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Hey Guys, check this article out from Yahoo Sports:</span>
</span>
<h1>Is Hopkins the last great African-American fighter?</span></h1>
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Posted December 29th 2008 at 09:17pm
<h2>By Joseph Santoliquito</span></h2>
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Are
there any African-American boxers who can pick up the torch from
Bernard Hopkins (right), seen here nailing Kelly Pavlik with a right
cross, once the great fighter finally retires? Photo / Ed
Mullholland/Fightwireimages</font>
If Jack Johnson were alive today, he'd be shaking his head in his hands
at the station of the African-American fighter in boxing.
He might assume that it was 1908 again, with the dearth of great
African-American fighters in the sport. So for now, "Papa Jack" will be
left with turning over in his grave at the current state of
African-American fighters.
It's not good.
Want to make a quick judgment? Simply look around the next time you're
sitting ringside at a major fight. Make a mental inventory of the
number of African-American fans you see in the stands and more
importantly how many inside the ring on world-class fight cards today.
Some call it a crisis. Some recognize it as a correctable problem.
Others say that it's just a sign of the times; that the globalization
of boxing has eased out African-American fighters, giving way to
talented Eastern European boxers.
What is certain is that only oneâ€â€that's one African-American fighter is
in The Ring's pound-for-pound top 10, Bernard Hopkins. In the February
2009 issue of The Ring, 20 of the 176 fighters rated are
African-Americans.
Compare that to 10 years ago, when in the February 1999 issue of The
Ring there were five African-Americans rated in the top 10 (Roy Jones,
Evander Holyfield, Mark Johnson, Pernell Whitaker, and Shane Mosley).
What's more, 43 of the 170 fighters rated were African-American.
Take a look at the pathetic shape of today's heavyweight division. In
the February 2009 issue of The Ring, not one African-American was rated
in the top 10. Not one. Now go back 10 years ago and you'd find six
(Evander Holyfield at No. 1, George Foreman No. 3, Michael Grant No. 4,
Michael Moorer No. 5, Shannon Briggs No. 6, and Chris Byrd No. 7).
Go back even further, to March 1990, and you'd see that seven of the
top-10 heavyweights were African-American, headed by Mike Tyson (with
one European, Gary Mason of England, who was rated 10th). You would
also notice that 45 African-American fighters of 170 were rated, and
six of the top-10 pound-for-pound were African-Americans, topped again
by "Iron Mike."
"We are in a crisis stage," said Hopkins, who at 43 holds the mantle of
today's African-American fighters. "This change didn't happen in the
top 10 last month, it came gradually. Look at the change, with the
Eastern Europeans in boxing. Look at the champions and titlists, they
are European. African-Americans ruled the heavyweight division. That's
not the case anymore. There is a lack of talent and lack of bright
stars.
"Stars aren't being produced. It goes all the way down to the amateurs.
The average 17-, 18-, 19-year-old African-American kid, they don't make
the Olympics, they turn pro. They turn pro and they're not ready. The
future of the American fighter is in real danger, especially the
African-American fighters. Go into the gyms, you'll see boxers and
trainers, but I don't see someone on the level of Roy Jones, Bernard
Hopkins, Floyd Mayweather, Sugar Ray Leonard. The next two or three
years are going to be very important."
Hopkins said the lure of the streets takes away many potentially
talented African-American fighters. Teenaged athletes today simply
aren't shaped from the same discipline Hopkins had.
"Do you think some kid today who can make quick thousands on the street
is going to wake up at five in the morning for a five-mile run, do
you?" the former middleweight world champion and future Hall of Famer
asked. "That's not going to happen. The attention span of these kids
today is a second. I'm not giving up. I don't think anyone should give
up. There is a problem with discipline over the long haul. The average
inner-city kid, they're not Harvard graduates, they have short
attention spans. But that doesn't mean we should turn our backs on
them. We all have an obligation to go back and get kids involved with
boxing again, the African-American fighter can't give up."
Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward thinks there are plenty of great
African-American fighters today. They're just outside linebackers in
the NFL and power forwards in the NBA. He sees more inner-city kids
gravitating towards football and basketball, leaving boxing behind as
an afterthought.
Plus, Europe has finally caught up. Joe Calzaghe, Ricky Hatton, the Klitschko brothers rule the sport.
"These other countries are more focused into boxing, especially in
Eastern Europe, than the black kids in the inner-city," Steward said.
