I have never thought that, but when a boxer refuses to travel then that diminishes his record.
It works both ways. If someone will never leave their home town or country then they are not taking the chances necessary to be considered truly great.
American Boxers don't have to travel to other parts of the world because the majority of great fighters end up traveling to America. I don't think its necessarily a requirement, if your fighting the best talent available then the location shouldn't really matter.
American Boxers have had the privilege of living in a country were Boxing's major events have been held, Las Vegas, New York, Atlantic City, and those major tourist attractions have also helped the fight game tremendously. If Boxings biggest events and fights were held in France then it would be the exact same situation but in another country.
However, I do think when you have certain foreign fighters that make a gallant effort to avoid coming to the United States and fighting under a that microscope, it really makes fans curious as to why or if that certain fighter might be avoiding a perceived tougher challenge.
Is it a bias, sure, but then again its no way to water down the fact that the best fighters migrate to the United States from all over the world, so coming to the United States might not necessarily mean fighting an American fighter it might just mean fighting on a larger stage.
Sometimes Americans do believe this but it is for a reason.
Ever since John L. Sullivan, boxing has been huge in the USA & the fact is that America is the wealthiest nation on earth THUS boxers who get fame in the USA have been the highest paid boxers in the world.
Money brings the best competition, no ifs and or buts about it.
With that said; some divisions may not get attention in the USA so they may not bring in as much money thus they don't bring the best competition but this is a minority of the cases.
Not absolutely, but most of the elite fighters fight in America (whether they are American or not). So when a fighter fights in another place and never comes to America to test themselves, American fans doubt their credential. Many fighters have been exposed fighting solely on foreign soil, yet many came here and proved themselves great. Pacquiao, Klitschko, Chavez, and many others came to America to prove they were the best
No ,i think Kubrat Pulev is good and i used to think GGG was good before they even fought in America ,but they should fight in Las Vegas which is sort of considered the "headquarters" of boxing ,that is where boxers that's never stepped outside their back yard get more recognition.
Question is, why would a fighter who is not from America NOT want to come here and show that he is the best?
For many Americans nothing exists outside of the USA so it's probably true. Their knowledge of world current affairs and/or geography is abysmal.
Is it true that American boxing fans seriously think that a boxer has to come and fight in America to be considered good?
