Thread: Basketball players and boxing.

Do you think basketball players could do well at boxing? They have a combination of size and athleticism. Michael Jordan was 6'4-6'6, and 195-225 in his prime, which would be a good size for a CW-HW.

Nope.

It takes more than size and athleticism. you have to be just a little crazy to volunteer to get punched in the head and know that every fight could be your last. I'd sooner choose someone from a contact sport that's used to someone trying to cause them bodily harm. Hockey, football, rugby, etc.. At least three prerequisite for brutality is already filled.
Hell, hockey fights have their own code. It used to be where you dropped the gloves, removed your lid, threw down. If someone slipped before you really started throwing, you gave the man a chance to get to his feet. When someone dropped, you stopped throwing... Win or lose you took your lumps and congratulated each on a good fight. Closer to boxing in terms of the honor that's originally intended.

Charles Barkley knows about hoops. He said that basketball players cannot fight.

Lol. Here we go again with this 10 year old thinking. Like anybody tall and muscular cAn make a good boxer.

Boxers are a different breed of athletes. They are unique individuals with a different kind of heart and mentality.

Size don't mean shit if u don't have those traits.

Like kobe for instance. He's a fuckin pussy who can't punch to save his life. One time I saww him getting clocked by a smaller player, shit was embarassing. Smh

So NO.

"Basketball" players you say..

In boxing "weight" is the most important advantage. A weight advantage can make an opponent dangerous even if he is not as skilled.

Weight confers the advantages of chin/punch resistance, power, and making you harder to move thus sapping the opponents strength. It does not even matter much whether the weight is in the form of fat or muscles. Well not quite there are important differences too.

Height CAN be advantage but only if the opponent knows how to use it, in other words if he is also very skilled.

Historically 6'2"ish has been the average most successful height of a HW boxer. It is only recently that taller boxers on the order of 6'5"+ have become balanced and coordinated and skilled enough to populate/dominate the division. Previously they were all oafs who did not make full use of their height technically.

So to answer you question VAG_Dodger, Basketball athletes would be ideal for boxing ONLY if they were trained and experienced in boxing for many years like real boxers. Cross over athletes late will still get smashed!!

For all it's benefits height confers some disadvantages. For any given same weight...

- Weight is made up more of internal organs and bones therefore more fragile.
- Longer legs meaning more challenging balance.
- Thinner necks and head structure, may be knocked out more easily.
- Longer arms making punch coordination more difficult.
- Longer abdomen making power punch combinations slower
- Heart has to pump blood further to the extremeties negatively affecting stamina.

Of course height can be used effetively...

- To keep an opponent out of range, thus enabling a boxer to hit his opponent without being hit.
- To control the pace of the fight, to be in a relatively more relaxed position during the fight.
- To deliver shots with even more power at the end of their long range due to extended leverage.
- To utilise gravity by punching down on and weighing down on their opponents.

Obvviously the advantages are ones that are only prevalent in a seasoned fighter and highly trained technical boxer. A basketballer who has decided to "switch" to boxing has none of those qualities. Some of those big tall athletic guys DO do alright in boxing but be aware that it's there weight that makes them dangerous, not so much there height!!

Basketball players have a huge advantage in terms of height, weight, and athleticism. Manny Steward use to try to lure basketball players to boxing and stated that the best heavyweight athletes are in basketball. But its almost impossible to lure a good/great basketball player to boxing because the chances of becoming a millionaire are so much higher with basketball plus you get scholarships and a lot of perks without risking your mental health. Switching to a combat sport as an adult takes abnormally high heart but growing up doing a combat sport does not. Once you're good at something or well experienced it produces a lot more confidence and of course comfortability. But basketball players could very well do it if they switched over early enough. Deontay Wilder was a basketball player and he started boxing at 20. He wasn't even an amateur for 2 years and he became the best heavyweight boxer in the U.S. Then a year later became one of the best heavyweights in the world and won an Olympic medal.

Originally Posted by jehoshaphat

Basketball players have a huge advantage in terms of height, weight, and athleticism. Manny Steward use to try to lure basketball players to boxing and stated that the best heavyweight athletes are in basketball. But its almost impossible to lure a good/great basketball player to boxing because the chances of becoming a millionaire are so much higher with basketball plus you get scholarships and a lot of perks without risking your mental health. Switching to a combat sport as an adult takes abnormally high heart but growing up doing a combat sport does not. Once you're good at something or well experienced it produces a lot more confidence and of course comfortability. But basketball players could very well do it if they switched over early enough. Deontay Wilder was a basketball player and he started boxing at 20. He wasn't even an amateur for 2 years and he became the best heavyweight boxer in the U.S. Then a year later became one of the best heavyweights in the world and won an Olympic medal.

Yeah ok the case of Deontay Wilder is important. But it is his punch power and punch speed coupled with his management that has brought him to the forefront. In terms of a skills, Deontay is a very shit boxer for world class, just like George Foreman, they can barely box but rely on their brutal power. And just like Foreman, when Wilder faces the Ali's, Youngs, Morrisons, Holyfields etc of his time he will find himself in over his head.

