BoxRec

Looking through the rankings there is actually alot of quantity although maybe not quality. But its difficult to see quality without them fighting each other.

We know Jennings has beaten few good undefeated fighters, wilder has done what he was supposed to do and Thompson has proven to be good.
But alot of them need to fight each other to show who is actually world rated

Franklin Lawrence returned from a long hiatus but the undefeated guys like Charles martin, Dominic breazedale and Gerald Washington. Then you got Eric Molina and Travis Kaufman struggling to get good fights. Arreola is injured.

I know there is a triple header next 2 weeks which should give an idea but there needs to be some sore of tournament in USA for the Next best heavyweight.

u also got eddie chambers , tarver, banks etc

"American Heavyweights... stay away from me.... American Heavyweights..." etc.

Charles Martin and Bryant Jennings look like the best of them.

I'm not sure about Dominic Breazeale yet, he might do okay. Michael Hunter may have some potential.

I'm not impressed with Gerald Washington, he'll prove easy for any top 25 heavyweight to outbox. Travis Kauffman isn't very good, I'm fairly sure he'll lose top any top 50 HW opponent. Franklin Lawrence is age 39, he's getting too old to be an up-and-comer. Andy Ruiz Jr won't go far unless he gets into better shape.

Bryant Jennings, Steve Cunningham, Chris Arreola, Malik Scott, and Tony Thompson have had pretty solid matchmaking lately. The other Americans need more activity and/or better opposition.

I feel like Mansour is decent test for any of the heavies above. He looked good in his last fight, producing a scary looking knockout. He might be old but he is still learning the finer points of boxing.

Does Andy Ruiz count as American? I know on here he's listed as Mexican but he was born in a border town. How long has he lived in the US? I lived in San Diego & half my work colleagues were Mexifornian.

Anyway, Ruiz has speed & skills but he weighed 20+ pounds more in his last bout than the previous one. I thought he was a fat pudendum before but now he must be massive.

I don't see how any 25 year old can be in that shape, let alone a professional athlete.

But he's still managed to build up a 9 fight winning streak against ok opposition.

On another note, America is never going to be the main man in Heavyweight boxing anymore. The US had the biggest fighters due to many things and globalisation has changed all that. We'll see various fighters from various countries being top dog from now on. And that is the reason why America won't be watching boxing as much anymore. Average American Joe only wants 'World' champions to come from the US or they're not interested. Just check out the NFL, NBA & MLB for proof of this.

The above statement is not a dig at America or boxing fans. Just my view on the average American sports fan after having lived in this wonderful country for almost two decades.

2015 is the year for a lot of the upcoming heavyweights. So hopefully they make a buzz and bring some attention back to the American heavyweight division.

I enjoy watching boxing regardless of where a fighter is from but I admit the lack of any quality American heavys is a downer for me. I just don't see guys with great athletic talent going into boxing when there's football & basketball. Too much risk. Now you have superbly conditioned fighters who work hard at their craft, but who lack that spark of talent that makes you take notice of them. I don't watch as much as I used to so I may not be the best judge. I just never see a guy who impresses me with his speed or power. I just see boxers who are in much better shape than fighters years ago but who don't grab me.

Andy Ruiz is a joke, first guy he fights with a pulse stops him.

Fouc33 wrote:Andy Ruiz is a joke, first guy he fights with a pulse stops him.

Probably, or he could end up as a "moderately/somewhat successful" fighter kind of like a new Joe Hipp :)
Funny, I had completely forgotten about Hipp until Ruiz's body type was mentioned.

cjdragon wrote:

Fouc33 wrote:Andy Ruiz is a joke, first guy he fights with a pulse stops him.

Probably, or he could end up as a "moderately/somewhat successful" fighter kind of like a new Joe Hipp :)
Funny, I had completely forgotten about Hipp until Ruiz's body type was mentioned.

I'm sure he'll make his money and stay around for awhile, I meant he was a joke for the people who think this guy is a contender of any kind. I just don't see that.