gary said:
Always remember there are no food stamps in Moscow.
Although I agree with your premise, Gary, that a struggle to make a living will make people more likely to pursue boxnig as a career, I don't think that explanation goes far enough in explaining the rise of Eastern Europeans in boxing.
For one, Vitali and Vlad are both well educated, with Ph.ds, fluent in many languages, and well off financially. But they continued to box, nonetheless. How many AMERICAN Phd's will you find in a boxing ring? I venture to guess, NONE.
I think part of the explanation is that Eastern Europeans haven't been fed a diet of white athletic inferiority since they were sucking on their mother's breast, like American whites. Its ingrained in our youth that they can't keep up physically with blacks, so they won't box, and if they do, they fight with fear instead of aggression. Not in all cases of course, but many.
I believe Eastern Europeans still believe that they, themselves, are actually superior to black athletes, and it shows in the ring, and the Olympics. They believe they can kick ass, so - they do.
Believing you can do it is half the battle.
Edited by: White Shogun