Some people box for sport. Some people love getting hit. I'm one of them. Boxing is a sport. A combat sport but a sport. Dont be a dick.
Exactly why Dana didn’t sign him in the first place. There were to many good fighters for Dana to juice. He didn’t want Ben to get that belt and hold it 5 years with his “boring” style.
Getting hit in the face ain't a sport, and never will. The head isn't made to get hit (contrary to what Wanderlei Silva recently stated) Boxing as we presently know exists only because it makes a lot of money for certain people at the expense of many others, including their health. Take away the financial incentive and it will disappear in a nanosecond. Those claiming to enjoy it confuse it with masochism/sadism. Upbringing can do that to you. "Show me a boxer and I’ll show you a kid with an unhappy childhood"
True, boxing as we presently know it exists because it makes money... modern boxings entire infrastructure is rooted in and sustained by business. It is, a business. But boxing itself wouldnt disappear if you took money out of it. There will always be plenty of people who enjoy fighting, enjoy the work, enjoy the discipline, ect. The gyms Ive been to most of my life are filled with adults boxing, sparring and having amature fights that have no intention of ever turning pro... they just like to compete. Idk... just imo.
No he won't be kicking much ass in the UFC if any,sure he may win a couple of fights but they will be via boring decision as he is going to be against way better fighters then he has been feasting on in asia the last 5 years,I don't even think he wins his 1st fight against Lawler
Dissapointing to see GSP retire when three or four guys who would have been his toughest challenge to date were avoided. Come back and fight Bisping, but refuse to fight Romero, Whitaker, or Woodley.
It's most definitely a sport and easily 1 of the most physically and demanding sports there is and it's no surprise athletes from other sports and those just trying to stay fit in general copy a lot of the training techniques used in boxing.
What would certainly disappear is the "Win at any price, including my life" attitude. "I"m ready to die", "You"ll have to kill me to beat me", etc... No one would adopt that state of mind if money wasn't involved (with perhaps some rare exceptions: men obsessed in inflicting assault on fellow men) It would become simply a test of courage, dedication and skill, with both participants congratulating each other at the end.
Only if as you wrote one separates the training from the actual human contact. The problem that arises then is when one trains to inflict bodily harm, sooner or later he will actively look for opportunities to apply these skills on fellow people, whether justifiably or not.