MMA Fighters & Boxing Counterparts: Part 2 (http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/1/MMA-Fighters-Boxing-Counterparts-Part-2-14716)

In this three-part series, Sherdog.com’s Jason Probst takes a closer look at some of MMA’s athletes and those in the Sweet Science with whom they share notable traits. Part two features counterparts for Fedor Emelianenko, Georges St. Pierre, Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell.

Fedor Emelianenko = Ray Robinson

Emelianenko’s 28-1 record represents the most impressive run of success in MMA history, especially when you consider the tough competition he’s faced. Although relative inactivity -- just six fights in three years -- and a drop-off in quality opposition have somewhat chipped away at his reputation, Emelianenko remains the ruling heavyweight of his time, despite an inability to secure a mega-fight with Randy Couture or a deal with the UFC.

His last outing, a 36-second stoppage of Tim Sylvia, suggests he’s still as dangerous as ever, even if he’s painfully out of the loop on securing mainstream exposure.

No matter where you fight Emelianenko, he’s going to get the better of you because he’s simply superior in every phase of the game. He has incredible technical skills, backed up by a ton of fortitude and cool-headedness. That’s why he was able to stand and trade with Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and outwork Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira on the ground. Simply put, he’s the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, at least until B.J. Penn or Anderson Silva win a title in a higher weight division.

Robinson was the greatest boxer of his time or anyone else’s, for that matter. While he’s largely remembered by fans for winning the middleweight title five times, very little of his prime years -- when he was a welterweight -- were captured on film. Until he lost the middleweight title against Randy Turpin in 1951, he was 128-2-1, including four wins in five bouts with the bigger Jake LaMotta and victories over a slew of other hall of famers and tough contenders. At welterweight, Robinson was virtually unbeatable, as he could outbox you with lightning-quick hands and wicked power. He was also shoe-leather tough if you went toe-to-toe with him, though he rarely needed to with his superior skills.

It was only well past his prime years that Robinson had to show his toughness on a regular basis -– in the early to mid 1950s and beyond. He was well into his 30s, and his natural advantages dissipated to such a degree that he had to slug it out with naturally bigger men. Even then, he was still amazing. He was only stopped once in a 225-bout career.

Georges St. Pierre = Benny Leonard

With technical brilliance in every phase of the game, UFC welterweight champion St. Pierre suggests a new kind of fighter emerging in the game. Not content to merely cross-train and become competent in one area while depending on another, the Canadian outwrestles wrestlers like Matt Hughes and Jon Fitch with disdainful ease and beats them standing, as well. St. Pierre’s all-around technical ability comes in stark contrast to champions who, just a few years ago, were content to dominate one aspect of the sport.

Benny Leonard was probably the best lightweight that ever lived -- up there with Roberto Duran and the legendary Joe Gans -- precisely because he ushered in an era of scientific boxing, picking up the torch left by predecessors like Gene Tunney and Jimmy Slattery. In addition to a masterful sense of timing, feints and combinations, Leonard could also knock you flat with his punches, as evidenced by his impressive record of 183-19-11 (70 KO). Several of his wins were in the “newspaper decision” era --fights were quasi-official, but victory was awarded to the man judged by the press to be the winner at the final bell.

By the time he retired in 1925, Leonard had cleaned out the lightweight division, having bested tough competition like Rocky Kansas, Lew Tendler and Johnny Dundee. These men were all rough, tough battlers from a golden era of boxing, but Leonard was several levels above them in technique.

That’s the feeling you get watching St. Pierre, who may be the best functional wrestler in MMA despite having no background in amateur wrestling. Given his athletic ability and what he’s done with it, it also prompts consideration of how good fighters will be in a few years, as more people enter the sport.

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Tito Ortiz = Jack Dempsey

Fighting with equal parts charismatic flair and take-no-prisoners mentality, Ortiz was an early forerunner of the kind of jaw-dropping, savage beating that helped catapult MMA from a leg-humping exhibition into kinetic spectacle. Dempsey, whose signature flattop was the earlier version of Ortiz’s dyed-blonde look, drew unprecedented crowds to watch him fight, including the first million-dollar gate in 1921 when he met the game but overmatched Georges Carpentier. It was a breakthrough moment for boxing, and Dempsey followed a fourth-round KO with big-money, high-profile bouts against Luis Firpo and Gene Tunney.

When Dempsey destroyed Jess Willard in 1918, it was a stunning display of violence, and a stark departure from the kind of slap-and-clinch style that was dominating boxing. Ortiz’ destructions of Jerry Bohlander and Guy Mezger were refreshingly simple, considering the extended lay-and-pray that seemed to dominate the sport at the time.

Ortiz helped usher the sport out of the dark era and towards mainstream appeal. If you were at UFC 40, where Ortiz headlined in his first match with Ken Shamrock, you could literally feel the palpable tension in the air. Now a free agent, Ortiz’s place in the history books remains open to interpretation as he tackles a new generation of fighters.

Another funny parallel exists between the two. During World War I, Dempsey was photographed at a blue-collar factory job to help drum up support for the war effort. However, he absent-mindedly wore a pair of fancy dress shoes to the shoot, which raised an uproar from the public that he was a draft dodger and “slacker.” Ortiz had similar problems with dress shoes in London one night (insert Lee Murray joke here).

Mark Coleman = Jim Jeffries

In every sport, an athlete comes along with physical tools that redefine the equation and raise the bar. Basketball had George Mikan and Bill Russell, the first of the mobile centers. Football had Lawrence Taylor. Coleman and Jeffries were both imposing physical specimens who simply crushed opponents and looked terrifyingly effective in the process.

