Hi everyone. In the world of boxing there are a lot of athletes and the biggests paychecks in combat sports, for that the best athletes of combat sports compete in boxing. Knowing that, is possible for top boxers especially in big weights (LWH-Cruiser-HW) compete against top level kickboxers (Glory or One) in a K-1 match? For example, could Anthony Joshua avoid or defend kicks against Rico Verhoeen and close dstance to break him with punches? Or beterviev vs Welter-Middleweights in Glory (77kg. and 84kg. respectively)?
A guy like Aj will always have a punchers chance because of his size and power. However even against Ngannou he was fighting off the counter and not pressing forward, if he sits on the pocket waiting for a big punch , he’ll get his lead leg chopped before he can throw a jab. He’d have to time a right hand perfectly to catch him throwing a naked kick. But world class kick boxers know how to time a kick without getting caught. Aj would really have to just go in and throw his best shots coming in. Manny recently went to a draw in Rizin. I thought he lost to the kick boxer and was given a draw out of respect. But he’s old and 40. I think in general smaller weight classes struggle more because they dont have one shot ko. If Francis taught us anything is that big hw in any combat sport can have a decent one off fight because of power.
Punchers chance would work out for them maybe 1 or 2 times out of 10. The rest of the time they'd get their legs chopped down and/or kicked in the head and stopped in the 1st or 2nd. I think some MMA guys could probably compete with kickboxers though. I mean obviously MMA literally has some ex-elite kickboxers like Poatan and Doumbe in it. I am not sure theres many HWs in kickboxing right now that would beat Gane either, the only ones i'd strongly favour are Rico and Rigters.
I think some MMA guys could probably compete with kickboxers though. I mean obviously MMA literally has some ex-elite kickboxers like Poatan and Doumbe in it. I am not sure theres many HWs in kickboxing right now that would beat Gane either, the only ones i'd strongly favour are Rico and Rigters.[/QUOTE] I saw the fights of a washed Botha against top k-1 fighters and I think boxers could have his chances. But on the other hand, kickboxing in the 90´s was a growing sport, many remember k-1 times as the greatest times of kickboxing but think the sport evolved and profesionalized a lot since that. In k-1 the tops were people like Hug or Filho who went from karate and others that started the style. Other fight to see in this topic is Jarrell Miller vs washed Crocop, and the croatian beat him in both fights. I think tops from Glory like Rico, Osaro, Rajabadez, Rigters or PLazibat beat Gane. Anyway, thanks for reply.
Boxers can and do well sometimes in K1 rules... Frans Botha did relatively well in K1, Virgil Kalakoda too. But you gotta respect the sport, you can´t act like a jerk pretending you will do something only with hands... reality check will be hard for you. A front face combination puncher is the type of Boxer that can do fine, if some changes take place regarding legs...
Anytime you add kicks to the equation you would have to favor the Kickboxer. Most Boxers wouldn't even know how to throw a proper leg kick.
Vitali Klitschko as WBC Champion in the K1 finals tournament has always been my dream matchup. I think he would have done really well. Since Vitali Klitschko was a Kick-Boxer before he was a Boxer. Vitali vs Hoost? Vitali vs Aerts? Vitali vs Schilt?
I saw the fights of a washed Botha against top k-1 fighters and I think boxers could have his chances. But on the other hand, kickboxing in the 90´s was a growing sport, many remember k-1 times as the greatest times of kickboxing but think the sport evolved and profesionalized a lot since that. In k-1 the tops were people like Hug or Filho who went from karate and others that started the style. Other fight to see in this topic is Jarrell Miller vs washed Crocop, and the croatian beat him in both fights. I think tops from Glory like Rico, Osaro, Rajabadez, Rigters or PLazibat beat Gane. Anyway, thanks for reply.[/QUOTE] Bothas 'success' needs to be viewed in proper context. Aerts suffered a fluke injury and JLB lost a very close fight because his ego got the better of him and he decided to box. He got worked by low-mid level kickboxers who actually used the tools they had over him.
2-10 1 win was a draw but Banner didn't want to continue , more to being fatigued, he was fighting far more active those days. And the other was a leg injury type deal. Botha did terrible.
If he moved to thailand or the neitherlands. his kickboxing game back then looked like the 1980s kickboxing from the waist high type of kicks.
I mean sure I would assume he would properly train for the event. I am pretty sure I have read here and there that he trained sometimes in The Netherlands with Kick-Boxers there. Even during his Boxing days. Not sure what he trained maybe just Boxing. I think his elite Boxing combined with his at least half decent Kick-Boxing skills would be hard to solve for a lot of the K1 bunch. He also would have the size.
I think he does well against more boxing heavy fighters like Le Banner or a mighty Mo or Mark Hunt type, but struggles badly with guys like Hoost and Remi, or Hug . Vitali has been knocked out 3x in his combat sports career that i know of, he would have been prone to getting koed by head kicks or leg kick injuries.
Well that’s just K1 anyways. Everyone was knocking out each other nonstop. It’s still the most entertaining fighting league I have ever seen. They got it right.
I think the One FC Muay Thai stuff is somehow even more crazy in terms of purely the in ring action itself. I preferred the overall spectacle of peak K-1 though, it felt much bigger scale and had way more star power.
