Wilder - was he the last Great Black Hope?

[Steel City]

I think * Larry Merchant meant the last great black American hope And if so he's right. Before Wilder there was a large gap remember from when the Soviet Union countries could turn pro... of no black american heavyweight champ. Hasim Rahman even referred to himself as the 'Great Black Hope' during this period. Then Wilder won the vacant WBC after Vitali retired, he had his protected little reign until Fury battered him
And it feels like there will probably be another very long gap of no Black American heavyweight champ, as the Brits and Eastern Euros are dominating, and although there is many Black American heavyweights none of them look good enough.

Is there any new Black Hopes to look out for? Was Wilder the last Great Black Hope?

[snake33]

No

[Tony1244]

I thought Joshua, Dubois, and Whyte were black?

[oogiebe]

I thought Joshua, Dubois, and Whyte were black?

Same here, but the OP said Merchant meant "American Black Hope." More of the same.

[ewenhay]

Seems to be an awful lot of threads just now based on colour dont you think?

[oogiebe]

OP is a newbie with an axe to grind.

[Steel City]

I thought Joshua, Dubois, and Whyte were black?

Whyte and Dubois are not champs Fury is the clear number 1

90% of the best Heavyweight prospects coming up are from Eastern Euro or ex Soviet Union countries >>> Usyk and Gassiev have just moved up. & Hrgovic, Dychko, Jalolov, Makhmudov, Majidov, Sirenko, Vykhurst, Zakhoyzhni etc

Anyway. I think what Larry Merchant meant was the last Great Black Hope from America.

Who is there? Charles Martin, Gerald Washington, Dominic Breazeale etc & prospects like Jermaine Franklin, Cassius Chaney, Darmani Rock, etc. They all don't seem good enough. I think it's gonna be a very long time till the next Black American heavyweight champ.

[margaret thatcher]

Some 'interesting' newcomers the last few days

[oogiebe]

Some 'interesting' newcomers the last few days

LOL! oh yes. The rise of Eastern Europeans, based on this one's posts.

[KiwiRider]

Michael Hunter is from California
He may not ever become a champion, but I still think of him as a contender. 31 seems about prime or near prime for a HW. Let's see how he does.

[Finkel]

Michael Hunter is from California
He may not ever become a champion, but I still think of him as a contender. 31 seems about prime or near prime for a HW. Let's see how he does.

Well hunter certainly fits the bill. But I think the optimal word is hope with him.

For me it would take one of the big two relinquishing belts, which lets face it is how Wilder got his strangle hold on a title.

[Tevfik1907]

No.

[Syntax Error]

Captain HGH aka Jarrel Miller looked vaguely promising.

He's back in the mix and long as no-one else spikes any of his drinks in future and he doesn't get banned again, he might be back in the frame at the top.

[Tony1244]

I thought Joshua, Dubois, and Whyte were black?

Whyte and Dubois are not champs Fury is the clear number 1

90% of the best Heavyweight prospects coming up are from Eastern Euro or ex Soviet Union countries >>> Usyk and Gassiev have just moved up. & Hrgovic, Dychko, Jalolov, Makhmudov, Majidov, Sirenko, Vykhurst, Zakhoyzhni etc

Anyway. I think what Larry Merchant meant was the last Great Black Hope from America.

Who is there? Charles Martin, Gerald Washington, Dominic Breazeale etc & prospects like Jermaine Franklin, Cassius Chaney, Darmani Rock, etc. They all don't seem good enough. I think it's gonna be a very long time till the next Black American heavyweight champ.

Gassiev has just moved up? From what? Losing a unanimous decision and being idle?

What ever happened to the great Tom Schwarz? Glaskov was a great prospect until he lost to his knee.

You have a lot of Assuming going on up there. ^

[KiwiRider]

Captain HGH aka Jarrel Miller looked vaguely promising.

He's back in the mix and long as no-one else spikes any of his drinks in future and he doesn't get banned again, he might be back in the frame at the top.

These days I'm calling him the last blobby standing. Who knows how long he has been juicing, and who knows what he is like off the juice.
My guess is he isn't that great off the juice. I make that consideration given the stuff he was caught with in his system.

[KiwiRider]

No.

I enjoyed that. So glad they included a windmill clip. I miss the windmill.

[candyslim]

Jared Anderson and Roney Hines in the longer term look decent young prospects who have mobility and can box. I might have added Marlo Moore but I don't know what's happened to him. Anyone know anything about Amron Sands?
I have doubts about the potential of Darmani Rock.

