The State of the Heavy Weight Division in the STATES

The sport of boxing is in needs an American Heavyweight. The United States has not produced a significant star in the heavy weight division since, well—Mike Tyson? Yes, I am sure avid boxing fans would disagree, curse me out, and shout the names of Hasim Rahman, Shannon Briggs, Chris Byrd, Lamont Brewster, or John Ruiz. If those names were twitter responses to that comment, I would reply with the appropriate acronyms of lol, lmao, rofl coupled with an inappropriate emoticon. So, maybe you didn’t hear me the first time. The United States has not produced a significant heavy weight titan, since Iron Mike Tyson—1987 people!

The newest and youngest prospect that holds promise, although he consistently comes to the ring in sub-par physical condition, is Chris Arreola who I actually REALLY like. In some of his interviews I have seen him exclaim, “Michael Phelps smokes weed, so why can’t I have a beer…” Firstly, Boxing is not swimming, and secondly you’re not MICHAEL PHELPS! We saw what happened when he fought one half of the inseparable former Soviet Studs, Vitali Klitschko on September 26th at the Staples Center. Since Emmanuel Steward has run off with the “I-Ching” of text book pugilism and trained the Klitschko brothers to summon the “God of Jabs”, I certainly hope other heavyweights take notice. I certainly believe Arreola will learn from the loss, and become a better fighter because of it.
Some critics of Prize Fighting argue that due to corruption in the sport, and the lack of a governing body, similar to that of the NFL, NBA, MLB, etc. that many of the athletes that would hold the MOST promise as heavyweights from the States, have turned to football, & even basketball…
Imagine Ray Lewis as a heavyweight…, Joey Porter, Julius Peppers, Brian Orakpo, or Justin Tuck… Even Lebron James or Carlos Boozer would make entertaining Prize Fighters… Boxing executives need to do something to reach the underprivileged, underserviced, & overlooked talent in our inner cities… Community outreach programs dedicated to academics, fitness, & boxing could provide necessary change for the sport that has been around since 688BC—Pygmachia… I am certain the next AMERICAN Heavyweight Champ can be discovered right here, in your city, Washington DC, New York, LA, Detroit, Philly, or Florida… Anywhere!!! All we need is dedicated fans and executives that really care about boxing.