"Those kids want to be basketball and football players. That's what
they want to do. Latin kids are going into the gyms in droves. It's
just how the sport changes now and it's going to stay that way for
awhile.
"One of the problems we have, and no one wants to hear this, is that
there are no more trainers. We have no trainers in the inner-city. The
kids in Europe are getting a better amateur background and they teach
basics. Our kids don't have trainers who teach anymore. They're
conditioners. The European fighters are more disciplined and focused
than our black kids."
If fighters like Hopkins are the present, then Chad Dawson and Daniel Jacobs are the future of African-American fighters.
Jacobs, a 21-year-old middleweight with a 13-0 (12) record, broached an interesting point.
"African-Americans are much better off (socio-economically) than they
were 30, 40 years ago," said the budding prospect who is one of the
rising young stars in the game. "When African-Americans dominated the
sport, they had their backs against the wall and had no other choices
than to go into boxing. They trained so hard and boxing was all they
had. Maybe that's why you might not find another Bernard Hopkins or
Floyd Mayweather again, because they were very dedicated to the sport.
They trained accordingly. Young people don't commit to boxing like they
should.
"I don't know if it's being sidetracked to the money and the fame. But
I saw it happen to my peers, not just with boxing in general. Back in
the day, you used boxing to get out of the hood. Jack Johnson and
Muhammad Ali had something to prove and live for, but there are so many
opportunities that black kids have today that they didn't have 20 years
ago."
What boxing needs is a great African-American heavyweight that everyone
could identify with, says Showtime boxing analyst Steve Farhood.
"Because boxing is an individual sport, all it will take is one
fighter, probably a heavyweight, to change the perception of where the
African-American fighter is," Farhood said. "The right guy comes along
and that solves a lot of ills."
But Farhood tends to agree with Steward as to where the great black fighters are today.
"If there is a dearth, that's if, it's partly because of the
globalization of boxing. The tradition of boxing in the Hispanic
culture seems to be heavier and meatier than the African-American
culture, at least it does today. The increase of Eastern Europeans and
Latin fighters, the numbers of African-American fighters figures to go
down. I don't think anyone can argue the young inner-city kid is likely
to idolize and NFL player or NBA player (rather) than a boxer. There is
a shallow pool out there, and it's a problem. But I won't go as far as
saying we're in a crisis."
But someone will emerge. Hopefully, someone from the Andre Wards, Dawsons, Daniels, and Peterson brothers out there.
"It's fairly obvious what's going on," HBO ringside analyst Larry
Merchant said. "You usually extract quality from quantity. You may get
kids to occasionally come out, but not in the great numbers they once
did. That's something we all have to accept. Boxing has become more
global. That's one aspect of it. It's no longer part of the social
fabric of this country, part of the mines and the farms and the mills,
with kids using boxing as a way to fight out and up. Inner-city
youngsters don't dream about being heavyweight champion anymore. They
dream about being basketball and football players. They dream about
college scholarships, and that's a good thing."
Dawson leaned heavily towards basketball. He was a very good high
school player. But Dawson received a stern shove in boxing's direction.
If it wasn't for poor grades preventing him from playing in high
school, Dawson would have pursued basketball in college and possibly
tried to play professionally in Europe.
Boxing would have been missing a young star.
"My dream was to go to the NBA, that's what I wanted to do, but boxing
was in my blood," the IBF light heavyweight titlist said. "From being a
little kid, from middle school and high school, I got caught up with
the hoop dream. When I got to high school, you see all the basketball
players with all the attention and all the girls. You see that and
that's what you want.
"I chose boxing as a last resort. My two older brothers were fighters,
my father was a fighter. When I was 17, I wasn't running. I didn't
start taking boxing seriously until I was 23. I would box, make some
money and just blow it. I was able to get by, (but then) I started
getting committed. I was lucky I found my calling. I don't know if
there are guys out there willing to wait until they're 23 to get going,
but I think there is hope for the young black fighters in this country.
I have a responsibility to help."
Somewhere, you'd like to think, Jack Johnson is smiling over the
attitude of Hopkins, Dawson, and Jacobs. They all feel obligated to
give back to the sport that has provided so much for themâ€â€so much rich
history.
"I know a lot of young black fighters who don't know who Jack Johnson
is, and that's a shame," said Jacobs. "All I know is that Jack
Johnson's dreams live on through Bernard Hopkins and Chad Dawson. They
live on through me."
