Comments Thread For: Evander Holyfield: Mixed Martial Arts is Not Taking Over Boxing

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

Four time world heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, who this past weekend was indicted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, disagrees with the constant opinion that the rise in popularity of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) has overtaken the sport of boxing.

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[OctoberRed]

Damn right Evander, unless McGregor beats Mayweather.

[Eff Pandas]

Too many boxing fans are too worried about MMA lmfao.

These are two different sports you insecure b^tches. As a fan of both sports I'm on this site & a MMA site & only on this site are boxing fans **** measuring boxing to MMA all the time. On the MMA site fans people just enjoy MMA & most have an appreciation for all the fighting arts, including boxing.

Boxing & MMA can both do well. One doesn't need to fail for the other to succeed. And if you dig boxing, MMA or both fair play to you & just keep enjoying boxing, MMA or both. There is no reason to sh^t on one sport in some weird attempt to lift up "your" sport of choice.

[boxingitis]

The sport that gives the fans what they want to see is the one that will prosper. The best fighting the best. This year so far has been great for boxing.

[stiff_back]

Too many boxing fans are too worried about MMA lmfao.

These are two different sports you insecure b^tches. As a fan of both sports I'm on this site & a MMA site & only on this site are boxing fans **** measuring boxing to MMA all the time. On the MMA site fans people just enjoy MMA & most have an appreciation for all the fighting arts, including boxing.

Boxing & MMA can both do well. One doesn't need to fail for the other to succeed. And if you dig boxing, MMA or both fair play to you & just keep enjoying boxing, MMA or both. There is no reason to sh^t on one sport in some weird attempt to lift up "your" sport of choice.

I'm not d*ck measuring here, but I do agree that some fans do that. It used to be more MMA fans before the UFC started to get really popular, but now boxing fans seem more insecure.

I do think, though, that boxing should be bigger than MMA around the world. One thing boxing has over MMA is that is faster and more exciting to most people. I think that's being pretty objective. The casual sports fan doesn't much like the ground game in MMA, they would rather see strikes to the head, not grappling or leg kicks imo.

Plus on top of that, boxing is so much part of the culture. The most famous sportsperson in history happens to be a boxer (thinking about it, the chances of that are so small, it's pretty amazing). There are so many movies about boxing that get released all the time, it's like its own genre of films on its own. When most people (not sports fans) think of the best fighter in the world, I think they picture the heavyweight boxing champion of the world, not the best MMA fighter - but that could change in time.

Like I say I'm not d*ck measuring here, but I think it shows how badly run boxing globally that it's slipping behind MMA like it is. Imo boxing could be a bit bigger than MMA most of the time, and then every couple of years have a super fight (like May-Pac) that counts among the biggest sporting events in the world. But you would need a million changes in the sport for anything like that to happen...

[Eff Pandas]

I do think, though, that boxing should be bigger than MMA around the world.

Boxing IS bigger around the world it seems like to me. Although in fairness who'd have expected MMA to be bigger overall around the globe? Modern MMA started with UFC 1 just a mere 24 years ago. Modern MMA is still in its infancy & its grown insanely in its short time.

One thing boxing has over MMA is that is faster and more exciting to most people. I think that's being pretty objective.

I think thats insane lol. No offense lol. MMA is much faster paced & much much more fan friendly. You should know aggression, not just effective aggression is one of the main scoring criteria & defense isn't a scoring criteria at all. And the fights are on & over much quicker then boxing. As a fan of both of I enjoy the science of boxing & the violence of MMA.

The casual sports fan doesn't much like the ground game in MMA, they would rather see strikes to the head, not grappling or leg kicks imo.

100% agree with you here. I've been down with MMA since UFC 1 & I've never gotten to the point of appreciating ground fighting THAT much. I've learned to appreciate it more, but its still my least favorite part of MMA. That said MMA has gotten very standup friendly in the last 4 or 5 years. The improvements MMA fighters have made with sprawling & hemming up takedowns has improved drastically & outside of a handful of guys like Demian Maia there aren't a lot of guys that can force you into a ground fight.

Plus on top of that, boxing is so much part of the culture.

I think fighting is a part of culture. Boxing just stood alone in that space for a long time. As mentioned MMA in its current form has only been around for 24yrs & for a couple of those years they had no weight divisions, no rules (you could legit punch a guy in the **** ffs) & one night tournaments with a mfers wearing a gi's & one boxing glove & all sorts of weird sh^t ffs. Sh^t was rough around the edges for awhile to say the least so this sport is super young still.

The most famous sportsperson in history happens to be a boxer (thinking about it, the chances of that are so small, it's pretty amazing).

For now. I'm 100% positive MMA guys will have more mainstream coverage over the next several decades. I mean look at the impact Conor & Ronda had in a short time. And they both have/had giant holes in their game. Imagine how big the next generation guy who fights like Jon Jones (without the felonies in between fights) + has the popularity of Conor & Ronda? That guy is gonna be huge. And he's coming.

