>Someone mentioned boxing, and he used to like to argue that the reason so many great boxers were Irish and Italian and that's not true anymore is not because Irish and Italians don't have the genetics to compete against Hispanics and African-Americans in boxing, but they don't have the need to get punched in the face to make a living.
I think that this is basically true and the rise of Russian and other ex-Soviet state boxers fits with the pattern.
"Sometimes you don’t choose boxing, it chooses you. It’s the only sport that lets you escape violence and poverty through the act of violence itself. "
--Mike Tyson
