If Matt Skelton started boxing earlier...

**imp** · 01-14-2014 01:17 AM

He done extremely well for such a late start in boxing.

**Tam Seddon** · 01-14-2014 02:06 AM

Originally Posted by imp

He done extremely well for such a late start in boxing.

He came to boxing at 35 years old after a very long kickboxing career.

**Beanflicker** · 01-14-2014 03:09 PM

Skelton was super talented and athletic so who knows how far he could have gone if he started early and really applied himself to just boxing.

Going from kickboxing to boxing is a very hard transition. The range is completely different and one of your big assets is taken away in kicking. Imagine if you took a boxer like Andre Ward and put him under new rules where you say "ok, now you're not allowed to use your left hand". Suddenly after 15-20 years of boxing with both hands, he can't use his jab or left hook anymore, and moreover he has to fight guys who have fought using one hand all their lives. You really have to reinvent yourself as a fight at the core level, so considering this, for Skelton to go to boxing at 35 and have the career he did is nothing short of remarkable.

Instead of boxing, I wish he had stuck with MMA. He had one MMA fight, but he got put in against a world class wrestler and top 10 HW in his first fight, which I guess discouraged him. If he had gotten with a good camp that could teach him to defend the takedown, he could have been a scary HW with his world class muay thai skills and athleticism. He fought a who's who of K1 fighters (Aerts, Lebanner, Hoost, Ignashov, Sefo, Greco, Filho, ect). He was the real deal.