Kickboxing vs. Boxing

[Mr.B]

i think a boxer would win because of a boxers feet movement fast hands the way they keep moving their heads about (bob and weave)

A good kickboxer moves just as much as a boxer and will have similar handspeed. Bobbing and weaving isn't a boxing thing... it's a fighting thing. It's instinctive for a good fighter and a technique that any well trained fighter will work to develop. I completely agree with lugzman about the size of the talent pool. The only place in the world where kickboxing is as big or bigger than boxing that I can think of is Thailand. If you compare a Thai kickboxer to boxer, everything you said about speed, foot movement and head movement goes the other way. Then take into consideration the tolerance for pain and arsenal (hands, feet, knees, elbows) that Thai fighters have and I'd say the kickboxer has the advantage.

if you are a good kicker you should be on balance after a kick and even be ready to counter if he rushes in.

The best kickers in the world know there are people they shouldn't kick. Liddell vs. Couture 3 is great example of that. Liddell is great with his hands and feet, but knows better than to kick Couture. If one of your feet is 5 or 6 feet off the ground, you don't have the balance or strength using your one planted foot to move as well as if both feet were solidly on the ground.

Also leg kicking really could slow down a boxers footwork

Definitely. The fight that comes to mind is Pedro Rizzo and Tank Abbott. Obviously neither is a boxer or a kickboxer. But watching that fight, I kept expecting tank to destroy the guy, but after a few minutes, it was obvious that Tank's legs were totally useless after being battered with leg kicks.