Boxers who would have made good MMA fighters

Discussion in 'MMA Forum' started by MixedMartialLaw, Mar 7, 2025.


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  1. MixedMartialLaw

    MixedMartialLaw combat sports enthusiast Full Member

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    An obvious choice would have been Jack Dempsey, who also trained in catch wrestling and judo. Any others?
     
    MixedMartialLaw, Mar 7, 2025
    MixedMartialLaw, Mar 7, 2025
    #1
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  2. Ioakeim Tzortzakis

    Ioakeim Tzortzakis Well-Known Member Full Member

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    Roberto Duran deserves a mention.
     
    Ioakeim Tzortzakis, Mar 7, 2025
    Ioakeim Tzortzakis, Mar 7, 2025
    #2
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  3. SixesAndSevens

    SixesAndSevens Gator Wrestler Extraordinaire Full Member

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    Larry Holmes.
     
    SixesAndSevens, Mar 7, 2025
    SixesAndSevens, Mar 7, 2025
    #3
  4. MixedMartialLaw

    MixedMartialLaw combat sports enthusiast Full Member

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    Don't believe Duran trained in other martial arts, but a tough mentality and good clinch fighting certainly wouldn't hurt as transferable skills.
     
    MixedMartialLaw, Mar 7, 2025
    MixedMartialLaw, Mar 7, 2025
    #4


  5. robert ungurean

    robert ungurean Богдан Philadelphia Full Member

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    Archie Moore
     
    robert ungurean, Mar 7, 2025
    robert ungurean, Mar 7, 2025
    #5
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  6. surfinghb

    surfinghb Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Got to go with Mike Gibbons who was fantastic wrestler before he started boxing
     
    surfinghb, Mar 7, 2025
    surfinghb, Mar 7, 2025
    #6
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  7. Seamus

    Seamus Proud Kulak Full Member

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    John L F'in Sullivan, trained by William Muldoon...
     
    Seamus, Mar 7, 2025
    Seamus, Mar 7, 2025
    #7
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  8. dmt

    dmt Hardest hitting hw ever Full Member

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    Bareknuckle guys like Sullivan

    Jack Johnson too since he was renowned for his physical strength.

    I know this is controversial but could you imagine Mike Tyson with bare knuckles? The combination of hand speed and power would be unparalleled. Most guys would be afraid of taking him down and he could easily destroy them standing up.

    GGG and Beterbiev both had some wrestling back ground and obviously are outstanding punchers so they would do well.
     
    dmt, Mar 7, 2025
    dmt, Mar 7, 2025
    #8
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  9. Charles White

    Charles White Chucker Full Member

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    With proper training, David Tua.
     
    Charles White, Mar 7, 2025
    Charles White, Mar 7, 2025
    #9
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  10. MixedMartialLaw

    MixedMartialLaw combat sports enthusiast Full Member

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    He does remind me, for some obvious reasons, of Mark Hunt.

    Two hard hitting samoans.
     
    MixedMartialLaw, Mar 7, 2025
    MixedMartialLaw, Mar 7, 2025
    #10
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  11. FThabxinfan

    FThabxinfan Well-Known Member Full Member

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    Sandy Saddler would've been the equivalent of Jon Jones if he joined MMA
     
    FThabxinfan, Mar 7, 2025
    FThabxinfan, Mar 7, 2025
    #11
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  12. dcarlota

    dcarlota Self-taught boxer Full Member

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    Tyson is an obvious answer.

    Fun fact: In Art Davie's biography Is This Legal?, Davie's "martial artist wishlist" for UFC 1 included fighters such as Karelin, Hoost, (Tex) Cobb, and surprisingly, both Mitch Green and Mike Tyson. However Mike served his sentence in Indiana from 1992-1995, and UFC 1 happened in 1993, so the what-if matches like Tyson-Green II (III if you count the street fight), Tyson-Karelin and Tyson-Hoost never went into fruition.
     
    dcarlota, Mar 7, 2025
    dcarlota, Mar 7, 2025
    #12
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  13. Ice8Cold

    Ice8Cold Still raging that we didnt see Bowe V Lewis Full Member

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    Francis Ngannou.

    In all seriousness I'd say Bernard Hopkins.
     
    Ice8Cold, Mar 8, 2025
    Ice8Cold, Mar 8, 2025
    #13
  14. META5

    META5 Active Member Full Member

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    Bud Crawford
    D1ck Tiger
    La Motta
    Fullmer
    Basilio
    Naz
    Chris Eubank Snr
    Marvelous Marv Haha
    Chuvalo
    Rahman
    Big George
    Dempsey
    Marciano
    Langford
    B-Hop
    Archie Moore
    Liston
    Duran
    Usyk
    Loma
     
    META5, Mar 8, 2025
    META5, Mar 8, 2025
    #14
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  15. FThabxinfan

    FThabxinfan Well-Known Member Full Member

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    The Rock Rahman or The Rock Breaker Rachman?
     
    FThabxinfan, Mar 8, 2025
    FThabxinfan, Mar 8, 2025
    #15
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