BoxRec

Final round wrote:Cliff Richard is Indian

Do you really think that?

Partly what got him into boxing was getting bullied because of his East London accent, so on that alone we can claim him

It saddens me that people are still hung up on wether the guy is a "English"or the like .... dont care ... the guy got me into boxing and i will always be grateful to him for that and watching him was always a pleasure

And he surprised me with a phone call earlier in the year aswell!

Alba wrote:It saddens me that people are still hung up on wether the guy is a "English"or the like .... dont care ... the guy got me into boxing and i will always be grateful to him for that and watching him was always a pleasure

And he surprised me with a phone call earlier in the year aswell!

I dont know who you are but you're clearly important if you're getting phone calls off of Lennox Lewis

columbo wrote:

Alba wrote:It saddens me that people are still hung up on wether the guy is a "English"or the like .... dont care ... the guy got me into boxing and i will always be grateful to him for that and watching him was always a pleasure

And he surprised me with a phone call earlier in the year aswell!

I dont know who you are but you're clearly important if you're getting phone calls off of Lennox Lewis

not at all mate,it was something on Facebook ... i got picked !

Let's clear up one thing straight away. Lennox Lewis is British and was born in the English city of London. Lennox is British. Lennox was quite smart in that he knew he would have a big audience for his fights if he dropped the canadian heritage and put on the colours of his birth. People were excited, because here was a real genuine heavyweight hopefull when the heavyweight division still meant something. I remember meeting lennox at a weigh in for one of his fights in this country on a glorious sunday morning. Lennox signed his autograph for me and exchanged a few words and i followed him for all of his career. Lennox is one of my all time favourite fighters. Nationality does come into it though, otherwise you wouldn't have a top ten best British fighters list. such a thing wouldn't exist otherwise and i doubt we would have the same affection for Lennox if he had been born elsewhere. It's the same as in any sport. Why do sportsmen and sportswomen where national vests at the Olympics ? You could say, as has been suggested on here that you just appreciate an athlete for what they bring to a sport and that is true to a degree. We can all admire Christiano Ronaldo the footballer, but if your country plays Portugal, then you want your country to win, ie, England, Scotland, Wales, Rep of Ireland, Nothern Ireland in these isles.

columbo wrote:

Alba wrote:It saddens me that people are still hung up on wether the guy is a "English"or the like .... dont care ... the guy got me into boxing and i will always be grateful to him for that and watching him was always a pleasure

And he surprised me with a phone call earlier in the year aswell!

I dont know who you are but you're clearly important if you're getting phone calls off of Lennox Lewis

not at all mate,it was something on Facebook ... i got picked ![/quote]
Thats not something you experience everyday haha

Horse wrote:

billy nelson wrote:boxed pro mainly in USA and was it twice in UK,

He had 18 professional fights in the U.K.[/. I ment world title fights and forgot the McCall fight sorry

billy nelson wrote:

Horse wrote:

billy nelson wrote:boxed pro mainly in USA and was it twice in UK,

He had 18 professional fights in the U.K.

I actually ment whilst world champion

Lennox was all about the money. He would fight wherever the money was. At that time America was still the holy grail of heavyweight boxing. Bruno as an example would never have won a world title outside of Britain and needed that home advantage, the familiar environment, the crowd, where as Lennox didn't need that. He has often referrred to himself as a "Citizen of the world" which kind of sums up how he thinks. The bottom line is that whilst Lennox was the better boxer, Bruno will always be more loved. Bit like Bugner and Cooper. Bugner perhaps had the edge as an all round boxer, but Cooper was the one the crowd loved and that never changed years after he had retired from the ring.

Jamacain by nature, English by nurture.

Born in England, raised first 12 years of his life in England, qualifies him as being English. I really dont get anyone who thinks he's Canadian just because he represented Canada at the Olympics. He was bloody 12 when he moved there.

Joe Bugner born in Hungary moved to England when 6 and buggered off down under age 36

English all day long....... until he lost of course, then he was Canadian.

Lewis is English like Great Britains Mo Farrah is Somalian

Terry Butcher was born in Singapore - so he is a Singaporean.

Michael Bisping wa born in Cyprus - so of course he is a Cypriot.

Joanna Lumley was born in India so she of course is an Indian.

Look, identity is a very personal and subjective choice.

Lennox Lewis is more English than Matthew Macklin and Andy Lee are Irish but as long as they
see themselves as Irish and identify with that country why should anyone else care?

