How translatable are fighting skills? (Fury lines up potential humiliating hat-trick)

[Beanz]

How translatable are fighting skills ?

So Tyson Fury claims he is going to have ago at kickboxing a month after fighting Haye whatever the result, Haye says

“Fury's a whacky guy and a proper fighting man, so he probably thinks he can conquer the world right now. He has said it himself: he's the greatest fighter to ever live. At first I just assumed he meant in the field of boxing, but perhaps Fury genuinely believes he can jump into other sports and do the business there, too.
“I've already heard him call out UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez - another heavyweight who'd smash Fury to pieces – and maybe he can also slip that mismatch into his schedule once I've knocked him out in September and he's been head-kicked to the floor in October. The UFC champion can wrestle him to the ground and complete a humiliating hat-trick."





Haye to Fury: "One month after our fight, you'll be going back to basics" | BoxRecNews




So exactly how translatable are fighting skills ? Before everybody claims that Martial Arts are no grounding or in any way comparable or compatible to the skill sets employed in boxing, let's not forget facts that tend to suggest otherwise.


There are numerous boxers who started off in another Martial Art.



Vitali Klitschko - Kick boxing

Ricky Hatton - Kick boxing

Scott Quigg - Muay Thai

David Haye - Karate
ETC


But not so many who have been successful moving in the other direction.

Discuss.


Also is Fury a prune?

I am going to invite anybody from the MMA board to comment as well.

[beenKOed]

MMA fighters do work with boxers to improve their boxing or striking skills. Staying in position, timing, balance, speed, desire, stamina, toughness and dedication to training would translate well to any sport, in my opinion.

[Tam Seddon]

I know I don't compete but I started out doing boxing when I was 13 and I always had an interest in Thai boxing with me training at a gym where Thai boxing was happening. I didn't attempt to do it until I was 20 and I do it all of the time now. Having a boxing background has helped me greatly in the sport and i was rubbish at kicking when I started. But after lots of practice I can headkick, double kick, knee, elbow, etc!! It's a great sport and hopefully looking to have a fight in it soon. Fury would be a moster if he could headkick, he's light on his feet anyway so he would be more than capable.

[Beanflicker]

Being able to move and throw professional-level punches is always going to be a desired trait.

But the problem is, you can't take pure boxing skills and bring it into MMA or kickboxing.

1) The stance is different, because you have to worry about being kicked and throwing kicks yourself. You also have to keep a wider stance to defend against takedowns.

2) The range is different (kicking range vs punching range).

3) A capable kickboxer or mixed martial artist can exploit your one dimensional skillset. MMA guys can take you to the ground, and a good kickboxer can maintain range and cut you down with leg kicks.

I've done boxing and muay thai, and I can tell you (and I'm sure Tam can attest to this), taking a serious leg kick SUCKS. It hurts like a bitch, it drains your energy, it slows your movement, it limits your ability to sit down on a punch. If you take a hard leg kick to the thigh it makes you want to quit. That's something you need to be conditioned to check, and you need to be conditioned to withstand the impact. Obviously boxing does not prepare you to get kicked in the leg or the head.

A pure boxer only as a puncher's chance in these sports (like Ray Mercer vs Tim Sylvia).

[Tam Seddon]

Being able to move and throw professional-level punches is always going to be a desired trait.

But the problem is, you can't take pure boxing skills and bring it into MMA or kickboxing.

1) The stance is different, because you have to worry about being kicked and throwing kicks yourself. You also have to keep a wider stance to defend against takedowns.

2) The range is different (kicking range vs punching range).

3) A capable kickboxer or mixed martial artist can exploit your one dimensional skillset. MMA guys can take you to the ground, and a good kickboxer can maintain range and cut you down with leg kicks.

I've done boxing and muay thai, and I can tell you (and I'm sure Tam can attest to this), taking a serious leg kick SUCKS. It hurts like a bitch, it drains your energy, it slows your movement, it limits your ability to sit down on a punch. If you take a hard leg kick to the thigh it makes you want to quit. That's something you need to be conditioned to check, and you need to be conditioned to withstand the impact. Obviously boxing does not prepare you to get kicked in the leg or the head.

A pure boxer only as a puncher's chance in these sports (like Ray Mercer vs Tim Sylvia).

Yes I do agree with that and the stance in Thai is a lot squarer on compared to standing to the side in boxing. With doing boxing for such a long time, blocking leg kicks is difficult with being so use to just using my hands. I'm doing a lot of work on leg defences now to Improve that side of my game because yes low kicks really do hurt.