There are a few others looked promising but seem to have run out of ambition. Stephan Shaw, Nicholas Mazurek, Cassius Chaney, Marcus Carter to name just a few. I don't know a lot about these guys which I think is symptomatic of the problem.

Former good amateurs from what used to be the Soviet Union are by and large tough and experienced. They are almost exclusively the wrong side of thirty though, whereas kids like Anderson have years in which to develop.

From where I'm sat the situation doesn't seem as dire as it's painted, but then I'm just a limey - WTF would I know about US prospects compared to you guys? C'mon Oogie, Tony and Co. I need ejjercating !

[margaret thatcher]

This thread reminds me of the time some idiot posted that Wilder vs AJ would be the biggest black vs white race fight since Holmes vs Cooney

[margaret thatcher]

Jared Anderson and Roney Hines in the longer term look decent young prospects who have mobility and can box. I might have added Marlo Moore but I don't know what's happened to him. Anyone know anything about Amron Sands?
I have doubts about the potential of Darmani Rock.

There are a few others looked promising but seem to have run out of ambition. Stephan Shaw, Nicholas Mazurek, Cassius Chaney, Marcus Carter to name just a few. I don't know a lot about these guys which I think is symptomatic of the problem.

Former good amateurs from what used to be the Soviet Union are by and large tough and experienced. They are almost exclusively the wrong side of thirty though, whereas kids like Anderson have years in which to develop.

From where I'm sat the situation doesn't seem as dire as it's painted, but then I'm just a limey - WTF would I know about US prospects compared to you guys? C'mon Oogie, Tony and Co. I need ejjercating !

Tbh , Anderson seems like the only good American prospect atm. Rock is actually pretty talented, more so than often given credit for, but a total slob. I remember him looking great in the first round of an amateur fight, yet already being totally gassed and becoming totally sloppy by like 30 seconds into round 2. Doesn't seem to be one of those guys who can take the fat, unlike the Kownacki and Arreola types who can still fight hard anyway.

The top young American HW in the ams over the last few years has Richard Torrez, who beat Anderson a few times and won a few international tournaments, but he's also that guy who got absolutely wrecked by Jalolov.

[oogiebe]

Jared Anderson and Roney Hines in the longer term look decent young prospects who have mobility and can box. I might have added Marlo Moore but I don't know what's happened to him. Anyone know anything about Amron Sands?
I have doubts about the potential of Darmani Rock.

There are a few others looked promising but seem to have run out of ambition. Stephan Shaw, Nicholas Mazurek, Cassius Chaney, Marcus Carter to name just a few. I don't know a lot about these guys which I think is symptomatic of the problem.

Former good amateurs from what used to be the Soviet Union are by and large tough and experienced. They are almost exclusively the wrong side of thirty though, whereas kids like Anderson have years in which to develop.

From where I'm sat the situation doesn't seem as dire as it's painted, but then I'm just a limey - WTF would I know about US prospects compared to you guys? C'mon Oogie, Tony and Co. I need ejjercating !

To keep it simple: I'm a fan of Anderson, but it's way too early. Love his jab and body work though, and he looks fairly polished. Hines is going nowhere. Shaw has potential to be a decent stepping stone. Chaney is crap. Moton has drawn interest, but he's short and a bad body so as he moves up he'll get exposed I'm sure. Sands got beat in some tourney that isn't on his record and he doesn't look the part if you can find a vid on him. Darmani Rock doesn't have the drive necessary to be a decent fighter, but he seems to have some skills. It's a very short list right now. Torres will be one to watch if/when he turns pro. Overall I'm more excited about Makhmudov; Dubs; Sirenko; Vianello; and still Ajagba.

[KiwiRider]

Ive seen a Rock fight. That dude needs some serious cardio training- as Maggs alluded to.
Thing is, he is actually quite good. If he can work diligently on his fitness, there is no reason not to call him a prospect.

[Tony1244]

This thread reminds me of the time some idiot posted that Wilder vs AJ would be the biggest black vs white race fight since Holmes vs Cooney

Which ones the white guy?

[margaret thatcher]

Lol I know right

[Tony1244]

Lol I know right

Maybe the poster meant Fury-AJ and had a brain fart. Even if, few give a sh!t about that anymore.

[margaret thatcher]

I think the idea was that Eddie Hearn somehow meant AJ was a white guy lol, even though Shelly Finkel does about half of Wilder's talking for him too

I think Fury vs AJ is still a very hot fight btw