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This guy get's my F-U award
As the popularity of mixed martial arts increases, so do comparisons to boxing. MMA supporters argue their sport offers much more action, while boxing backers counter that they are treated to more cliff-hangers.
Oftentimes, the arguments get blurred because many MMA fans love boxing and vice versa. But which is likely to offer the most entertainment? Which sport would fans prefer?
These questions were put front and center Saturday night when mixed martial arts and boxing offered high-profile bouts simultaneously. Boxing presented a light heavyweight battle between Bernard Hopkins and Joe Calzaghe, while MMA countered with a UFC welterweight rematch pitting champion Matt Serra against Georges St. Pierre.
Aside from the combatants, other factors had to be taken into consideration. Hopkins-Calzaghe was being offered on HBO, while Serra-St. Pierre II was available only on pay-per-view.
In Hopkins-Calzaghe, fans were being presented with two of boxing's best pound-for-pound fighters. St. Pierre is among MMA's top three or four fighters pound-for-pound, but Serra is regarded by many as a flash in the pan.
Other factors needed to be considered before making a final decision. Fans had to take into account fighting styles.
Hopkins is known for being very deliberate, while Calzaghe is a rapid puncher who loves to apply pressure. Whoever imposed his will was likely to come out victorious.
With Serra-St. Pierre, fans had a better idea of what would transpire. The two fought previously at UFC 69 on April 7, 2007. Serra shocked the MMA world that night with a TKO at 3:25 of the first round.
Boxing got the jump on MMA by kicking off its broadcast 15 minutes earlier. And there were no preliminaries. Hopkins and Calzaghe got going right away, and they did not disappoint.
Hopkins went right at Calzaghe, even dropping him in the opening round for a 10-8 scoring advantage. The action continued at a relatively quick pace for much of the second and third rounds.
But by the fourth, Hopkins, 43, began to slow down. He resorted to holding whenever the action got close. This drew jeers from the 14,213 in attendance at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
For those at home, the fourth round of Hopkins-Calzaghe signaled the time to pluck down $44.95 and catch Serra and St. Pierre. The electricity generated by the 21,390 at the Bell Centre in Montreal would make it difficult to turn back to B-Hop and Calzaghe.
Based on their initial encounter, many fans expected to see another toe-to-toe affair. That did not happen. St. Pierre immediately went for the takedown and began pounding on Serra, whose tremendous jiu-jitsu kept him from being pounded out quickly.
The action was intense, with St. Pierre dominating. When the round was over, Serra had the scars of a beaten warrior. But there is no quit in Serra and MMA fans had to know that crowning a new UFC welterweight champion was not a foregone conclusion.
"[The nonstop action is] what makes mixed martial arts so strong," said longtime boxing and MMA trainer Don House. "In mixed martial arts, somebody's going to bleed, somebody's going to tap out or somebody's going to get knocked out.
"Only three out of 10 fights will go the distance. But in those other seven fights … somebody is getting knocked out or they're tapping out, period."
Serra-St. Pierre ended much like the majority of mixed martial arts battles. St. Pierre regained his title and revenge with a TKO at 4:45 of the second round.
While Serra and St. Pierre settled their dispute in quick fashion, Hopkins and Calzaghe needed a lot more time to conclude matters. By the fifth round, the momentum had swung toward Calzaghe.
He was hitting Hopkins repeatedly, though none of the punches did damage. And while it appeared Calzaghe was ahead, the outcome remained in doubt.
The uncertainty of who would get the decision provided much of the drama. There just wasn't a lot of action as Hopkins held Calzaghe for long stretches of time. Despite the slow pace, not all boxing fans were disappointed.
"It was a very tactical fight," said Harold Knight, the longtime assistant trainer for former boxing heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis. "There wasn't much drama; it was more for the boxing purists.
"It was good for boxing because it was a throwback-type fight. It was two good fighters taking on each other. It just goes to show that boxing is around to stay; it's not going anywhere."
UFC light heavyweight contender Rashad Evans is a huge boxing fan; he watched Hopkins-Calzaghe and Serra-St. Pierre. Evans admits enjoying each fight, but when pressed to pick the one he liked most …
"I enjoyed the Serra-St. Pierre fight more," said Evans, who has a June 7 date in London with former UFC 205-pound champion Chuck Liddell. "There was more action, plan and simple. Watching the Hopkins-Calzaghe fight, it wasn't clear that Calzaghe won."
Based solely on entertainment, which sport came out on top Saturday night? It appears the edge goes to MMA due to the nature of the combatants' fighting styles.
"The UFC will always have more action than a Hopkins fight," House said. "Hopkins did the same thing he'd done in his last three or four fights -- just enough to lose."
That sentiment is shared by Evans. But he refuses to place full blame on Hopkins. Evans points to the way MMA fights are more likely to conclude: quickly.
"In mixed martial arts it's all about the finish. Even though you can be technically good, a Bernard Hopkins-type of fighter, fans want to see the finish," Evans said. "They want to see a guy get caught in a submission or get caught with a kick, something that makes them say, 'Wow! Did you see that?' Boxing has lost a lot of that.
"The days of [Marvin] Hagler and [Thomas] Hearns, guys who went out there and burned it up right away, are over. Mixed martial arts still has that.
"Now who is to say in 20 years, when everybody is technically on a different level, it won't go down the same path as boxing? But right now, in MMA's early stages, everything is so raw. Everybody just goes for the finish every single time."
Franklin McNeil covers boxing and mixed martial arts for The Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J.
After all of this all I have to say why would pick Bernard Hopkins vs. Joe Calzaghe to square boxing and MMA off against each other. You are gonna compare two knock down drag out untalented MMA punks.Vs 2 professional standup boxer's.You've got to be kidding me.Now compare these two again on July 26 or us it June 26 when Cotto vs Maragrito fight.Then we will see what real fighting is all about.
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Originally Posted by Lyle
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