Honestly it's no different than any other sport. It's weird how people try to make out that boxing is almost some spiritual experience. At times you get tired and have to dig deep, just like in any other sport.
Why do you think boxing is special in some way compared to say MMA, triathlete, Olympic rowing etc? All sports have amazing athletes that push themselves to their limit and carry on, that's what makes them elite. Boxing is in no way special at all in this regard.
Every sport certainly has its own degree of difficulty but other than MMA tell me which of those sports does the athlete have to be concerned with taking impact to the head and body while in a state of fatigue? I'm not even talking about actual competition...I'm talking just the training required for the competition. Those other sports are competitive but boxing is competitive and BRUTAL.
Rugby, american football, ice hockey, kick boxing, tae kwon do, mauy thai. To name a few. All just as brutal as boxing when it comes to damage done. You do realize everyone says the same about the sport they participate in?
Boxing is a special sport, always was and always will be. You can't deny 100+ years of great history, inspiration and cultural icons boxing has produced, it is completely different from any other sport. I come from a football (soccer) background (this was the first sport I trained) and while a great sport it's a completely different feel from boxing because of the team aspect alone. Boxing is the hardest sport because you have to conquer your fear the most. If there's one thing that people don't like it's being punched in their head by some other guy. Other sports can be hard on your body and you have to train hard, but if you lose a game of basketball or football it's easier to deal with it than getting beaten the **** out of you in boxing. Are there any people who're "afraid" of playing basketball, football, handball, cycling, running, swimming etc.? No. On the other hand, how many people have the ***** to box with someone who's well trained? Even among combat sports boxing is special because it's the toughest. There's no hugging on the floor or holding against the cage for minutes, MMA comes more from a self defense aspect like BJJ which is about neutralizing your opponent. Boxing is more about going to war with other guy. The only reason why people find MMA exciting is the boxing aspect. If you take boxing away from other combat sports it becomes boring to vast majority of people, that's why judo, wrestling, TKD and BJJ aren't watched by many people.
I lol'd throughout your post, at these parts in particular. I like how you're comparing boxing to non contact sports. I'm sure there's a large population of boxers that wouldn't have the ***** to step inside a Muay Thai ring in Thailand, although it would be wise to avoid this situation for the vast majority of the population. Please try MMA and come back once you get choked out within 20 seconds. "Hugging on th floor" You're so ignorant it's hilarious. :rofl
What a stupid comparison. Those Muay Thai fighters wouldn't have the ***** to step into a boxing ring and fight under boxing rules with someone like Kovalev or prime Mike Tyson. But obviously a person who trains boxing and has that kind of mindset wouldn't be afraid of fighting in muay thai if he was given time and training to prepare for it and suitable opponents. By your logic ski jumping is the most dangerous sport because you wouldn't find anyone sane who'd try to go there and jump without sufficient enough training. I did "try MMA" and grappling is less scary than fighting someone well trained in boxing with both going at 100%. That's why you have grapplers who're afraid to get hit, even big guys like Brock Lesnar. A boxer would be "afraid" to grapple in an MMA fight only because he'd lose. Now if people would ignore taps in MMA you might have a point but then obviously the sport would seriously start lacking competitors because they'd all be crippled. There are few very simple questions that quickly answer which sport is tougher: Would you rather box with prime Mike Tyson or would you rather have an MMA/grappling fight with prime Rickson Gracie? How many people died as a result of grappling fights? How many people died as a result of MMA fights? How many people died as a result of boxing fights? Btw I remember when an elite MMA fighter Tito Ortiz was afraid to box with a fat bald badly out of shape promoter Dana White who'd probably put a boxing clinic on him. That was the point when I stopped taking boxing seriously.