street fight vs. boxing

[Conmemay]

I had an argument today with a friend that believes that boxers cannot hold their own in a street fight. He believes that other combat sports such as karate, olympic wrestling, judo, mixed martial arts are highly superior compared to boxing and that boxers outside the ring cannot handle their own when they are not in the ring. He pretty much believes that boxing is the lowest form of fighting technique. I got really aggrevated by this and told him that boxing is very disciplined and that he wouldn't stand a chance against a boxer in the ring or outside the ring. He then responded by saying something dumb like "well boxers only punch, so in a street fight, I'll kick him in his knee and tackle him." By a response like that, I was really mad and also dissapointed thinking that a lot of non-boxing fans feel this way?
Do any of your friends who are not boxing fans or boxing fans think that boxing is the lowest form of fighting technique?

not many judokas can get close to a boxer without getting hit and as it would be the first time they were hit they would probably fall into the one of these two ptions:
lose all composure and start openning up with wide slow haymakers
shield their head in their arms and try to move away
in my experience these are the two most common things that a person does when they get hit.

with thai boxing it really dpends how they were trained.
thai boxers need to be closer than you think to deliver punishing kicks such as the roundhouse, they usually kick just inside of punching range . in a streetfight 1 good punch usually ends it or at least is the begiining of the end. it would take many thai kicks to end a fight and everytime a kicker lifts his leg of the floor he is completely immobile. a boxer should be ble to move in and punch while his leg is still in the air!!

we can argue it back and forth and wont convince either one but the fact is ray mercer fought in a K1 fight with a Japanese fighter much smaller than him and lost. he got his leg kicked the heck out of him. Mercer also lost to another K1 fighter by KO. Also i think u give too much credit to a boxer's ability to defense a take down. Most of the time, they practically have no take down defense and are sitting ducks on the ground.

[leff]

we can argue it back and forth and wont convince either one but the fact is ray mercer fought in a K1 fight with a Japanese fighter much smaller than him and lost. he got his leg kicked the heck out of him. Mercer also lost to another K1 fighter by KO. Also i think u give too much credit to a boxer's ability to defense a take down. Most of the time, they practically have no take down defense and are sitting ducks on the ground.

mercer is over 40years old and fat and has fought top ranked k1 fighters so thats not a good example.

mark hunt is basicly a boxer and has done well in both k1 and pride against some off the worlds best fighters


however your absolutely right that boxers cant fight on the ground

[squealpiggy]

Unless they also train in ground fighting, which some do.

mauy thai defeats boxing, then again i'm on a ****in boxing forum so it will be hard for me to convince you guys.

I went to a Muay Thai event and the kicks were largely ineffective. Any time someone opened up with combinations their opponent was in trouble.

[kerrminator]

A boxer versus your average Joe Bloggs on the street would obviosly be a fight the boxer would win, but a fight between a Kung Fu expert and a pro boxer in the street could go either way...I mean, just look at pro boxers from the worst we know (Peter Buckley etc) to the best we know (PBF etc)


Theres a huge gulf in difference between the best and worst boxers and im sure theres a similar difference between MMA fighters etc which suggests that a lot of the time the winner in a street fight would probably come down to the individual rather than the sport he/she trains in

eg. If Mike tyson fought a blackbelt schoolteacher/plumber or whatnot from wherever, then I doubt the fighting style/martial art etc would have much to do with the outcome.

[jabsRstiff]

A lot of guys get into boxing because of their ability to mop guys up, on the street. Like another poster said, boxers tend to come from rough backgrounds
in which they grow up fighting.
There are some pro boxers you see fight, & how they carry themselves, & you just sense that they wouldn't kick a whole lotta ass out on the street....then there's the guys like Duran, Fenech, Tyson, etc who ooze badness.

There are also guys who are streetfighters....who have no kind of fight training, & they would demolish the majority of boxers & martial artists.
There was one guy I knew growing up, & into my early 20's, who ws just a straight beast. He was about 6'1", 215lbs....of pure strength, adrenaline, anger, & skill......& without any training. He annihilated everyone he fought, & he fought a lot. I know for a fact that he has taken out 2-3 guys at a time.

So, it depends on the person more than the training.

[GunStar]

A lot of guys get into boxing because of their ability to mop guys up, on the street. Like another poster said, boxers tend to come from rough backgrounds
in which they grow up fighting.
There are some pro boxers you see fight, & how they carry themselves, & you just sense that they wouldn't kick a whole lotta ass out on the street....then there's the guys like Duran, Fenech, Tyson, etc who ooze badness.

There are also guys who are streetfighters....who have no kind of fight training, & they would demolish the majority of boxers & martial artists.
There was one guy I knew growing up, & into my early 20's, who ws just a straight beast. He was about 6'1", 215lbs....of pure strength, adrenaline, anger, & skill......& without any training. He annihilated everyone he fought, & he fought a lot. I know for a fact that he has taken out 2-3 guys at a time.

So, it depends on the person more than the training.

