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!!!