What I'm trying to say is that this type of "moonlighting boxer" can punch their way to the top but they can never stay there for very long. Some examples...

- Michael Grant a 3 sport mega athlete of gigantic proportions and athleticism. Failed to produce.
- Hasim Rahman- A super athlete with HUGE power, the most successful upstart pro boxer to date holding the title a couple of times but could never hold it for long.
- Seth Mitchell, great football athlete, easily dispatchedby a REAL boxer

The list goes on.

For all Wilder's pros, he may well be the best American prospect but I lean more toward Bryant Jennings personally. Considered a little guy with little power or chin, in reality he is 226lbs, that's the same size and Wilder but more solid and durable imo because he is thicker set and not a beanstalk.

And MOST importantly, Wilder knows how to BOX! He is no Foreman or Wilder! He is fast, punches in combos, moves slick and swift and well rounded fighting ability.

Originally Posted by Max Power

Originally Posted by jehoshaphat

Basketball players have a huge advantage in terms of height, weight, and athleticism. Manny Steward use to try to lure basketball players to boxing and stated that the best heavyweight athletes are in basketball. But its almost impossible to lure a good/great basketball player to boxing because the chances of becoming a millionaire are so much higher with basketball plus you get scholarships and a lot of perks without risking your mental health. Switching to a combat sport as an adult takes abnormally high heart but growing up doing a combat sport does not. Once you're good at something or well experienced it produces a lot more confidence and of course comfortability. But basketball players could very well do it if they switched over early enough. Deontay Wilder was a basketball player and he started boxing at 20. He wasn't even an amateur for 2 years and he became the best heavyweight boxer in the U.S. Then a year later became one of the best heavyweights in the world and won an Olympic medal.

Yeah ok the case of Deontay Wilder is important. But it is his punch power and punch speed coupled with his management that has brought him to the forefront. In terms of a skills, Deontay is a very shit boxer for world class, just like George Foreman, they can barely box but rely on their brutal power. And just like Foreman, when Wilder faces the Ali's, Youngs, Morrisons, Holyfields etc of his time he will find himself in over his head.

What I'm trying to say is that this type of "moonlighting boxer" can punch their way to the top but they can never stay there for very long. Some examples...

- Michael Grant a 3 sport mega athlete of gigantic proportions and athleticism. Failed to produce.
- Hasim Rahman- A super athlete with HUGE power, the most successful upstart pro boxer to date holding the title a couple of times but could never hold it for long.
- Seth Mitchell, great football athlete, easily dispatchedby a REAL boxer

The list goes on.

For all Wilder's pros, he may well be the best American prospect but I lean more toward Bryant Jennings personally. Considered a little guy with little power or chin, in reality he is 226lbs, that's the same size and Wilder but more solid and durable imo because he is thicker set and not a beanstalk.

And MOST importantly, Wilder knows how to BOX! He is no Foreman or Wilder! He is fast, punches in combos, moves slick and swift and well rounded fighting ability.

I didn't mention anything about Wilder's pro career. In less than 3 years he was one of the top amateurs in the world. His pro career is still being written. Who is the Ali, Young, Morrison, and Holyfield of this era? We don't know how Wilder's pro career is going to go. You're just guessing. But what do you consider doing well? That is what the thread is about not about how long you can be a the best fighter in the world. Becoming the heavyweight champion is clearly having done well. There are countless numbers of fighters who box their entire lives and never sniff at becoming a world champion. And the thread is about basketball players but Rahman knocked out one of the greatest heavyweights of all time. Seth Mitchell always was crap, I stated in the Arreola thread that this was going to be brutal on poor Seth, but he started boxing in his mid 20s when he couldn't even play football anymore due to his knee surgeries. But he did beat a "real" boxer. Mitchell is strong and that is all he has. Wilder is athletic, tall, long, faster, and strong as well. Wilder's range gives him a lot of room to make up for his green boxing skill level. He can get that laser power to you before you can get to him. A 6'2" Wilder would not be heard of.

But we'll never see the best basketball athletes of size compete in boxing so Wilder is only going to be a guesstimation. Therefore, it will be another topic that will turn into an argument without resolution.

It's an IMPOSSIBLE question because, like mentioned above, there's so much more that goes into it. We've seen a million big and tall guys in boxing who have been completely mediocre, having no chin, stamina or heart.

I think if you're speaking strictly from an athletic standpoint, the mold of the typical NBA player (tall, athletic, long reach, fast feet, ect) would be great for boxing, but they'd have to have the correct training from a young age like anyone else, and they'd need the other intangibles (heart, chin, ect).

If you're talking about current NBA players with no boxing experience making the jump over… forget about it.

Other athletes have tried boxing and most if not all have failed to be world class.

Tim Hardaway might have been a decent boxer. I once saw him throwing bombs on shawn kemp and fuckin him up. His form was ok from what I remember.

Originally Posted by FinitoElDinamita

Tim Hardaway might have been a decent boxer. I once saw him throwing bombs on shawn kemp and fuckin him up. His form was ok from what I remember.

What happened?