The old boxing v MMA debate

[DJLegacy2k1]

LMAO, most MMA guy are trained boxers. MMA Fighter has a BETTER shot in the boxing ring with a boxer than a Boxer in an MMA ring. Anyone who thinks boxing > MMA loses all respect for lack of common sense. This argument is so one sided if you have any common sense it's insane to think other wise. As for the "floor hugging", Jujitsu fighters go the to ground for submissions, I seriously doubt any one of you would be thinking it's boring or pointless if someone was trying to put an arm bar on you. You obviously have no clue the amount of skill and training involved in these styles, thus showing your ignorance for the sport, which is the only way you can make these arguments anyways. Overall lack of respect and stereotyping along with lack of knowledge are all very apparent with the boxing > mma defense.

 

[redsamurai]

or just make the boxing ring smaller

co-sign tho, watching runner-style boxers isn't fun

yeah but neither is watching guys like machida or silva. Silva at least though can turn it on when he wants to.

I like the make the gloves smaller idea. It evens the field for the power punchers but also lets the little guys sting a bit more. I dunno, unless boxers feel it would unduly strain their pedicures....

 

[Oceano]

LMAO, most MMA guy are trained boxers. MMA Fighter has a BETTER shot in the boxing ring with a boxer than a Boxer in an MMA ring. Anyone who thinks boxing > MMA loses all respect for lack of common sense. This argument is so one sided if you have any common sense it's insane to think other wise. As for the "floor hugging", Jujitsu fighters go the to ground for submissions, I seriously doubt any one of you would be thinking it's boring or pointless if someone was trying to put an arm bar on you. You obviously have no clue the amount of skill and training involved in these styles, thus showing your ignorance for the sport, which is the only way you can make these arguments anyways. Overall lack of respect and stereotyping along with lack of knowledge are all very apparent with the boxing > mma defense.

MMA is probably really skilled etc. but that's what a lot of it looks like to me. Maybe you have to have practised a martial art to fully appreciate it, a lot of times I just don't enjoy the spectacle.

 

[AztecWarrior]

Here we go again. The muscle pumping ed hardy wearing and wwe fans have come out in full force today. Don't got the time, but I'm gonna come back to this. MMA only trashes boxing because it's the most popular and well paid combat sport out there. You don't see these fans call out karate or kickboxing like that because they are jealous of the legacy of the history of boxing and the money it generates. No need to be bitter, enjoy both sports.

 

[redsamurai]

Here we go again. The muscle pumping ed hardy wearing and wwe fans have come out in full force today. Don't got the time, but I'm gonna come back to this. MMA only trashes boxing because it's the most popular and well paid combat sport out there. You don't see these fans call out karate or kickboxing like that because they are jealous of the legacy of the history of boxing and the money it generates. No need to be bitter, enjoy both sports.

not sure it's about jealousy bro.....we all know the legacy of boxing, which is "precisely" why it's so disappointing now. The warriors are gone from that sport. MMA may very well eventually head down the same path, we'll see. Boxing for sure is dead though. And not because of the sport itself, but for the competitors.

 

[AztecWarrior]

not sure it's about jealousy bro.....we all know the legacy of boxing, which is "precisely" why it's so disappointing now. The warriors are gone from that sport. MMA may very well eventually head down the same path, we'll see. Boxing for sure is dead though. And not because of the sport itself, but for the competitors.

Not even close. All the 5 yrs old that are in the boxing gym as I type prove that invalid. There is always a new star waiting to take center stage as one heads on out. One door close's and another one opens. Just causes someone dosen't like it dosen't mean it won't keep on going. LOL! Boxing will always be around with an audience regradless what anyone says. Don't see why mma fans feel the need to prove themselve's somuch and there bitterness towards boxing really shows. That's sad those are a big make up of what the fan base of mma are. They lack respect, when even your top fighter's in mma show praise to boxers.

 

[AztecWarrior]

For the record...Im not disparaging boxing as a sport. I just think MMA is infinitely more exciting, and it seems as though its filled with classier people as well.

That's just because the average mma gym monthly payment's are like 175.00 dollars a month. WHen you can pay 50 dollars a month in other fight arts. It's geared towards those kind of people. It's starting to change now and were starting to see kids from different hard working background enter the sports, but boxing will always be a better route for people looking to fight there way out of hard stricken area's. More money. Boxing has more differen't classes of people in thier sport then mma. I'm glad to see the Cains, the Lawal's, the diaz's brothers, and the jamie yagers enter in. The kids from the tougher side of town are coming up and changing things. Your statement show's me you aren't to found of other people that aren't like you. That dosen't make you better or anyone else for that matter.