At UFC 10, Coleman debuted with three wins in one night, as he stopped Moti Horenstein, Gary Goodridge and Don Frye and was heralded as a new kind of fighter, someone who could take you down and make you pay dearly.

Coleman’s early displays of ground-and-pound at UFC 10 made him seem invincible at the time and took some of the sheen of off Brazilian jiu-jitsu’s dominance of the still-developing sport. At 245 pounds of solid muscle, the ex-college wrestler seemed too strong for his peers.

At 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds, Jeffries simply ground down opponents with strength, will and power. Winning the heavyweight title from hall of famer Bob Fitzsimmons, Jeffries also stopped Jim Corbett twice. Retired for five years, he returned in 1910 against Jack Johnson in a racially tinged bout and was dominated in a one-way contest that was stopped in the 15th. In his prime, he was handful for any heavyweight.

Chuck Liddell = Bob Foster

Regardless of his shocking one-punch stoppage loss to Rashad Evans earlier this month, Liddell’s legacy is safe.

What’s interesting about Liddell in this comparison is how his power overshadowed his considerable technical skills. With a massive right hand that defined endless highlight-reel stoppages, he’s rarely had to show off other traits because of his ability to dominate and dictate fights at his preferred stand-up range. But Liddell remains a master of springing back to his feet. And his ground-and-pound is among the most accurate in the game, as he puts together precise combos on stunned foes with laser-like accuracy.

Foster reigned as light heavyweight champion for six years, making 14 defenses, including stunning one-punch knockouts over Dick Tiger and Bobby Quarry. Foster was also a fine technical boxer when he had to be, with a wonderfully fast, stiff jab and a 6-foot-3 frame that he stuck and moved when he needed to. Like Liddell, his knockouts tended to outshine other astute parts of his game.

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Miguel Torres = Carlos Zarate

A killer bantamweight champion who ruled with an iron hand, Zarate was one of the numerous Mexican 118-pounders to duke it out in high-profile bouts in the 1970s. His bouts were often held inside The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., where fans would riot if their hero lost. With a record of 66-4 (63 KO), Zarate’s knockout prowess was underscored by tactical smarts and the ability to fight from anywhere. In a chest-to-chest brawl, he would punish you with crippling body shots. He could also outbox you at range and had the gas tank to go deep.

Torres’ 34-1 record is every bit as amazing. Emerging from obscurity last year in the WEC, the Chicago battler has given the 135-pound bantams in MMA a new face and some mystique, too. Like Zarate, Torres can hang in any kind of fight. His jiu-jitsu is equal parts slick and nullifying, and if you want to bang it out on the feet, chances are you’ll get caught with something awful.

On the horizon, Torres’ dominance of the WEC 135-pound division makes a bout with featherweight champion Urijah Faber a very marketable fight a year or so from now, provided both keep winning. Zarate’s move up to 122 against legend Wilfredo Gomez was one of the early lighter weight super fights of the modern era, but Zarate was stopped in five rounds. Torres-Faber could be MMA’s version of that bout some day.

Bob Sapp = Primo Carnera

Hindsight is 20/20, but looking back at the careers of both men, their phenomenal size prompted talk of a super heavyweight division to limit the advantages in poundage both enjoyed over foes. Steered to the heavyweight title in 1934 through astute -- and crooked -- matchmaking, Carnera was a 260-pound monster who lifted the heavyweight title from Jack Sharkey. A previous Carnera opponent, Ernie Schaaf, died after a 13th-round stoppage, further adding to the Carnera aura as a too-dangerous superman.

But Carnera proved entirely human, despite his size advantages. He made three defenses -- including an embarrassing spectacle against light heavyweight slickster Tommy Loughran that went an unbearable 15 rounds, mostly clinching and running -- before being dismantled by Max Baer in 1934. In that fight, he was floored 11 times in as many rounds. The following year, Carnera was fed to an up-and-coming Joe Louis, who thrashed him in six. From there, Carnera slid into career oblivion, losing bouts to journeymen along the way.

When Sapp debuted on the MMA scene in 2002, he was a perfect fit for the Japanese audience. At 350 pounds of solid beef, he gave Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira quite a scare by ****ing the Brazilian on his head before running out of gas and submitting to an armbar. Sapp had a series of K-1 bouts where his technical deficiencies and lack of stamina became readily apparent. Like Carnera, it seemed that, despite his size, his heart was never really into it.

Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto = Khaosai Galaxy

From 1984-1991, Thai sensation Khaosai Galaxy held the WBA 115-pound title and made 19 straight defenses, 16 by stoppage. But unless you were an avid reader of boxing magazines, you probably had little idea of who he was. A barrel-chested southpaw, Galaxy generated such enormous power that he was dubbed “The Thai Tyson.” Regrettably, he was never seen on stateside television, and a dream matchup with 118-pound champion Orlando Canizales failed to materialize. Galaxy retired with a 49-1 record.

Like Galaxy, in the U.S. Yamamoto is known exclusively to hardcore fans. Back during Galaxy’s title reign, you’d have to pick up a boxing magazine and check the agate type for far-flung fight reports to find out about his bouts. Today’s equivalent has fans checking the Internet for stories and reports on Yamamoto, who has yet to fight in the U.S. With intensity and a punishing attack at his disposal, Yamamoto would make a perfect opponent for Urijah Faber if he could be brought to the WEC.

Part three will feature counterparts for Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mirko Filipovic, B.J. Penn, Jake Shields, Ricco Rodriguez, Tank Abbott, Kazushi Sakuraba, Lyoto Machida and Brock Lesnar.

Can't say I agree with all of it but I found the Bob Sapp - Primo Carnera comparison quite funny.

I don't really see how Ortiz is similar to Dempsey or how Liddell is similar to Foster.

the spider and who?........................