Here's the Hopkins 'White Boy' incident

[El Kabong]

i dont think b hop is a racist i just think he dont dont see himself losing to white boy. everybody knows blacks make better sprinters then whites so i think the same goes in boxing (generally speaking of course) all the best p4p in my opinion are black

.....and white people make better swimmers......but is racist isn't it, it operates on a racial stereotype.

Believe it if you want to but I am absolutely 100% sure there is a white guy out there that can beat Bernard Hopkins right now: Joe Calzaghe, Andy Lee, Mikkel Kessler, Kelly Pavlik.....I am sure he'd lose to one of those guys

[Kev]

i dont think b hop is a racist i just think he dont dont see himself losing to white boy. everybody knows blacks make better sprinters then whites so i think the same goes in boxing (generally speaking of course) all the best p4p in my opinion are black

.....and white people make better swimmers......but is racist isn't it, it operates on a racial stereotype.

Believe it if you want to but I am absolutely 100% sure there is a white guy out there that can beat Bernard Hopkins right now: Joe Calzaghe, Andy Lee, Mikkel Kessler, Kelly Pavlik.....I am sure he'd lose to one of those guys

Nothing racist in that, decades of years of competition clearly bear that out. It's completely obvious that physical makeup will affect performance and people will do better or worse at certain sports based on body type, race etc.

When it comes to body type then obviously the biggest differences are in size, height, weight, etc and so clearly a 6 ft 5 in 230 lb man would make a much better rower, but a much worse distance runner than a 5 ft 7 130 lb man regardless of race.

Differences between race are more subtle and not as clearcut but decades of competition at the highest levels clearly demonstrates that some races do significantly better in some events than they do in others. It's not racist in the slightest to suggest that blacks are better at sprinting whilst whites are better at swimming since year in year out since before most of us were even born these results get confirmed .

Boxing however is far less clearcut as it depends on many skills and attributes. There are many different ways to win a boxing fight and two fighters of completely different build, power, stamina and physical makeup etc could both equally effective in their own way.

I don't think a definitive statement can be made regarding boxing as to which race is better as so many factors are involved. Certainly more of the top boxers are black but that may be attributable to social issues with black and South American athletes more likely to choose boxing as a sporting choice than whites.

It's an interesting question though and one that isn't racist at all as long as it's handled with sensitivity.

[1-hit Wonder]

Did this thread go from Bernard Hopkins to Charles Darwin?

Unfortunately, its not entirely conclusive that the process of natural evolution was actually involved in any way. Lyle made the point that white people are better swimmers than black people, it must be remembered that classing people as black or white can be entirely foolish due to the inherent differences between a Slav and an Angle or ethiopean and a libyan. In regards to why at the highest level swimming is white dominated there are many reasons; white people generally have greater access to a pool which are located in white areas, white people (at least western european) have a lesser muscle mass that for example polyenisian people (by 20%) thus allowing them greater buyoncy in the water.

Most of the great black american athletes that dominate sports are not actually superior athletes due to the fact that they are black (in that case why don't African nations dominate the sprints in the same manner as kenya and ethiopia in distance running) but actually because of slavery and the form of indentured labour that followed. A little known fact is that, sickeningly, black slaves who were for example strong and fast were *breeded* (shudders) with slaves with similiar charecterstics to create the "strong" slave or the "slim" slave. You would probably find that many of toadys greatest black atlethets descendents were probably part of the "athletic" slave group, and the improved physical traits have been passed on. Hence why Jamaica, a relavitvely small island and population but with a dark colonial and slave history, produces so many sprinters.

It may seem ridiculous that genetic traits can be passed on so significantly and quickly but remember many breeds of dog have only existed in the past 90 years such as the border collie sheep dog.

[Kev]

Did this thread go from Bernard Hopkins to Charles Darwin?

Unfortunately, its not entirely conclusive that the process of natural evolution was actually involved in any way. Lyle made the point that white people are better swimmers than black people, it must be remembered that classing people as black or white can be entirely foolish due to the inherent differences between a Slav and an Angle or ethiopean and a libyan. In regards to why at the highest level swimming is white dominated there are many reasons; white people generally have greater access to a pool which are located in white areas, white people (at least western european) have a lesser muscle mass that for example polyenisian people (by 20%) thus allowing them greater buyoncy in the water.

Most of the great black american athletes that dominate sports are not actually superior athletes due to the fact that they are black (in that case why don't African nations dominate the sprints in the same manner as kenya and ethiopia in distance running) but actually because of slavery and the form of indentured labour that followed. A little known fact is that, sickeningly, black slaves who were for example strong and fast were *breeded* (shudders) with slaves with similiar charecterstics to create the "strong" slave or the "slim" slave. You would probably find that many of toadys greatest black atlethets descendents were probably part of the "athletic" slave group, and the improved physical traits have been passed on. Hence why Jamaica, a relavitvely small island and population but with a dark colonial and slave history, produces so many sprinters.

It may seem ridiculous that genetic traits can be passed on so significantly and quickly but remember many breeds of dog have only existed in the past 90 years such as the border collie sheep dog.

Absolutely you make a good point with the connection to slavery, they were indeed bred as you say. It is absolutely horrific to imagine that that actually occurred

I also wonder if they have a greater tolerance to exercise and heat as a result of living in such a hot climate.

I think black's in general have a smaller chest cavity than white's but more muscle mass that makes it harder to swim as fast.

It's worth stating though that the differences are probably not massive and someone who excels at something would probably still excel regardless of their race.

[Trainer Monkey]

Now we're in to nature vs nurture
Lets take the Germantown section of Philly where I,and oddly enough B-hop are from
I can find you a basketball court,the high school has a football field(circled by a track field),a basketball court and a boxing gym in the vacinity
I cant on the other hand find you a hockey rink or an inground swimming pool
Now if you move out to the Suburbs,Id be hard pressed to find you a boxing gym,and just about all the guys playing b-ball are only playing horse half the time
Well guess who ends up being good at what

[donnydarkoIRL]

Same here...
The upper class are good at rugby and soccer.
The middle of the road working class country people play GAA
The city types do athletics and watersports.