Floyd Mayweather likes to talk as evidenced by his latest interview with Sweetscience.com and Komikazee responds in kind.
Ah. The age old adage of a Boxer vs. an MMA fighter rears its ugly head. Smack talk was flying with Mayweather ripping on everybody that included his father, Oscar De La Hoya, Chuck Liddell, and MMA in general. Here is what he had to say about MMA.
“UFC ain’t s**t,” he said. “It ain’t but a fad. Anyone can put a tattoo on their head and get in a street fight.” He singled out UFC poster boy Chuck Liddell for an extra overhand right. “We should put Liddell against a good heavyweight, under Mayweather Promotions, and if Chuck wins, then I’ll give him a million dollars out of my own pocket.” PBF then shoe-shined all MMA fighters. “These are guys who couldn’t make it in boxing,” he said. “So they do (MMA). Boxing is the best sport in the world and it’s here to stay.”First off, the challenge is ridiculous. Boxing and MMA are totally different sports. Just because there is hitting involved in both does not make them equal or the same. A good boxer does not equate into a good Mixed Martial Artist and vice-versa.
Boxing is about rhythm, head movement, body motion, speedy hand combos, and withstanding withering head blows over 12 rounds. Its a beautiful thing to watch two high-level professional boxers work the sweet science.
The habits you learn in boxing, although great for the boxing sport, would get you knocked out or taken down in Mixed Martial Arts. Boxers have no concept of knees, kicks in all their forms, throws, or ground game (that includes wrestling and jiu-jitsu). I can’t tell you how many fighters with boxing backgrounds come to our gym and eat a knee because they start to bob instead of pushing out when their opponent throws hands. The body clinch that they practice also opens them up for nasty knees or throws. The high boxing stance learned leaves their center of gravity high and ripe for a takedown. They really don’t know how inviting their legs look in that high boxing stance. Muy Thai fighters have the same issue when they first enter MMA when it comes to the ground game so it just isn’t boxing.
Most boxers respond to this with, “Well step into a boxing ring and just box me then.... none of that other hokey crap.” No MMA fighter worth his weight would fight a boxers game. Most MMA fighters acknowledge readily that a boxer would beat them in a boxing match (duh). There is an adage in MMA. “Never Fight the other fighter’s fight”. If your opponent has lightning quick hands and you are better on the ground, you take them to the ground. If they are jiu-jitsu experts and you are not, you try your hardest to keep standing and nullify the ground game.
Now, that’s not to say that some habits that boxers pick up shouldn’t be learned by MMA fighters. I personally feel that the art of the jab is a lost art in MMA. This one punch can set up a lot of stuff later on and leads into great combos. Also MMA fighters tend to head hunt more instead of patiently working the body like boxers do. Also, MMA fighters tend to not to let their hands go which boxers do as second nature.
So in conclusion, Boxing and MMA are two separate sports. There is some overlap but to claim one is better than the other is ridiculous. Both should be learning from each other going forward.
The biggest difference between a boxer and an MMA fighter currently is that most MMA fighters readily admit that they couldn’t beat a boxer boxing. Most boxers on the other hand WILL NOT ADMIT THAT IN AN MMA FIGHT, THEY WOULD GET OWNED.