What is boxing (The Sweet Science) ultimately about?

like wars and battles, boxing is about dominating and damaging your opponent by employing offensive skill. defense is only employed to preserve the body for the next game, conserve energy, regain strength, and a temporary reset for the next attack or strategy. any army will want to beat the enemy in one fight and not just to inflict minor damage so to face them again.

 

But armies are built to avoid war, ideally ... to protect the homeland.

Of all the countries in the world with armies, how many of them routinely use those armies to attack?

You'll notice that the person in charge of an army is often called the Secretary of Defense or Minister of Defense.

 

Cus D'amato said it best "A professional fighter has got to learn to hit and not get hit and at the same time be exciting, that's what professional boxing is about".

 

I certainly am In my book Floyd lost to Castillo & Maidana. He should have been DQ'd against Ortiz & DQ'd against Judah when Roger entered the ring. A draw against Oscar wouldn't have been out of line either. May 2 should be called a no contest after what transpired. Floyd's 0 was bogus

 

army, military = homeland security
security = defense

easy concept to grasp, doesn't really apply to boxing though

 

boxing is hand to hand toe to toe combat. it's also entertainment. i'd rather watch two guys go to war toe to toe than watch a guy potshotting and back pedaling all night. it may be entertaining to a person who likes to sit at home watching sparring sessions on his hp chromebook but it isn't entertaining when you expected an actual fight. especially if the fight ain't f*cking free. why aren't people complaining about this?

 

You can't just say boxing is purely one thing.

Look when I watch Floyd fight I understand his fights are less crazy than lets say the salido-matinez fight. But I'm in a different zone when I watch them fight. Saldio-Martinez 2 was amazing and I was just having a blast watching it and my blood was pumping. When I watched Floyd fight and dismantle Berto, Pacquaio, Alvarez, Maidana (mainly in their 2nd fight, his 1st was IMO his toughest fight to date).. I'm in a calculated and cerebral mood. I'm focusing on all the nuances of one opponent's moves and the opponent's reactions to his move.

Ultimately it's to hit and not get hit but some people like to throw a ton of shots and just outland their opponent. I/E take 2 to give 2 or 3 or 4. That can make for an entertaining fight for sure but will that guy truly be able to stay on top for that long? It depends. But you have different styles of fighters. Santa Cruz couldn't adapt Rigo's style and vice versa. One is a hardcore volume puncher the other is a patient counter puncher. Do what you need to do to win.

 

Most re****ed poll ever. The point of boxing is to WIN. There are multiple win conditions not just "hit and not get hit" ie you know, KNOCKING the other motherfukker OUT

 

Not cheating, using iv

 

That's the answer!!

 

Awesome post.

 

S'about winning in whatever way possible within the rules.

For some that means hit and not get hit, for others it's about hit more and harder than you get hit.

 

I mean the original premise behind boxing was to see who was the better fighter until one couldn't stand anymore for over 10 seconds. ie. the ORIGINAL aim was to knock the other guy out. YES, you could use defense to wear the other person out until you finally, you guessed it, knocked him out.

As time went by and additional rules were set in place, it became possible for other win conditions to arise. A time limit means the introduction of a points system, and so it became a viable tactic to accrue as many points as possible until the end of the bout (see: Rosenbloom). But to say that this is the SOLE purpose of boxing is flat out false.

 

Or take the hits because you can take them, and fire back until he submits because you know the guy has a weaker chin. Margarito-Cotto being the classic example

 

Boxing, like all sports, is a form of entertainment. One only needs to look at the NFL as the business model for that. Entertain the fans and they watch. They watch and sponsors and PPV sales come and that equates to $$$. And whoa to the business that ever forgets who's paying the bills. Obviously, and it remains a mystery as to why, enough people find Floyd's fighting style entertaining enough to make him the richest fighter ever. So even though l personally prefer watching a good back and forth fight which hopefully involves knock outs most seem to prefer Floyd's model of fighting over this.