This thread seems to have turned into some kind of politically correct dogma, where people are going out of there way to refute that the fact that patriotism exists in all sporting fields. We can all come up with people who were born in other countries but have lived their lives in this country from a few months or years old. The fact is that most of the most people can view sporting figures and teams and appreciate them eitther because they are simply good at what they do OR because they represent your country. It all seems a bit wishy washy to me, with people trying their upmost not to offend anyone.

Nationality = British
Ethnicity = Jamaican
National identity = Canadian

When it boils right down to it, does it really matter at all?

Quixall wrote:This thread seems to have turned into some kind of politically correct dogma, where people are going out of there way to refute that the fact that patriotism exists in all sporting fields. We can all come up with people who were born in other countries but have lived their lives in this country from a few months or years old. The fact is that most of the most people can view sporting figures and teams and appreciate them eitther because they are simply good at what they do OR because they represent your country. It all seems a bit wishy washy to me, with people trying their upmost not to offend anyone.

Oh pardon me Geoffrey Boycott, sorry for breathing! There is nothing complicated about this
one I am afraid - if someone was born and lived life for the first 12 years in England then he is
English. It can't get simpler. He is hardly Bob Hope or Bob Fitzsimmons.

chad wrote:Nationality = British
Ethnicity = Jamaican
National identity = Canadian

When it boils right down to it, does it really matter at all?

Jamaican ethnicity - he is a Carib indian then?

There are Chinese, Germans, Lebanese, Indians who are also Jamaican - their national
motto is 'out of many we are one'.

If he was honest, I think he would class himself as Jamaican by ethnicity and Canadian, as his country. It all came done to money, as to why he choose to turn pro under the British banner.

His alligences are to Canada and Jamaica. I am sure I read somewhere where he is quoted as saying pretty much this.

bengulnaci1 wrote:If he was honest, I think he would class himself as Jamaican by ethnicity and Canadian, as his country. It all came done to money, as to why he choose to turn pro under the British banner.

His alligences are to Canada and Jamaica. I am sure I read somewhere where he is quoted as saying pretty much this.

Pretty much a whore then.

columbo wrote:

bengulnaci1 wrote:If he was honest, I think he would class himself as Jamaican by ethnicity and Canadian, as his country. It all came done to money, as to why he choose to turn pro under the British banner.

His alligences are to Canada and Jamaica. I am sure I read somewhere where he is quoted as saying pretty much this.

Pretty much a whore then.

A very rich whore

For the type of money Lennox made I'd be British, Canadian and Jamaican too.

Fat Git wrote:Terry Butcher was born in Singapore - so he is a Singaporean.

Michael Bisping wa born in Cyprus - so of course he is a Cypriot.

Joanna Lumley was born in India so she of course is an Indian.

Look, identity is a very personal and subjective choice.

Lennox Lewis is more English than Matthew Macklin and Andy Lee are Irish but as long as they
see themselves as Irish and identify with that country why should anyone else care?

Absolutely.

bengulnaci1 wrote:If he was honest, I think he would class himself as Jamaican by ethnicity and Canadian, as his country. It all came done to money, as to why he choose to turn pro under the British banner.

His alligences are to Canada and Jamaica. I am sure I read somewhere where he is quoted as saying pretty much this.

There is no such thing as Jamaican 'ethnicity' though, he would be broadly classified as an
Afro-Caribbean. His nationality could be Jamaican though if it wasn't for the fact he was born
and raised in London and has a British passport - unless he has revoked his citizenship.

Fat Git wrote:

Quixall wrote:This thread seems to have turned into some kind of politically correct dogma, where people are going out of there way to refute that the fact that patriotism exists in all sporting fields. We can all come up with people who were born in other countries but have lived their lives in this country from a few months or years old. The fact is that most of the most people can view sporting figures and teams and appreciate them eitther because they are simply good at what they do OR because they represent your country. It all seems a bit wishy washy to me, with people trying their upmost not to offend anyone.

Oh pardon me Geoffrey Boycott, sorry for breathing! There is nothing complicated about this
one I am afraid - if someone was born and lived life for the first 12 years in England then he is
English. It can't get simpler. He is hardly Bob Hope or Bob Fitzsimmons.

I don't think you read my post correctly, you seem to be agreeing with me and at the same time railing against me.......

Nothing complicated lol.......Oh the irony Have you actually read the posts on this thread ? Complicated is the word.

That was the whole point of my post.

He's all three, if that's what he wants. Even though I'm pure bred UK Caucasian I have a multicultural family and if was Multicultural myself I'd claim them all. But the dude was born and spent his childhood in England. He may have spent years in Canada and he may have West Indian roots, but he was born here and we're a mongrel nation anyway, especially London. He's English. Or British, if that's fairer. We claim Calzaghe, so the Welsh can claim Lennox