Comparing Boxing & MMA

As a casual fan of boxing who later became a huge fan of MMA I have a few things to add to this debate even though some here have grown tired of the subject. I might also remind others here that the sub-section of this particular forum is titled, “MMA Forum” so it’s not off topic in anyway as some have suggested. I’m not here to bash boxing, though the trash talk by certain boxers and fans alike has been pretty heavy at times.

I’ve heard a lot of boxing fans denounce the striking abilities of MMA fighters as being amateurish, sloppy or inaccurate. The reality however is that you can’t strike in MMA the same way that you would in boxing. At least it’s not advised that you try. In boxing you can zone out in defense and focus only on defending yourself from the waist up. You don’t have to worry about guarding against take-downs, leg kicks and Muay Thai clinches etc. That’s why your stance, positioning and strategy in terms of striking is substantially different in MMA if you know what’s good for you. Couture handled a renowned striker in Toney with his elite wrestling aptitude. But an exceptional kick boxer such as Cung Le for example could create all sorts of problems for a boxer as well using just his legs in strikes. Le could easily take a boxer down with a foot sweep or flying scissor kick before a punch was ever thrown. He could also simply shatter your arm with a devastating kick as he did to Frank Shamrock. These are all things that you are forced to consider when you enter an MMA fight. These factors don’t exist in boxing.

Another point that keeps being raised is this idea that an MMA fighter should now venture off in to boxing territory since Toney went to MMA. A boxer fighting in MMA does not have to sacrifice his man skill set which is obviously striking. An MMA fighter in boxing though would have to concede basically all of his main abilities (wrestling, submissions, take-downs, leg kicks etc.). It’s not an equal transition. An equal comparison would be Couture fighting Toney in just boxing/Toney fighting Couture in just wrestling.

As far as Tim Sylvia and Ray Mercer. Everyone including other MMA fighters were knocking Tim out at the time. That’s why he was banished from the UFC. Fedor knocked him out basically the same way and Sylvia later conceded that he’d never been hit that hard before. Others have already pointed out that Kimbo defeated Mercer easily. Mercer simply exploited a bad match-up in Sylvia.

KJ Noons has had some success in the lower levels of MMA but he also got knocked out by a crude, drug-addled, felon street fighter in Charles ‘Krazy Horse’ Bennett. Noons isn’t just a boxer either like Toney. He’s also trained in Sanshou and Muay Thai. Noons is a decent fighter though.

I admittedly don’t know much about Marcus Davis but he was another (former) professional boxer who fought in UFC 118 against Nate Diaz. I’ve been told by other boxing fans that Davis is a “bum” but he stood and traded punches with an MMA fighter and left with the most swollen face that I’ve seen in a while. My point is this, he may have been a lower tier boxer but he fought a non-boxer in stand-up. The MMA fighter still held his own. I’m not saying that it would be the same case with a much better boxer but still, it counts for something. This also comes back to the difference between striking in MMA and boxing. I like and respect Davis by the way. UFC fans cheered for him.

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Marcus Davis after the fight

David Haye on James Toney and his personal experience training in MMA-

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Toney once said that David Haye was gay, but Haye was right about MMA. Bernard Hopkins has even recently admitted that he switched from MMA hater to fan.

Boxing and MMA can and should coexist peacefully. They both deserve an equal amount of respect and recognition in combat sports. That can only begin to to become reality by dispelling some of the myths.


James Toney-

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Interesting analogy. I actually had to look up the meaning of "banger racing".

 

Relevant videos

I've been told by some boxing fans that MMA is somehow less dangerous than boxing. I often refer them to this clip. No padding in that strike. Listen to the sound of impact.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=199Ts4MZEiM[/ame]

Here's the Noons/Bennett fight:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxbecl5nMCs[/ame]

Kimbo/Mercer

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DahOLe5z3Ek[/ame]

Fedor/Sylvia

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbTsTdvic_Y[/ame]

 

I don't know. Boxing and MMA are like any other sport. Sometimes you're going to get an exciting performance, other times not. I've seen some very boring boxing matches as well as dull MMA fights. I think that some die-hard boxing fans don't appreciate the ground game of MMA because they don't fully understand the subtle dynamics.

 

He was talking about long term effects on the brain. It had nothing to do with the effectiveness of individual strikes. He was also kind of paying lip service to the media which was busy portraying MMA as barbaric savagery. Go back and review that first video that I posted and tell me honestly that it's not dangerous. Please be honest with yourself. Leg kicks are generally more powerful than punches if thrown correctly. And no padding....

 

I've also heard boxers question the conditioning of MMA fighters. There are indeed some pudgy MMA fighters just as there are boxers. But the preparation of serious fighters such as Wanderlei Silva who utilize snorkel training is second to none (towards end of clip).

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCltcL2-oAw[/ame]

 

Just curious. How many people have actually died in a boxing match?

 

I would say that potential broken limbs from kicks and submissions, getting choked out unconscious or getting body slammed on your head which could easily break your neck and strikes with 4-ounce gloves constitutes all sorts of potential dangers. I'm not saying that boxing does not also offer it's own particular set of dangers. It is however patently silly to claim that MMA is somehow less dangerous than boxing. Jon Jones recently suplexed Stephan Bonnar and left Matt Hamill with all kinds of bloody damage.

GIF: Jon Jones finishes off Brandon Vera with a face breaking elbow at UFC on Versus 1 main event

http://urdirt.com/2010/03/23/gif-jo...breaking-elbow-at-ufc-on-versus-1-main-event/

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That's quite a high number of deaths for boxing. It has been around much longer than MMA with fights being much more frequent. I think you'd see similar numbers in MMA if the stats were the same. MMA is still not even legal in every state. There are also many deaths related to high school football even.