Edited by: indianwhite
</span>
<h1>Is Hopkins the last great African-American fighter?</span></h1>
<div>
<div>
Posted December 29th 2008 at 09:17pm
<h2>By Joseph Santoliquito</span></h2>
</div>
<div>
<t></t><table>
<t><tr>
<td>
</td>
<td style="padding: 5px 0px 0px 5px;">
</td>
</tr>
</t></table>
</div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
Are
there any African-American boxers who can pick up the torch from
Bernard Hopkins (right), seen here nailing Kelly Pavlik with a right
cross, once the great fighter finally retires? Photo / Ed
Mullholland/Fightwireimages</font>
If Jack Johnson were alive today, he'd be shaking his head in his hands
at the station of the African-American fighter in boxing.
He might assume that it was 1908 again, with the dearth of great
African-American fighters in the sport. So for now, "Papa Jack" will be
left with turning over in his grave at the current state of
African-American fighters.
It's not good.
Want to make a quick judgment? Simply look around the next time you're
sitting ringside at a major fight. Make a mental inventory of the
number of African-American fans you see in the stands and more
importantly how many inside the ring on world-class fight cards today.
Some call it a crisis. Some recognize it as a correctable problem.
Others say that it's just a sign of the times; that the globalization
of boxing has eased out African-American fighters, giving way to
talented Eastern European boxers.
What is certain is that only oneâ€â€that's one African-American fighter is
in The Ring's pound-for-pound top 10, Bernard Hopkins. In the February
2009 issue of The Ring, 20 of the 176 fighters rated are
African-Americans.
Compare that to 10 years ago, when in the February 1999 issue of The
Ring there were five African-Americans rated in the top 10 (Roy Jones,
Evander Holyfield, Mark Johnson, Pernell Whitaker, and Shane Mosley).
What's more, 43 of the 170 fighters rated were African-American.
Take a look at the pathetic shape of today's heavyweight division. In
the February 2009 issue of The Ring, not one African-American was rated
in the top 10. Not one. Now go back 10 years ago and you'd find six
(Evander Holyfield at No. 1, George Foreman No. 3, Michael Grant No. 4,
Michael Moorer No. 5, Shannon Briggs No. 6, and Chris Byrd No. 7).
Go back even further, to March 1990, and you'd see that seven of the
top-10 heavyweights were African-American, headed by Mike Tyson (with
one European, Gary Mason of England, who was rated 10th). You would
also notice that 45 African-American fighters of 170 were rated, and
six of the top-10 pound-for-pound were African-Americans, topped again
by "Iron Mike."
"We are in a crisis stage," said Hopkins, who at 43 holds the mantle of
today's African-American fighters. "This change didn't happen in the
top 10 last month, it came gradually. Look at the change, with the
Eastern Europeans in boxing. Look at the champions and titlists, they
are European. African-Americans ruled the heavyweight division. That's
not the case anymore. There is a lack of talent and lack of bright
stars.
"Stars aren't being produced. It goes all the way down to the amateurs.
The average 17-, 18-, 19-year-old African-American kid, they don't make
the Olympics, they turn pro. They turn pro and they're not ready. The
future of the American fighter is in real danger, especially the
African-American fighters. Go into the gyms, you'll see boxers and
trainers, but I don't see someone on the level of Roy Jones, Bernard
Hopkins, Floyd Mayweather, Sugar Ray Leonard. The next two or three
years are going to be very important."
Hopkins said the lure of the streets takes away many potentially
talented African-American fighters. Teenaged athletes today simply
aren't shaped from the same discipline Hopkins had.
"Do you think some kid today who can make quick thousands on the street
is going to wake up at five in the morning for a five-mile run, do
you?" the former middleweight world champion and future Hall of Famer
asked. "That's not going to happen. The attention span of these kids
today is a second. I'm not giving up. I don't think anyone should give
up. There is a problem with discipline over the long haul. The average
inner-city kid, they're not Harvard graduates, they have short
attention spans. But that doesn't mean we should turn our backs on
them. We all have an obligation to go back and get kids involved with
boxing again, the African-American fighter can't give up."
Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward thinks there are plenty of great
African-American fighters today. They're just outside linebackers in
the NFL and power forwards in the NBA. He sees more inner-city kids
gravitating towards football and basketball, leaving boxing behind as
an afterthought.
Plus, Europe has finally caught up. Joe Calzaghe, Ricky Hatton, the Klitschko brothers rule the sport.
"These other countries are more focused into boxing, especially in
Eastern Europe, than the black kids in the inner-city," Steward said.