There are so many movies about boxing that get released all the time, it's like its own genre of films on its own. When most people (not sports fans) think of the best fighter in the world, I think they picture the heavyweight boxing champion of the world, not the best MMA fighter - but that could change in time.

Again for now. The sport is 24yrs old. How many movies could they have made in 24yrs? I think they've made a fair amount of films already & The Warrior is a great film in my eyes & one of the best combat sports films I've seen.

Like I say I'm not d*ck measuring here, but I think it shows how badly run boxing globally that it's slipping behind MMA like it is. Imo boxing could be a bit bigger than MMA most of the time, and then every couple of years have a super fight (like May-Pac) that counts among the biggest sporting events in the world. But you would need a million changes in the sport for anything like that to happen...

Yea the way boxing works makes it difficult to boost up boxing to its highest level I definitely agree with you there & I b^tch & moan about that wayyyyy to frequently probably lol.

I do contend boxing will eventually get its sh^t together & do what every other sport has decided is the way to run their respective sport & have the best fight the best all the time, but you aren't wrong about there being a million obstacles towards making that a reality anytime soon. I think boxing will have to sink lower to eventually rise to its new highest position.

[stiff_back]

Boxing IS bigger around the world it seems like to me. Although in fairness who'd have expected MMA to be bigger overall around the globe? Modern MMA started with UFC 1 just a mere 24 years ago. Modern MMA is still in its infancy & its grown insanely in its short time.



I think thats insane lol. No offense lol. MMA is much faster paced & much much more fan friendly. You should know aggression, not just effective aggression is one of the main scoring criteria & defense isn't a scoring criteria at all. And the fights are on & over much quicker then boxing. As a fan of both of I enjoy the science of boxing & the violence of MMA.



100% agree with you here. I've been down with MMA since UFC 1 & I've never gotten to the point of appreciating ground fighting THAT much. I've learned to appreciate it more, but its still my least favorite part of MMA. That said MMA has gotten very standup friendly in the last 4 or 5 years. The improvements MMA fighters have made with sprawling & hemming up takedowns has improved drastically & outside of a handful of guys like Demian Maia there aren't a lot of guys that can force you into a ground fight.



I think fighting is a part of culture. Boxing just stood alone in that space for a long time. As mentioned MMA in its current form has only been around for 24yrs & for a couple of those years they had no weight divisions, no rules (you could legit punch a guy in the **** ffs) & one night tournaments with a mfers wearing a gi's & one boxing glove & all sorts of weird sh^t ffs. Sh^t was rough around the edges for awhile to say the least so this sport is super young still.



For now. I'm 100% positive MMA guys will have more mainstream coverage over the next several decades. I mean look at the impact Conor & Ronda had in a short time. And they both have/had giant holes in their game. Imagine how big the next generation guy who fights like Jon Jones (without the felonies in between fights) + has the popularity of Conor & Ronda? That guy is gonna be huge. And he's coming.



Again for now. The sport is 24yrs old. How many movies could they have made in 24yrs? I think they've made a fair amount of films already & The Warrior is a great film in my eyes & one of the best combat sports films I've seen.



Yea the way boxing works makes it difficult to boost up boxing to its highest level I definitely agree with you there & I b^tch & moan about that wayyyyy to frequently probably lol.

I do contend boxing will eventually get its sh^t together & do what every other sport has decided is the way to run their respective sport & have the best fight the best all the time, but you aren't wrong about there being a million obstacles towards making that a reality anytime soon. I think boxing will have to sink lower to eventually rise to its new highest position.

I have to say I agree with most of what you wrote but I do have a couple of points to make:

1) I don't think any sports star is ever going to be as big as Ali in terms of cultural impact - he's almost like a historical figure because of his political work. Even in the UK, the country almost stopped when he died. Its always gonna be a boon for boxing to be associated with him imo. Are people still gonna be talking about a Connor/ Jon Jones hybrid dude in 50 years time? I can't see it happening tbh.

2) I agree that the number of MMA films will increase soon, but it makes me wonder why aren't there more now? Warrior was released in 2011 and MMA is on an upswing and boxing is on a downswing, yet they can't seem to stop making boxing movies. I have a feeling (which might be complete BS) that audiences associate boxing with drama because of the Rocky movies and most of them (not being combat sports fans) don't have that same feeling about MMA films. Even if a small percentage of that audience gets interested in boxing because of those films, that's still a lot of people.

3) I wonder are there markets where boxing is relatively well organised? Like in Japan for instance? How does MMA do there? I really don't know much about it.

I know in the UK (where I'm from) boxing is doing really well atm and UFC hasn't really made a big impact. But that might just be because the UK is not an important market for them compared to China, Russia etc.

4) There definitely seem to be more KOs in MMA than boxing. But it seems to me a lot of the KOs are because of bad boxing skills (which is understandable as they have to learn other things and the best boxers go into boxing) But as the sport progresses that will change right? Like they will get closer to a boxer's KO ratio as they get closer to boxing skill levels, if that make sense?

