Quote:
Originally Posted by Raider Ronnie
I used to Love watching Marvin fight!
What ever happened to pro boxing anyway ???
My guess, Tyson ruined it !!
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Tyson's way down on the list. Alphabet soup champions, corrupt promoters who have judges in their pockets leading to the perception of fixed fight, lack of quality American fighters except in the lower weight classes, heavyweight "champions" who couldn't have beaten the likes of George Chuvalo or Jimmy Young in the 60s/70s, a better standard of living that allows inner city kids who may have once turned to boxing to play other sports like football. These are some of the reasons I'd put ahead of Tyson. Tyson didn't damage the sport nearly as much as he damaged himself.
Poverty is what once fueled boxing. It's no accident that a lot of today's great fighters come from dirt poor Mexican villages and third world crapholes. Guys like Ali attended segregated schools that lacked the resources to field organized sports teams. Today, those schools are integrated and have the money to field football teams.