02.04.06 – By Chris Acosta: That was one of the many sarcastic quotes from one of the Naked Gun movies played by the hilariously deadpan Leslie Nielson. And at the time of the film which played in the early 90’s, it was a fairly accurate quote too. Having gotten into boxing in the early 80’s, I was intrigued by the absence of white fighters competing at the elite level. I remember Bobby Czyz and Ray Mancini but they were always a level below the very best.. Barry McGuigan and Stevie Collins were unbreakable but each showed limitations against quicker boxers. Tommy Morrison was the only Caucasian heavyweight contender out there and while he had the hand speed, power and heart of a real contender, he was also saddled with a chin ricketier than a row of dominos next to a railroad track, the stamina of a smoker and sloppy defense.
Movie director Spike Lee once remarked that the Rocky movies were the only way white society could have a heavyweight boxing champion. It was even rumored that former champion Lennox Lewis had declared his embarrassment if he were toppled by the opposing color. The term “white hope” was used in a rather undignified manner by the media: part insult, part self-deprecating joke, but a truth at heart, hidden just enough so that we could decide for ourselves whether to uncover it or not. (Though I believe it was Jack Johnson who served as the catalyst for the term during his run of the division).
Was this entire conjecture racist by definition? Sure it was but you’d be mildly pressed to make a valid argument to the contrary. Jeesh, the Gerry Cooney jokes still pop up from time to time and that dead horse has been beaten worse than Cooney himself was by Larry Holmes. The situation was so bad in fact, that one had to wonder why a white guy would even want to box in the first place (No representation without pigmentation?). The thought was that while Caucasian fighters were tough, they lacked the reflexes, physical nuance and rhythm of black and Hispanic boxers.
For nearly half a century, talented white fighters were a sporting drought, but like Bigfoot, you’d hear about one every now and then. But it wasn’t always that way. In the 40’s thru 60’s, white boxers were represented by the accomplishments of Rocky Marciano, Jake Lamotta, Rocky Graziano, Jack Dempsey, Willie Pep and too many more to mention. I remember seeing hours of footage of guys like Gene Fulmer and Carmen Basilio and wondering where all these tenacious white guys had gone to and whether they’d ever return.
It was a “Golden Age” of sorts because boxing was ethnically driven; more so than other sports. Now in the right minds, this team mentality can actually be good as it boosts community spirit and sells tickets at light speed. Much like the World Cup in soccer, it was bigger than competing for city bragging rights; it was battling for your very blood. It was perhaps more important than the Olympics because it was for money so consequently, boxing was run by an entity even worse than alphabet groups and The Mob.
With the arrival of the late 70’s and early 80’s, the tension to find a white savior became greater. White fighters were fewer and further between. Now many attribute this to economics because if there was one sport today that thrives in the face of poverty, it’s boxing. Minorities in the United States simply did not have the educational opportunities available today so the options were scarce at best. Boxing isn’t the land of milk, honey, signing bonuses out of high school, home tutors and the like. The stories of boxers having to overcome terrible upbringings is a clichéd one, but it’s a hard truth and thanks to the reality show “The Contender”, many people realize just how valid this point is.
White boxers, for all of their effort, became something of as novelty just as Tiger Woods or the Williams sisters are today. But unlike Woods or the Williams siblings, they weren’t dominating the sport. They were punch lines quite literally, an almost unwelcome presence and grossly overmatched commodity. Most of all, white fighters were a microcosmic gauge of just how far society has to go in terms of ethnic acceptance. But we had yet to see the potential of it all coming full circle for while Caucasian fighters may not have been in great abundance here in the USA, that didn’t mean they weren’t out there.
Does anyone recall ESPN introducing the Artimiev brothers in 1991 (which came on the heels of ending Cold War) to a curious American audience? They were billed as a sort of “Red Threat” to American dominance in the sport and while they were moderately talented, the siblings were just the tip of the iceberg. As the political climate in the old Soviet Union had changed so did its sporting opportunity. Once resigned to the amateur ranks, boxers seeking to cash in on their talents were free to pursue the American Dream. Just like that, you had fighters coming in from places we couldn’t pronounce: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and The Ukraine. It would still take a few more years for the assault to become full- scale but in the meantime we were treated to a walking premonition in the form of Kostya Tszyu.
Tszyu was a decorated amateur and after the Soviet collapse, fled with his wife to Australia where he became a citizen. It was a great story but still difficult for many Americans to embrace someone who was not one of their own or of Mexican heritage (considering its proximity to the States). Adding to the confusion was that Tszyu was also of Korean descent and for a country that can barely speak one language right, it was almost too much. This little dynamo was a walking melting pot and a taste of what was to come.
A look through the current Ring Magazine shows that of the 170 fighters occupying a space in each division top ten, 42 are of European. And of those 42, there are some outstanding ones; Joe Calzaghe and Ricky Hatton for instance. Beyond that, there are some very good fighters like Felix Sturm, Arthur Abraham, Zsolt Erdei, Mikkel Kessler, Wladimir Klitschko and now Sergei Liakhovich (all of whose names are underlined in red on my spell check system). In the case of the Heavyweights, Ivan Drago seems to coming at us in several different forms. Klitschko, Liakhovich and Nicolay Valuev are here and what of the cousins Ibragimov, Timur and Sultan? The former has his big test coming up against American Calvin Brock and should he win, will take us one step closer to an overthrow of an American ruling party that in truth began with Lennox Lewis’s reign.
There used to be a certain style slur attached to the “European Style” of fighting that went right along with all those classic fistic no-no’s like keeping your chin up, dropping your hands and hooking with a hooker. Being a Caucasian fighter was once similarly accused and multiplied ten times if he was European. Not anymore. Now it seems, is a good time to start betting on the white guy.