I guess this discussion makes me realise that boxing is lucky in a lot of ways to have Ali, Rocky etc. to help make people aware of it. If we didn't have those we'd be probably be completely screwed lol.

[Eff Pandas]

I have to say I agree with most of what you wrote but I do have a couple of points to make:

1) I don't think any sports star is ever going to be as big as Ali in terms of cultural impact - he's almost like a historical figure because of his political work. Even in the UK, the country almost stopped when he died. Its always gonna be a boon for boxing to be associated with him imo. Are people still gonna be talking about a Connor/ Jon Jones hybrid dude in 50 years time? I can't see it happening tbh.

Someone will surpass Ali. I mean we easily forget that Ali had to surpass the guys who were the face of boxing before him that those generations probably couldn't see anyone surpassing.

We are just personally more connected with Ali then future generations will be I tend to think so its harder to envision that happening. Kinda like everyone tends to think "their guy" is the best guy. But with all the connectivity via social media & on demand programming it'll for sure happen cuz the next Ali will just have more access to tools that can make him a world wide known figure & face.

2) I agree that the number of MMA films will increase soon, but it makes me wonder why aren't there more now? Warrior was released in 2011 and MMA is on an upswing and boxing is on a downswing, yet they can't seem to stop making boxing movies. I have a feeling (which might be complete BS) that audiences associate boxing with drama because of the Rocky movies and most of them (not being combat sports fans) don't have that same feeling about MMA films. Even if a small percentage of that audience gets interested in boxing because of those films, that's still a lot of people.

I think its a weird time in films in general is a big part of it. I mean look at all the f#cking superhero films out there. They used to be summer event films now a super hero film drops every month or twice a month.

The more dramatic stuff is getting less push by studios & fantasy violence (not real violence) is at a all time high in popularity.

And randomly I think one of the best combat sports TV shows ever is on right now. Kingdom is a great show about combat sports (3rd & last season coming up). Outside of the boxing TV show Lights Out that got canceled far too soon I can't think of anything that would even be close to it in quality.

3) I wonder are there markets where boxing is relatively well organised? Like in Japan for instance? How does MMA do there? I really don't know much about it.

I don't really see much organization in boxing anywhere.

And MMA just sorta works different then boxing. There are MMA leagues virtually everywhere now. Some random Polish league I'd previously heard of cuz they got some solid prospects & a couple Polish Kimbo Slice-like characters just had the 2nd biggest MMA crowd in MMA history at one of their shows. And I'd call it a low B level, high C level league largely (it'd be like the Gary Shaw Promotions of MMA for a comparison lol), but they know how to put together a event I'll give them that.

But mainly the thing is MMA works like every league has its own value based on their quality of fighters. Boxing has too many hands in the cookie jar asking for their cut.

I know in the UK (where I'm from) boxing is doing really well atm and UFC hasn't really made a big impact. But that might just be because the UK is not an important market for them compared to China, Russia etc.

Yea I've noticed the UK hasn't gotten behind MMA all that much. I haven't really seen too many high quality Euro fighters doe either tbh. Conor has Ireland behind him, but Michael Bisping is probably more famous in the US then the UK.

4) There definitely seem to be more KOs in MMA than boxing. But it seems to me a lot of the KOs are because of bad boxing skills (which is understandable as they have to learn other things and the best boxers go into boxing) But as the sport progresses that will change right? Like they will get closer to a boxer's KO ratio as they get closer to boxing skill levels, if that make sense?

There's more KO's in MMA cuz they are wearing 4oz gloves (I've said numerous times here I'd absolutely love boxing to have lighter gloves as I think it'd increase the popularity of boxing cuz ultimately people wanna see KO's), you can use elbows + defense is barely a thing in MMA. Good luck blocking a shot with those lil ass gloves.

Boxing in MMA is completely different then boxing in boxing. Boxing fans just don't seem to grasp that. If you box in MMA like guys box in boxing you'd get taken down like a punk cuz you got a complete sh^t stance for guarding a takedown attempt. You'd barely see it coming.

I guess this discussion makes me realise that boxing is lucky in a lot of ways to have Ali, Rocky etc. to help make people aware of it. If we didn't have those we'd be probably be completely screwed lol.

I think boxing fans are dramatic as f#ck lol. So many boxing fans are so damn bipolar its hilarious to me. Boxing is either in a golden era again or its dying. Every boxer is the #1 atg goat or they suck & should retire. I've had legit discussions with cats on here suggesting certain guys could never lose or that the 8th best fighter in the world in his division is a C fighter ffs.

I think boxing is somewhere in the middle of all that. I think most boxers are in the middle of those opinions. I think boxing fans need to calm the f#ck down & just relax a lil bit...take a pill or whatever.

[petero]

Holyfield is 100% correct. MMA vs boxing is like comparing NFL to the NBA, two very different sports. The real money is paid out in boxing. MMA fighters make peanuts in comparison.