 

[DJLegacy2k1]

Not even close. All the 5 yrs old that are in the boxing gym as I type prove that invalid. There is always a new star waiting to take center stage as one heads on out. One door close's and another one opens. Just causes someone dosen't like it dosen't mean it won't keep on going. LOL! Boxing will always be around with an audience regradless what anyone says. Don't see why mma fans feel the need to prove themselve's somuch and there bitterness towards boxing really shows. That's sad those are a big make up of what the fan base of mma are. They lack respect, when even your top fighter's in mma show praise to boxers.

Dude just cuz kids take part in it means nothing. Kids still play baseball and in MOST cities in America the sport is dead, unless its a city with a BIG bank roll. There are many stadiums that can't fill half way anymore and it's "americas past time". I mean I was watching ESPN today and they had BOXING journalists saying how boring and how bad the sport is getting. I have nothing AGAINST Boxing, I have a problem with people saying boxing training is harder or the fighters have to be more skilled, its complete BS seeing as MMA fighters train in MANY different style INCLUDING boxing. They work on stand up, grapple, submission, take-downs, boxing, wrestling, muy thai, etc etc etc. It is a ludicrous statement to say that boxers are better or harder trained fighters. Its an over generalization for one and for two it's an opinion based on a fantasy. Nothign against boxing, I just don't approve of "mma" bashing when the "arguments" are weak and BS.

 

[redsamurai]

and where all these stars ready to step in? I suspect that alot of kids training today in boxing will eventually use that training as a springboard into MMA, which I think the writing is on the wall for being the future of combat sports. I love the notion of boxing or "standup" fighting in general.....I just think that pure boxers are too specialized anymore and that makes for ever increasingly boring fights. Boxing needs an infuse of skilled brawlers who can bang for more than two rounds. They get that and maybe it's a relevant sport again. The money that's still in boxing is simply left over good will and an entrenched infrastructure in vegas that doesn't like these new MMA upstarts that think they can control their own brand. Letting the inmates run the asylum was the worst thing that boxing ever did.

 

[AztecWarrior]

Dude just cuz kids take part in it means nothing. Kids still play baseball and in MOST cities in America the sport is dead, unless its a city with a BIG bank roll. There are many stadiums that can't fill half way anymore and it's "americas past time". I mean I was watching ESPN today and they had BOXING journalists saying how boring and how bad the sport is getting. I have nothing AGAINST Boxing, I have a problem with people saying boxing training is harder or the fighters have to be more skilled, its complete BS seeing as MMA fighters train in MANY different style INCLUDING boxing. They work on stand up, grapple, submission, take-downs, boxing, wrestling, muy thai, etc etc etc. It is a ludicrous statement to say that boxers are better or harder trained fighters. Its an over generalization for one and for two it's an opinion based on a fantasy. Nothign against boxing, I just don't approve of "mma" bashing when the "arguments" are weak and BS.

There is more money in boxing for the fighters, and there is a deeper talent pool in boxing....those are facts. Those facts lead to the conclusion that it is more difficult to succeed in boxing than it is in mma. sure, in mma you do all disciplines of fighting and whatnot. but the talent pool is shallow in comparison, the level of competition is not as high - and those are the key elements that determine the difficulty of competing in a sport. mma is simply not developed enough to be more difficult to compete in than boxing right now.
To say mma is tougher JUST because it is more varied is flawed. that's like saying being a jack of all trades is more difficult than being a master of one - that's not necessarily the case. The fact that high school teachers, WWE wrestlers, engineers can just leave their occupation and compete in mma at the highest level within a just a few years (after their physical prime btw) is TELLING. Training in boxing is more difficult because boxing isnt a natural thing. When someone throws a punch, based purely on instinct people put their hands up, they try to walk or move out of distance, they try to grab the hands of the person throwing the punch. What separates one great boxer from another is often intangible things that you cant train or teach like heart, mettle, chin. The action takes place in a very confined space with a limited number of techniques one can use in the ring. Great boxers are trained to do the unnatural at an instinctive level. Watch someone like Floyd slip and counter a punch - that isnt natural. To stand ones ground and understand the distance and timing to not get hit while throwing a counter can only come with years of repetition to the point where it becomes instinctual.

MMA as a sport in general, to contrast with boxing, is more often a sport about exploiting the weaknesses of your opponents game. A fighter with a background in wrestling often wont look to engage in standup with a guy who has a background in kickboxing. He takes the fight to the ground and tries to exploit the perceived weakness of his opponent. Rarely do intangibles like heart and mettle come into play because rarely will you find in MMA a fight that is a war of attrition. Often fans see very early in fights who will win and who will lose because they can see where a fight will go and who holds a distinct advantage over who in a specific aspect of the game. Doesnt mean thats always the case since the small gloves and quick subs can change all that, but more often than not people can see who will win a fight based on these advantages going in. In the end these are facts, truth, and reality. You can't ignore what is really real and what isn't. Fans of mmma need to worry about there own sport and stop hating on a sport that has already stamped it's mark in history and popularity around the work has been established.