Is boxing the most difficult sport? This ESPN article compares 60 sports.

I've had zero doubt for years that it's the most difficult sport in the world.

The fact that several hundred people have died doing it since it's offical inception shows that.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't boxing all the more difficult by virtue of having to deal with a guy in front of you who can ptentially knock your teeth out at any given moment, among other things? I don't think that in any other sport that an athlete has that immediate threat to deal with.

 

One of the few sports where the spotlight shines directly on you as opposed to a team of athletes.

People aren't so kind to a singular fighter failing as opposed to a team.

 

Distance running has got to be up there among the hardest sports, IMO.

And that's not just because I do it

 

Willpower wise, yeah. Long running grinds are sheer hell.

I think I'd rather die from heat stroke running than being beaten to death in boxing, though.

 

Distance running training is murder, too, just like good boxing training.

The big difference between the two IMO is that there's really no such thing as a mismatch in distance running. Top DR's RARELY run against people who don't belong to be there, whereas that is quite common in boxing.

There's also the fact that a good race will have at least 8-10 other guys who all want to win as much as you do (on the track, in a half-marathon/marathon settings there can quite literally be hundreds). In boxing you only have to worry about one guy at a time.

 

I used to spar with a distance runner. He was in fantastic shape --far better than shape than I in cardiovascular terms. To even things out I'd punch his ribs in ....and he'd get tired by the third round....because he couldn't breathe.

Therein lies the difference. Boxing is more difficult than any other sport because you not only have to be in serious condition, you have to be able to survive while someone is trying to put dents in you and it ain't like you can hide behind a line or call a time out. You're stuck in a ring with a pair of shorts on, alone in the world while a crowd jeers at your every grunt. A fighter deals with 'one guy' yes, but consider carefully what that guy is doing there. If one of the guys running beside you was kicking you the whole time, then you'd have a better case here!

 

Ever heard of being boxed in?



I do agree about the getting caved in part, though.

 

Interesting article - I may agree with a lot of it...but baseball above soccer? hmmm...any survey that results in baseball listed as being more difficult than lacrosse needs to be looked at again.

 

Ha! Good!

 

LOL I just now realized the pun there...

 

I was particularly pleased to see Rodeo, which traditionally has been overlooked as an important international sport replete with talented athletes, get its just reward and acknowledgment. Worthy of special mention: calf roping. I've always thought that the calf-ropers deserve to be a spot or two above Olympic middle distance runners...

Anyhow, where is McVey, I am sure he will be delighted by the inclusion of this thread in a boxing site.

 

Cheerleading counts as a sport? Oh well.

I think they underrated boxing in flexability, speed, agility and analyptic aptitude. Flexability is a big part in boxing, if you can't reach out far, than the person your facing will be able to use that against you. And obviously if you don't have speed and agility, how will you hit the guy in the ring with you? Tell him to let you nail him? Or tell him to stay put so you can get to him?

 

It is a sport, They have compention with flips, rolling around, and high type of stunts. Movies like Bring It On brings that to light. Its not just about jumping up and down and saying yee. If the person below you makes a mistake, you can get a trip to the hospital.