I was just thinking about this after reading Al Bernstein's article this week. Chuck is obviously one of the most devastating standup/punchers in MMA history, so how would he have done as say a Crusierweight against the likes of Haye, Mormeck etc?
Printable View
I was just thinking about this after reading Al Bernstein's article this week. Chuck is obviously one of the most devastating standup/punchers in MMA history, so how would he have done as say a Crusierweight against the likes of Haye, Mormeck etc?
Chuck liddell is a UFC legend. Personnaly i see him being able to beat a few contenders but ultimatly being outboxed by the elites he would never make it to world class level. But my heart says he could have maybe gone far lol, i dont know chuck 'the ice man' Liddell will always be my fav MMA fighter!
On second thought lol, i think he would KO haye and big mac because of there weak chins. Chuck has an amazing chin especialy in his prime when he fought the likes of vito belfort and tito ortiz he probably would just walk through there punches and land his bombs!
Well once he ran across someone who knew how to BOX he'd get seriously fucked up. What Rampage Jackson did to him was what any boxer would do...Lidell pushed his jab out there, dropped it down instead of bringing it back to a defensive position and Rampage just lobbed a right cross over the top of it and it knocked him out....peice of cake, anyone who watched the fight could tell what he was doing wasn't sound BOXING.
Now had Chuck been taught BOXING specifically, I think he could have done ok, it depends on how well he took to learning the subtleties of boxing, pushing the jab and then dropping it to your waist is a Day 1 NO NO....but there are plenty of boxers who still do it, some use it to bait fighters to throw a power punch so they can counter them (James Toney, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Roy Jones Jr., etc) and others, like Andy Lee just never seem to learn that it's not illegal to block a punch with something other than your face.
Chuck could have been a cruiser champ for sure. I think he would have at least tried to go fro heavyweight being that close to their weight. 205lbs is LHW in UFC and he is cutting weight to get there.
Chuck has strong legs (had) and a great chin. He was not just a war machine. He took some big shots, but he had guile in the ring. If he started boxing when he started MMA he would have been just as good. He's a true athlete and freak of nature.
Gotta remember he is 39 now and he's been rattled too many times. So I wouldn't hold it against him for losing to Rampage recently. Granted he couldn't beat him in pride either...
He is my fav MMA, too, Lyle, Matt.
He would of got his ass kicked badly
Ive always watched Liddell thinking a top cruiserweight would slaughter him.
Haye would have him spark uncouncoius in one round in a boxing match.
Can you imagine the damage a puncher like Haye (or any big punching boxer) would do with those little gloves. Frightening.
Chuck's an elite MMA fighter.
He can get seriously schooled and hurt against the boxing's elites in his division. Having said that, it is tit for tat, he too, will school a lot of boxers in the same division, should they decide to try their hand out in the MMA.
Fish out of water, should'n't be toyed around, for it is only good for the frying pan! Yummm!
Have you ever seen one of those Styrofoam cups after it is taken down in a submarine ?
I love Chuck and had he been trained all along as a boxer he would have had moderate success simply b/c he has a great beard and tremendous KO power. Those two combined with great timing and counter punching can go along way. All that aside Chuck either didn't want to evolve or simply couldn't. MMA striking became more technical and people figured out his odd angles and counter punching. I think Chuck as a boxer would have fallen in love with his knockout power just like he did in MMA and would never be a technical enough fighter to be considered an elite or championship fighter. There was a period of time where Chuck was as talented as any body in MMA but the sport and father time passed him by.
Now if the question is how would he do now or anytime w/o significant training as a boxer? Then yes he'd get destroyed. There is a very small group of boxers or mixed martial artists that could switch sports and have any semblance of success.
He may become an contender if he dedicated himself to the sport in the beginning other than that I don't see him becoming an champion like say an Holyfield.
He was able to become an elite fighter in his particular sport, I see not reason why he would not have been able to do the same in boxing if he dedicated himself to boxing as he did with MMA.
Had Chuck been a boxer he would have merely had to concentrate on his hands. He certainly would have been a more calculating striker due to that focus and the experience he would amass rising through the ranks.
However, as a Cruiserweight in boxing he would have been undersized.
Additionally he doesn't have the best body for movement so he would have been exploited by many fighters, bigger/quicker/more skillfull.
However, in boxing he would have been marketed carefully and made a truckload more money"!
stupid question
why the hell would he continue fighting in the MMA if he could earn potential multi millions by being a succesful boxer.
America may love UFC/MMA/WWF but the rest of the world is years away from catching on!!!
I gotta tell you.I must be missing something and maybe I'm guilty of not being fully versed on Chuck.From what Ive seen he has a great punch (?) a solid chin (?) and a bit of a beer gut.Preferes stand up as opposed to ground(?).And he's old.Uses hands much more than legs?Isn't he on the 'downslide' at his respected MMA career?
I just dont see him ammounting to much in the sport but would like most hitters,stand a punchers chance against anyone.But he does not have the mentality of a 'boxer',and the ring is littered with come forward guys banking on impossing they're will and knocking heads willing to take a punch.I think he gets battered at a decent level....He'd have to learn his legs all over,bending,positioning,let alone catching up and cutting off a guy who has been trained for years doing it.