The bad ass street fighters needs proper training, they may look bad ass on the streets but you put them against a pro, then they will get KTFO!

It took years of training for guys like Duran, Fenech, Tyson to become good, without the proper training none of them would've ever became who they are!

[jabsRstiff]

The bad ass street fighters needs proper training, they may look bad ass on the streets but you put them against a pro, then they will get KTFO!
It took years of training for guys like Duran, Fenech, Tyson to become good, without the proper training none of them would've ever became who they are!

No **** there, Gun ? I am not talking about streetfighters going in & boxing. I am talking about streetfighting.
This guy I was talking about.....would smash the **** out of most boxers on the street. He could pick Fenech & Duran up, at the same time, & put them through the concrete.

[GunStar]

No **** there, Gun ? I am not talking about streetfighters going in & boxing. I am talking about streetfighting.
This guy I was talking about.....would smash the **** out of most boxers on the street. He could pick Fenech & Duran up, at the same time, & put them through the concrete.

I know Jabs, you were talking about street fighting, but I don't see a pro losing to a guy on a street, the only way a pro might lose is if he's 130 fighting a guy who is 230. I don't want to brag but I was a bad ass in street fights, but I know I may beat up boxers that are 100 lbs lighter then me in a street fight but I know a guy like John Ruiz will kick my ass in a street fight.

It's much harder to land a perfect punch on a pro then it is on a regular joe, also it's much easier for a pro to land a perfect punch on a regular joe then it is on a pro!

[jabsRstiff]

I know Jabs, you were talking about street fighting, but I don't see a pro losing to a guy on a street, the only way a pro might lose is if he's 130 fighting a guy who is 230. I don't want to brag but I was a bad ass in street fights, but I know I may beat up boxers that are 100 lbs lighter then me in a street fight but I know a guy like John Ruiz will kick my ass in a street fight.

It's much harder to land a perfect punch on a pro then it is on a regular joe, also it's much easier for a pro to land a perfect punch on a regular joe then it is on a pro!

Streetfighting is a whole different ballgame......even with a bigger boxer out there. There's no set-up time on the street, it's all rushed.....& a lot of it is about adrenaline.

[MindBat]

Boxing is only one tool used in fighting

I had an argument today with a friend that believes that boxers cannot hold their own in a street fight. He believes that other combat sports such as karate, olympic wrestling, judo, mixed martial arts are highly superior compared to boxing and that boxers outside the ring cannot handle their own when they are not in the ring. He pretty much believes that boxing is the lowest form of fighting technique. I got really aggrevated by this and told him that boxing is very disciplined and that he wouldn't stand a chance against a boxer in the ring or outside the ring. He then responded by saying something dumb like "well boxers only punch, so in a street fight, I'll kick him in his knee and tackle him." By a response like that, I was really mad and also dissapointed thinking that a lot of non-boxing fans feel this way?
Do any of your friends who are not boxing fans or boxing fans think that boxing is the lowest form of fighting technique?

A "boxer" by nature is limited by the title: boxer, which in effect limits him to all the rules of the game, which, if he/she has been training in it for a long while, is only going to fight a certain way and expecting a certain response and result from his/her opponent.

A streetfight, by nature, is dynamic and unpredictable, therefore no rules or agreements apply, and anything and everything can be utilised to defend oneself, i.e: one's body parts and/or objects.

Oh, and there are no judges or referees to stop the fight if someone gets "hit below the belt".

It is very difficult to end a fight with one punch. Much less, if one is not physically fit or conditioned to last more than a few minutes engaged in fighting.

Too many variables come into play in a street fight, especially when one doesn't know who one is fighting or the environment where the fight just so happens to take place. Fighting in the squared circle provides a sense of security when the people involved know what to expect.

A person who can "fight" should include and make use of all the tools of fighting available, not just throwing the hands as in boxing.

Of course, one can master the boxing basics and be successful in many fights.

The question then becomes are you fighting for sport, for fun, or to protect your own life and those you love?

Your answer to that question is very critical and extremely important when choosing to fight in any way.

The mixed martial arts have made a major contribution to the "sport" of fighting by making us aware that many people who adapt certain "styles" are in fact limited to that "style" or form of fighting.

As you may guess, this sounds like a reference to the fighting philosophy of Bruce Lee, someone who has influenced myself and many around the world in the observation of hand to hand combat.

Lee wanted people to observe and consider that fighting a certain way and naming that way of fighting, limits the person using that form of fighting and virtually puts him/her in a box, so to speak.

The Gracie Jiu jitsu family just made the world more aware of this on a larger scale and proved that certain "styles" are limited in successful execution when it comes to fighting in a sport environment.

Boxing, per say, is a very popular form of entertainment, exercise, and even a career for many who choose to participate in it.

Just keep in mind that limitations apply when adapting any style of fighting.

Ultimately, the best way to know if boxing or any other style works for you, is to simply fight others who use a different style or styles. This way, you would be applying a Bruce Lee methodolgy of: Find your own truth in combat.