"Those kids want to be basketball and football players. That's what
they want to do. Latin kids are going into the gyms in droves. It's
just how the sport changes now and it's going to stay that way for
awhile.
"One of the problems we have, and no one wants to hear this, is that
there are no more trainers. We have no trainers in the inner-city. The
kids in Europe are getting a better amateur background and they teach
basics. Our kids don't have trainers who teach anymore. They're
conditioners. The European fighters are more disciplined and focused
than our black kids."
If fighters like Hopkins are the present, then Chad Dawson and Daniel Jacobs are the future of African-American fighters.
Jacobs, a 21-year-old middleweight with a 13-0 (12) record, broached an interesting point.
"African-Americans are much better off (socio-economically) than they
were 30, 40 years ago," said the budding prospect who is one of the
rising young stars in the game. "When African-Americans dominated the
sport, they had their backs against the wall and had no other choices
than to go into boxing. They trained so hard and boxing was all they
had. Maybe that's why you might not find another Bernard Hopkins or
Floyd Mayweather again, because they were very dedicated to the sport.
They trained accordingly. Young people don't commit to boxing like they
should.
"I don't know if it's being sidetracked to the money and the fame. But
I saw it happen to my peers, not just with boxing in general. Back in
the day, you used boxing to get out of the hood. Jack Johnson and
Muhammad Ali had something to prove and live for, but there are so many
opportunities that black kids have today that they didn't have 20 years
ago."
What boxing needs is a great African-American heavyweight that everyone
could identify with, says Showtime boxing analyst Steve Farhood.
"Because boxing is an individual sport, all it will take is one
fighter, probably a heavyweight, to change the perception of where the
African-American fighter is," Farhood said. "The right guy comes along
and that solves a lot of ills."
But Farhood tends to agree with Steward as to where the great black fighters are today.
"If there is a dearth, that's if, it's partly because of the
globalization of boxing. The tradition of boxing in the Hispanic
culture seems to be heavier and meatier than the African-American
culture, at least it does today. The increase of Eastern Europeans and
Latin fighters, the numbers of African-American fighters figures to go
down. I don't think anyone can argue the young inner-city kid is likely
to idolize and NFL player or NBA player (rather) than a boxer. There is
a shallow pool out there, and it's a problem. But I won't go as far as
saying we're in a crisis."
But someone will emerge. Hopefully, someone from the Andre Wards, Dawsons, Daniels, and Peterson brothers out there.
"It's fairly obvious what's going on," HBO ringside analyst Larry
Merchant said. "You usually extract quality from quantity. You may get
kids to occasionally come out, but not in the great numbers they once
did. That's something we all have to accept. Boxing has become more
global. That's one aspect of it. It's no longer part of the social
fabric of this country, part of the mines and the farms and the mills,
with kids using boxing as a way to fight out and up. Inner-city
youngsters don't dream about being heavyweight champion anymore. They
dream about being basketball and football players. They dream about
college scholarships, and that's a good thing."
Dawson leaned heavily towards basketball. He was a very good high
school player. But Dawson received a stern shove in boxing's direction.
If it wasn't for poor grades preventing him from playing in high
school, Dawson would have pursued basketball in college and possibly
tried to play professionally in Europe.
Boxing would have been missing a young star.
"My dream was to go to the NBA, that's what I wanted to do, but boxing
was in my blood," the IBF light heavyweight titlist said. "From being a
little kid, from middle school and high school, I got caught up with
the hoop dream. When I got to high school, you see all the basketball
players with all the attention and all the girls. You see that and
that's what you want.
"I chose boxing as a last resort. My two older brothers were fighters,
my father was a fighter. When I was 17, I wasn't running. I didn't
start taking boxing seriously until I was 23. I would box, make some
money and just blow it. I was able to get by, (but then) I started
getting committed. I was lucky I found my calling. I don't know if
there are guys out there willing to wait until they're 23 to get going,
but I think there is hope for the young black fighters in this country.
I have a responsibility to help."
Somewhere, you'd like to think, Jack Johnson is smiling over the
attitude of Hopkins, Dawson, and Jacobs. They all feel obligated to
give back to the sport that has provided so much for themâ€â€so much rich
history.
"I know a lot of young black fighters who don't know who Jack Johnson
is, and that's a shame," said Jacobs. "All I know is that Jack
Johnson's dreams live on through Bernard Hopkins and Chad Dawson. They
live on through me."
Edited by: indianwhite