I think he could have done very well as a boxer, if he was only training his boxing skills he would be alot better than what he is. If Enzo Mac could win a world title at cruiser would it really be that unrealistic that Chuck could as well...
Liddell's punches were too open and any decent boxer with good speed would badly beat him up, i'd say anyone from Lightheavy up would stop him
Why? Because they are both white?Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil
I think Chuck's style would be different in boxing. The gloves in UFC are small, difficult to block with, and light. Chuck actually throws pretty straight punches until he corners someone (how can you corner in an octagon?)
He did not have a beer belly. He's just built like a barrel. He is weighing in at 205... I'm pretty sure he doesn't walk around at 190 and drink a bunch of beer to fight UFC-LHW.
He would get destroyed. He relied too much on his iron jaw to keep him in fights. He was no boxer, just a counter puncher with a lot of power. He wouldn't crack the top 100. COMPLETELY different sports, guys.
:confused::-XQuote:
Originally Posted by JonnyFoldsWhy? Because they are both white?Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil
I think Chuck's style would be different in boxing. The gloves in UFC are small, difficult to block with, and light. Chuck actually throws pretty straight punches until he corners someone (how can you corner in an octagon?)
He did not have a beer belly. He's just built like a barrel. He is weighing in at 205... I'm pretty sure he doesn't walk around at 190 and drink a bunch of beer to fight UFC-LHW.
I think he meant because in many eyes Big Enzo was complete shite. I don't really think that & suspect he would have got KO'd by any decent boxer from domestic champ level up, even Enzo. Haye would have annihalated him in a round at either CW or HW. He's probably got a decent chin, but its very rarely been tested by punchers of the same class you get in boxing.
First off, this isn't a stupid question, I routinely ask myself how guys in the MMA would do as boxers and if someone has the drive, desire, and dedication to learn and utilize other martial arts then I am sure they would have SOME success in boxing. However, I do think far too many MMA fighters don't know proper punching technique.
JohnyFolds, I mean no disrespect to Chuck Lidell, but in all honesty as a BOXER if you look at his fights in MMA, just the "striking" he did, he was technically unsound. Sure he acheived great results, he was a GREAT MMA fighter and his ability to land MEANINGFUL PUNCHES in MMA was very good (and fighters are getting better at not throwing punches like little girls these days) I just see when he threw punches he was technically unsound to the extent where a guy who knows even a little about boxing could see where he would leave himself open to counters.
Chuck vs Rampage in the UFC was not AGE it was SKILL...Chuck lazily pushed a jab out and dropped it by his waist MULTIPLE TIMES and the answer to that as the opposing fighter is RIGHT CROSS...that is Boxing 101, very simple easy mistake and he got KO'd on account of it.
Now had he trained as a boxer all his life and been taught how to box and absorbed all the boxing knowledge he could handle and he could make it happen in the ring, then I see no reason why he couldn't have been a contender. But just based on his MMA I don't think he'd do any better than say an Andrei Arlovski.
In boxing a lot of guys can BOX and a lot of guys can PUNCH...it's the cream of the crop that can do both or that can master pure boxing or pure punching....your average MMA fighter can't punch and won't be able to grasp how to box without lots and lots of training, that's how the best boxers become the best boxers
if it was chuck liddell in his mma prime switching to boxing i dont think he would of fared that great, but if chuck liddell started off as a straight up boxer i have no doubts that with his obvious natural talent he could of been a good championQuote:
Originally Posted by BIG H
Quote:
Originally Posted by JonnyFoldsWhy? Because they are both white?Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil
I think Chuck's style would be different in boxing. The gloves in UFC are small, difficult to block with, and light. Chuck actually throws pretty straight punches until he corners someone (how can you corner in an octagon?)
He did not have a beer belly. He's just built like a barrel. He is weighing in at 205... I'm pretty sure he doesn't walk around at 190 and drink a bunch of beer to fight UFC-LHW.
pretty quick to jump with the race shit there :rolleyes:
my point was Enzo's pretty crap and he managed to win a world title, if Chuck had been trained all along in just boxing he'd be alot better boxer than he is in the UFC, also Cruiser is not the best of divisions so he'd have had a good chance at wining a title imo
I think Lyle says it best. I think the first decent boxer doesn't even have to be elite would beat Chuck soundly.
I totally agree, I think Manny would knock the guy out. Yes I said Manny PacquiaoQuote:
Originally Posted by Violent Demise
I would like to see a ufc/boxing event where ufc people try boxing and boxers try ufc. It would end up with ufc guys getting knocked out and boxers tapping out left and right. Thats kind of what the old ufc was like people had different styles, now they all have striking and take downs and holds etc...
It wouldn't all be tap outs. The use of elbows, knees and kicks changes things in the stand up game.
k1 did something similar with Jerome Le Banner V Bobb Sapp. First round was kickboxing and second was MMA. Le Banner was asked to carry him in my opinion and could easily have taken Sapp out at any time.Quote:
Originally Posted by No Contest