Good interview with Mercer and Toney on MMA and Boxing

[The Promoter]

First of all very good interview, thanks Skel. Secondly Mercer and Toney are bound to say that the training is so much harder now they are in MMA as it is their new sport and they are no longer good enough to fight in boxing! I also remember though when Hatton was training for Mayweather he trained at the UFC headquarters gym in Vegas and in some interviews with some of the UFC fighters they were saying we have never seen training like that from a fighter, Hatton is amazing in the gym. So they must be wrong!

I'm realistic though and I don't think Toney has much chance in the UFC, his footwork is not fast enough to be effective and keep the fight standing (where he will be at an advantage) and he isn't trained at blocking the takedowns! One thing I agree with though is what RJJ said, a boxer could transition to MMA much easier than the other way around. I mean Lesnar won the UFC HW title in his 3rd fight (I think), now if he tried coming over to boxing and after his 3rd fight fought Vitali, I think we all know the outcome. Brutal 1st round KO!

I love boxing first and foremost but I don't mind MMA and I have a lot of respect for them. But if they are trying to rubbish what Jones said about them not being able to transition as easily as a boxer might to MMA then they are just not straight thinking at all. Boxers who reached the top are training in boxing usually for 20 years before they get a world title shot. Someone just trying their hand at it like Anderson Silva did and not taking it 100% serious is going to get what he did, KO'd! Now a boxer in MMA, as long as the fight is stood up (where it starts) IMO has a huge advantage as striking is a big part of MMA and should they land them Heavy hands WILL end the fight as Mercer did to Sylvia.

Since when did Anderson Silva ever get KO'ed in either boxing or MMA ? Never, he has been subbed twice, lost a UD in his first fight and was DQ'ed in another.

As for Brock making the transistion easier to MMA than boxing, well thats a no-brainer. Brock was a highly decorated collegiate wrestler, 106-5, and arguably one of the best ever wresters to enter MMA. The best base to start in MMA is certainly wrestling. Thats a given, and the sheer size of him ensures he was always going to be one hell of a tough Mofo to beat inside the cage. Thats also been proven.

Silva lost some years back to a guy by KO and it was an actual Boxing match even counted as a pro boxing loss.....Though Silva is much much different of a fighter now he was in his early 20's or something like that...He fought a pro boxing bout a few years later and won.....

This whole thing is apples and oranges kids....Fact is you have no ground game you are not going far in MMA.....

Kimbo Slice- Great slugger but on his back he had nothing

Tank Abbott- Great stand up lousy on his back...Tank was only as successful as he was because the time he came along you had really a little amount of rules to follow...No eye gouging I think was it...So it was a street fight for him...

You can have all the boxing skill in the world but if your man rushes you and you don't KO him with the one shot you land as he comes in then what?....It has been proven time and again..

I like both MMA and boxing...Though Boxing more.....

I think it is easier to make the change from MMA to boxing then the other way around

I'll differ on your assessment;

Tank Abbott was supposed to be an All American College Wrestler and while his stand up was good compared to other MMA fighters, it is terrible compared to pro boxing standards. Remember his initial strategy against Kimbo was to get Kimbo to the ground...didn't happen.

Kimbo could never cut it in boxing as he trained for a while and realized that it wasn't going to happen in the pro boxing game. So he took his marginal boxing ability and has done pretty well in MMA.

Boxing is a more defined sport and weaknesses in your ability are quickly exposed since you can't bring a guy to the ground if you are being overwhelmed. MMA gives you "outs" if a guy has better stand-up; get him to the ground thus covering up your weakness. Trap a guy against the ropes, clinch and throw an elbow, maybe a foot stomp and drag him to the ground. If a guy is a better boxer you kick his legs, in MMA you have options not available in a clearly defined sport like boxing. Being a sport with limited options like boxing you have to be better and more disciplined within those options. Just like the difference between a "jack of all trades" vs a "master of one trade". While a scientist may know more about many things (like MMA) a Rocket Scientist is a master of one discipline (like a Boxer). With that said I believe MMA gives marginal boxers other opportunities and an easier migration path, while Boxing would require an MMA fighter to become expert in something he may not be that good at, making it much more difficult to reach championship levels.

[The Promoter]

:cool

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbAxh...ayer_embedded#

Really good interview and it brings up the age old "boxer v wrestler" argument...which I love ...I wonder if two over the hill boxers stating that MMA is tougher really holds weight since the can no longer box at a championship level but believe they are able to compete at that level in MMA? I think all on this website will agree that most MMA striking is sorely lacking today...

I will have to disagree with this statement. MMA striking is more diverse than boxing. Striking in boxing is punches and punches only. In MMA there are so many different types of strikes that can be thrown.

Knees
Elbows
High Kicks Low Kicks
Flying Knees
Spinning Backfists etc.,

I would not say striking in MMA is lacking at all. I love both sports and always see the whole mma vs boxing on the mma forum I am apart of as well.

I don't disagree that MMA fighters have more options. I meant that the boxing fundamentals MMA guys used are poor. Watch an MMA fighter throw a jab, hook, cross or any combination compared to a pro-boxer or decent amateur, in this aspect MMA stand up is lacking. Not to say it won't get better as the sport matures. Remember, boxing has had about a 150 year head start....

[X]

Some good posts here.

- firstly, I wouldnt read too much into the comparisons that the two guys are making in the video. They are essentially washed up boxers at the highest level moving onto a new venture and they are not going to slag it off are they?
- second .... while I think that MMA guys are tough and good athletes, their actual sport is still young, so they do not yet have a history or traditions on how to fight. In any new sport, its easier to reach the top because less people do it and ther is less competition. This will change quite quickly as MMA is growing really fast
- third, I think that MMA people have some flawed techique but that is because their sport is a mixture of much more fighting styles than boxing. Its probably better to be a jack of all trades in MMA rather than 'only' a master striker or floor guy.

Lastly, sadly listening to James and Ray's speech patterns in this video, I dont think there is any doubt about how tough boxing is, but its also not the best possible advert for the sport either?

Equally, what does it say about a supposedly elite athletic sport when two over the hill guys - who are already arguably damaged - are allowed to fight in MMA?