

You don’t get spoon fed no hopers in the amateurs. When you see the guy for the first time its in the ring. With few exceptions on that list those people get guided to their "0" records. They are creations.

For the most part over the last decade Americans are matched soft. Wilder is a great example boasting a big 0 record having not done a thing really. Same with Thurman. Gets cold feet for a Shawn Porter fight. Lots of mouth on these guys though.

But the elephant in the room is that they are effectively 2 different sports.

Count your blessings though. Look at Rigo. An incredible record and fighter but he's still fighting in the cheap seats. Meanwhile you have frauds calling themselves champions raking in tens of millions of dollars.

Great post. Good points.

And Rigo ? I mean. Look. You're not gonna see him begging for change in the streets but it's almost a disgrace the way the boxing world has treated him. He must be foaming at the mouth at the big fights and big paydays he's missing out on.

He'd be highly favoured to beat Frampton and Santa Cruz, but they're gonna make mint fighting each other in the summer, meanwhile he was gonna fight Jazza Dickens on a Terry Flanagan undercard.

It beggars belief. And I agree with all your points about the amateur system

Agreed. He was supposed to be fast tracked from the moment he got off the boat but he had the unfortunate timing and bad luck to be locked in with Arum and being a master boxer. In a world of 30 sec time slots and many fans not giving a shit about pugilism. I mean, his own promoter called him boring and HBO did not want him on the air because he didn't produce ko's and made everyone look pedestrian. Punished for something (a style) that Floyd made a billion on. The same kinds of things were being said about Ward. Today there is no room in boxing for pugilists lol. Its devolved and considerably. This may have started at the in with a bang success of the MMA etc I dont know. Perhaps this generations short attention span. In order to produce the desired effect you implement a system of mismatches.

[Sleepwalker]

Computer scoring in the amateurs over the past couple decades has had an impact as well. It can be detrimental to boxers who fight with aggression.

In addition, in the Olympics/amateur ranks, a soft right jab that lands cleanly is worth every bit as much as a pulverizing left hook. Amateur fighters aren't given any additional credit for hard-punching, effective aggression or for staggering or wobbling an opponent.

[El Kabong]

Easier to shine when you can hand pick your opponents rather than have a luck of the draw kind of match making.

[erics44]

Americans just don't have the balls for the professional game

in the ams you are well protected, youre not gonna get a pasting