RE: Why do MMA fans hate boxing?
Really nice analysis and it deserves more votes and views, please keep writing these, I think they will gain more traction eventually.
I think you're right about the boxing vs MMA animosity, for me I was first and foremost a boxing fan and when mixed martial arts first started being aired on TV I kind of liked it, especially all the BJJ stuff.
However what I didn't like (or was used to) was the way the fighters were allowed to carry on after the opponent was on the floor, the amount of blood put me off.
I guess that's because boxing, although tough and brutal, had the air of the gentleman, no hitting a downed opponent. Referee stopping a fight when he saw a fight in trouble, standing 8 counts and so on . .
I came from the era of Sugar Ray and Marvellous Marvin Haggler, then later Mike Tyson and Brit boxers such as Eubank, Benn, Watson and Collins, not to mention one of my all time faves Herrol Bomber Graham.
For me this was the golden era of boxing, it seemed there was a high degree of skill in the divisions and anyone could beat anyone (until Tyson came along).
Two things turned me off boxing for a while, first the corruption, the amount of bullshit decisions and the way a boxer could duck a legitimate contender really annoyed me. I mean look at the way Mayweather managed to duck Pac-man for so long.
Next it was the fact that the heavyweight division went into serious decline after Iron Mike. It got to a point where it was just a couple of fat guys dancing around in the ring.
As much as I respect Foreman, a 48 year old should not have been able to become World Champion.
So slowly I slipped away from boxing and got really into the light to middleweight divisions of MMA.
I still love boxing though, however I understand why (especially from a young person's perspective) people may be disparaging towards boxing.
You are right though, without boxing there would be no MMA, so lets look forward to a future of more cross overs and both sports growing and thriving :-)
A lot of people say that boxing is a cleaner sport because its much more pure in terms of what it tries to offer. When you start separating a specific component out of a broader scope, in this case, boxing out of MMA, you end up simplifying it which allows viewers to more easily understand it. I think the complexity of MMA causes misunderstanding of it and thus a different appreciation. Do you train in any martial arts systems? I was never a mega fan of MMA until I started doing jiu jitsu, and before that I was training Muay Thai for years and was a big fan of K1. You tend to like what you are involved in!
Great article, and great comments for this one! Im a sucker for fighting!
I have to agree with your assessment of how difficult MMA is to understand, it was this very fact that made it hard for me to watch in the beginning, and I tended to stick to just the strike orientated fighters, but as I've watched, I've become a little more familiar with the grappling and so can now enjoy it to a degree, but still prefer the stand up aspect better.
When I was younger I did Karate for about 4 years, but that was at least 20 years ago, so I can't remember anything now. I tried Muay thai for between 6 months to a year in my teens, and amazingly I can still recall some of the things I learned, although weather I would be able to perform them or not, is another question.
Your right about loving the things your involved in, I suppose its that old saying "do what you love, and love what you do" Don't know who said it, but they were right.
I always loved boxing and always watched it, but didn't take it up until my late 20's, it was more for fitness and fun rather than for competition. The last couple of years I've been diversifying and enjoying other combat sports, but boxing will always be my number one, at least for me.
Thanks for leaving a comment, I enjoyed reading and replying to it. keep steemin and keep well.
Hey buddy, thanks for taking the time to review my post and leave a great comment, it is appreciated.
I envy you for the era of boxing that you grew up in, those guys were some great fighters, and they also produced some amazing fights. I can understand why you went of boxing after that, you had been previously spoiled.
I was a little late to the party, but was lucky enough to catch the tail end of Eubank, Benn and Collins careers, so I caught the Collins v Benn fights and the Collins v Eubanks fights.
I, like you, started as a boxing fan, before opening my horizons to other combat sports, such as, kickboxing and Muay Thai, mostly striking based sports. It took me a little longer to grasp MMA because of the grappling aspect, I think more because of a lack of understanding, rather than not liking or respecting it.
The point you make about MMA's perceived brutality is something I also found of putting, but the more you watch the more you learn, and what you learn is that it is actually safer than boxing, because repetitive punching does more damage than a quick K.O.
The corruption and bullshit decisions makes me sick and I used question my continued support of the sport, but then I thought, why should I let cheats turn me away from something I love, instead I judge fights by my own score card. I can't understand how judges and referees don't get punished, even if it is a honest mistake or just a bad night, everyone has them.
When your working a 9 to 5 job and you mess up, you take responsibility, take your warning and learn from it. If you keep making the same mistakes then you get fired. Simple and fair. If a judge or ref is taking bribes , then he doesn't deserve the job, if he keeps making bad decisions, then he is incapable of doing the job, and he doesn't deserve it, so get rid of him or her.
I take issue with your assessment of the heavyweight division after Tyson. Fat guys dancing about, I think fat guys dancing about would have been more entertaining, it was more like fat guys hugging for twelve rounds. In all seriousness though, most sports ebb and flow in terms of talent, it will be a while before we see another Mayweather in boxing, a Phelps in swimming or Bolt in sprinting, these great athletes raised the games of all their opponents. I believe it takes someone with great ability but also a great personality to capture the publics interest.
In boxing it moves up and down the divisions, in the late 90's early 2000's it was the bantamweights and featherweights, Morales, Barrera, Pacqauio, Marquez and Naseem. Then it went to welter to middleweights, Pacqauio, Cotto, Mayweather Mosley and de la hoya. Hopefully with the new young Heavyweights coming through , Wilder and Joshua, the heavyweight division will become more entertaining and competitive.
The ducking debacle is destroying boxing. Some people take issue with the amount of belts in boxing, I personally don't, the issue for me is how the holders avoid each other and how the organisations not only allow it, but are sometimes the cause of it.
Once again thanks, and sorry for the big long rant.