I think that overall MMA has actually helped boxing in a lot of ways. Dana White (UFC's president) structured the UFC to avoid all of the things that are rotten with boxing today. Instead of paying $50 for one fight you want to watch, you get multiple big, relevant fights per card. In the UFC, the best are CONSTANTLY fighting the best. There is no "Well I want a 60/40 split" or any of that crap. If you are the champ, you are fighting the #1 contenders. There are no easy fights in the UFC anymore.

I think the level of compedition the UFC has brought has actually helped boxing. It has put a ton of pressure on promoters to make the BIG fights happen and give the consumer more bang for their buck.

Of course an MMA guy will never have the handskills of a pro boxer, but thats because a pro boxer trains his hands 100% of the time. The MMA guy has to learn boxing, muay thai (punching/kicking/kneeing/elbowing), wrestling, BJJ. He has to learn to attack from many different positions and, conversely, defend from many different positions and defend so many different types of attacks.

For people who don't believe MMA fighting requires much skill, believe me when I tell you that you are just seeing the tip of the iceberg. I remember thinking boxing was boring as hell when I was a kid. I didn't understand it, why were these guys dancing around and throwing weak-looking punches at each other (jabs)? Why didn't they just run out and KO each other? Obviously that kind of ignorance wears off when you watch and learn more about the sport. Same thing in this case. What looks like two men rolling around on the ground actually involves a plethora of technique, skill and know-how.