Boxing vs MMA

The Final Showdown

By Umar Al Mujahid Abdur-Rasheed

Formerly

Anthony Navarro
Just like the heated debates that Muslims and Christians have over Jesus
being a just Prophet or the Divine son of God, fight fans have been arguing
over which sport has the better all round athletes…. Boxing or Mixed
Martial Arts.

I myself am a former boxer with a passion for Boxing that runs deep in my
blood, but I also respect the athleticism, skill and courage it takes to step in the
Octagon. Without playing favorites or being biased, I will analyze the two
sports with all of their ups and downs, pro’s and cons to come to the final
conclusion as to which fight sport reigns supreme over the other. Some of you
may agree and some may disagree, but hey…. everyone’s entitled to their
own opinion I guess, right?

Growing up as a child with a Puerto Rican grandfather who also used to

fight, I was planted in front of the television every fight night, regardless of
who was fighting and was put through an intense home version of boxing
school. My grandfather taught me about foot work, defense, conditioning
and why the jab is the most important punch in Boxing. He taught me
about respect and how it’s better to fight and lose than to duck like a coward.
I came to respect anyone who ever laced up a pair of gloves and I learned to
respect and love this ritual of man verse man in an attempt to prove which
one is the alpha male.
Boxing is the sweet science where you
could take out a bigger stronger opponent
by combining the right foot work with
punches in the right places. A great
game plan like Muhammad Ali’s “rope
a dope” will allow you to tire out even the
biggest puncher and crumble him with
the softest touch. In Boxing you need to
be intelligent as well as skilled and
conditioned. Same goes for MMA. I
remember the first time I saw a UFC fight and watched as teeth were
knocked out and blood flowed from every fighter, I thought to myself,
“damn, the fight game dun changed.” It was beautiful and ugly at the same
time. Three, five minute rounds of brutal knees and elbows, Wrestling, Jui
Jitsu, Karate, Boxing and street fighting. Almost anything was allowed and
it made for an entertaining watch.

I wondered how Boxers would have fared

against these grapplers and take down
artists in the UFC. I also wondered how
long these MMA guys would have lasted
against boxing animals like Mike Tyson or David Tua. It’s a tough
comparison, but each sport has its up sides and down sides and it really comes
down to what you the individual are looking for.

Boxers have to condition themselves to

stand and trade punches with another
trained fighter for twelve long rounds. If
you’re a boxer and not much of a slugger,
then you have to be prepared to bounce
around the ring picking your shots. This
is not an easy task. I have had college
football players quit after sparring for one
minute, for the simple fact that they got tired and couldn’t breathe well. So
you know that this is a special kind of stamina that we’re talking about.
Speed, accuracy, power, endurance, all topped with the skill to use them, put
together in a beautiful display of dominance over your opponent. Fighting
who ever, when ever to prove that you are the best in the world makes for
modern day gladiators, but with the advancement in salary, things have
changed in Boxing.

Greedy fighters and promoters are ruining this great tradition. With so
many titles out there and fighters winning them before reaching 20 fights,
masculine pre Madonna’s are starting to
demand money that they haven’t proven
they are worth. Boxers like Floyd
Mayweather Jr and David Haye, who
make claims of greatness, but then dodge
the fighters we want to see them fight are
the culprits and we the fans let them get
away with it. If they can make millions of dollars fighting bums and
maintaining their great records then why take the risk of damaging their
image that they worked so hard in portraying themself as?

MMA doesn’t have this problem

because their fighters aren’t making as
much as boxers so it’s more of a
proving grounds to make the big pay
days, rather than running your
mouth and fooling people into
thinking that you’re something worth
paying to see. In MMA everyone is
not a champion and this is something that they have over Boxing. You have
to beat the best to be the best and it’s almost impossible to duck anyone. As of
right now, I feel that MMA is the more competitive sport because their
fighters are hungrier for the wealth, fame and respect of being a true
champion. You have boxers who are in the lime
light just after a few wins, not because they are
amazing fighters, but because they have caused some
sort of controversy or for just being loud and
obnoxious, like Britain’s Dereck Chisora. With
only 14 wins he was thrusted into the spot light for
biting one opponent and kissing another. I really don’t see the point in
becoming famous as a fighter for kissing another guy, but it has happened
and his mouth has got him a shot at the title with champion Wladimir
Klitschko. Has this title shot been truly earned or has the crooked politics of
Boxing struck again?

MMA’s downside is the floor

fighting. Some fighters use an
early take down to start a wrestling
match that lasts the entire fight.
It’s not very exciting to watch and
personally, I’d rather watch a
boring Boxing match than
MMA wrestling. Also not many of these MMA fighters are known, so
there isn’t much of a personal connection between fighter and fan, like there is
in Boxing. I’ve followed some of my favorite fighters from their first fight
until the championship bouts. When you don’t know much about someone
it’s hard to get excited about seeing them in a
match. Boxing is great at playing on the
emotions of the fans. So many legendary
nights have filled television screens all over the
world. When you follow two great young
fighters and watch as they do battle at the
height of their career, it can be an almost
magical event. I don’t see much of that with
MMA and that is something that would
send it into another level…. the intimate personal relationship factor.

In conclusion I will say this; Boxing is a sport that has been around since the
earliest man. It has had much time to develop into a great sport and also has
had time to have a down fall. MMA is fairly new on the scene, but has
great potential to turn into something as amazing as Boxing was from the
60’s up until the year 2000. Politics and greed have drastically changed the
dynamics of the sport and need to be rid
from Boxing before many casual fans lose
interest. MMA has grabbed many fans
quickly, but like I said, it lacks that
personal touch that Boxing offers the fan.
Both sports have amazing athletes and if
anyone thinks they can just jump in the
ring or the octagon and compete, then they will “sorely” be mistaken.

My final opinion is that Boxing and MMA are two entirely different sports
and should NOT be compared. MMA fighters train for take downs, kicks,
elbows and wrestling, while boxers train for defense and striking only. I don’t
think a boxer is better than a mixed martial artist and vice versa. Look at
what happened to the great boxer James Toney
when he courageously stepped up and took on
MMA. He was submitted quickly and we are
still waiting for a mixed martial artist to step up
and take the Boxing challenge. Boxers are not
ready for knees and elbows, or to be taken to the
ground the same way a mixed martial artist will not be able to stand the
striking skill and accuracy of a boxer. To me personally, comparing Boxing
and MMA is like comparing Baseball and Basketball. Both great sports
with great athletes, but it’s up to you to decide which you like better.

So I say respect to both Boxing and MMA athletes, and…. let’s get it on!!!