Would boxing be safer if they used smaller, finger-less UFC sized gloves? 4 oz

[nveleven]

Like most, it's a nuanced debate. On his podcast, whenever Rogan has a fighter or trainer on, he always asks them what about going gloveless. It sounds crazy, but there's an argument to be made for it. A misplaced punch can easily result in a broken (or badly bruised) hand, so you wouldn't have fighters throwing as much, and they wouldn't commit as much. The argument for gloves (since both sides of the debate result in brain trauma) is that society sees it (ostensibly) as less barbaric--less of a blood sport, and more as a sweet science.

Anyway, i see both sides as having valid points.
Here's his defense of going gloveless if you're interested:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=u-SY0F6Kkg0

[Sup]

Fights would be more boring I think. Dudes would be so scared of getting dropped that they wouldn't trade. They'd try to pot shot.

It wouldn't be Boxing.

Like American Football and Rugby.

The hits are bigger in AF because they have the pads. The pads give them more confidence.

They don't have pads in rugby so the hits aren't as big.

They'd be more scared yes, but with the gloves being much smaller, their defense goes down slightly as well. They're more open to taking shots from different angles due to the smaller gloves.

[CubanGuyNYC]

Haha Fights wouldn't last as long. That's for sure.

[Scipio2009]

Enlighten me.

the closer you get to bare knuckles, in a sport where a fighter has added benefits (like the standing 8 count, three minute rounds, etc) would lead to boxers taking far more damage, fighter's brains taking heavier blows, and you'd see fighters breaking hands at ridiculous rates.

Fighting as close to bareknuckle as MMA does works for their sport because the refs are trained to jump in at the first point of one-way sustained damage and immediately end the fight.

[Scipio2009]

How is that possible if UFC has less injuries in those categories when they are allowed to kick, knee, elbow and punch?

You aren't being objective.

Brain damage comes from sustained beatings that don't knock you out. Your brain is rattling inside of your head and that's what happens in boxing. In UFC, if you get hit with a good shot you're going down. Getting knocked out cold isn't as bad as a sustained beating, which can cause blood clots and brain bleeding.

The UFC doesn't have the standing 8-count, or other rules (that exist in boxing) put in place to give a fighter every chance to win the fight.

You get hit with one massive shot, the UFC referee steps in and ends the fight immediately.

You put small gloves in boxing and you end up with deaths, full stop.

[Raggamuffin]

How is that possible if UFC has less injuries in those categories when they are allowed to kick, knee, elbow and punch?

You aren't being objective.

Brain damage comes from sustained beatings that don't knock you out. Your brain is rattling inside of your head and that's what happens in boxing. In UFC, if you get hit with a good shot you're going down. Getting knocked out cold isn't as bad as a sustained beating, which can cause blood clots and brain bleeding.

I don't know the stats when it comes to who has more injuries between boxers and MMA fighters. I just know that the average MMA guy isn't as skilled as boxers when it comes to the hands. Boxers are trained to hit you square on the chin and a shot like that can kill a man. There are MMA fighters who are paying for what they have gone through just like boxers later in life.

But fighters IMO soak up a lot more punishment because they are hit in the head more than MMA fighters only because you either hit the body or head. MMA has many ways to beat a guy whether it's ko or sum mission.

How many guys in MMA have gone through what Gerald McClellan, and Kid Akeem or Magomov went through? They might be dead if they were hit with 4oz gloves. Boxers are trained to roll with shots also so they wouldn't just get ko'd when hit.

MMA guys learn boxing but they specialize in an art whether it's a lil boxing, Ju Jitsu or wrestling. Boxers train to place a well timed shot to ko their opponent with either a body shot or head shot. In big fights guys get hurt to the body but moreso are ko'd from punishment throughout the fight.

Boxers are trained to go twelve 3 minutes rounds, and if you find two guys whether world class or not who can take the other guys punch, the damage inflicted would be terrible. You might think that a guy gets ko'd faster with 4oz gloves, but it would be much more damaging if a top boxer or a big puncher delivered that blow.

Boxers train to hit you in two spots. The head or body. MMArtists train working on a number of ways to submit to ko a guy.

[Robbie Barrett]

The gloves are to protect the fighters hands and the opponents face getting cut up etc. They do nothing to prevent a fighter getting KO'd, the force is the same and the brain rattles around the same.

[Dinamita 03]

the closer you get to bare knuckles, in a sport where a fighter has added benefits (like the standing 8 count, three minute rounds, etc) would lead to boxers taking far more damage, fighter's brains taking heavier blows, and you'd see fighters breaking hands at ridiculous rates.

Fighting as close to bareknuckle as MMA does works for their sport because the refs are trained to jump in at the first point of one-way sustained damage and immediately end the fight.

The 8 count is probabbly a bigger issue, however fighters wouldn't be able to withstand the same amount of punishment.

There would be more hand injuries, but definitely not as much brain damage would occur.

[Heru]

The combination of drastic weight cuts (aka dehydration) to make weight and sustained blows to the head and body will continue to have devastating results in boxing.

Don't underestimate the damage sustained during training camp either. A fight is much more taxing, but a fighter might accumulate a few hundred rounds of actual fights compared to tens of thousands of rounds of sparring in preparation for those fights (all while on a drastic weight cut).

James Toney possessed one of the best defenses, but his speech shows the trauma he's suffered from weight cutting plus blows to the head and body before moving to Heavyweight. I would bet that non-heavyweights suffer from brain injury at a more substantial rate for that reason. The only Heavyweight I remember that shows signs of brain injury is Riddick Bowe and he admits to coming down from 300+ pounds for fights.

That and some fighters get concussed, continue fighting, and get concussed again. NFL players will tell you the horror stories about that.

[HanzGruber]

There would be virtually no decisions. And there's no advantage to them being finger less for boxing. Pro boxers can actually throw a punch unlike most mma fighters. It wouldn't be enjoyable to have all 2 round fights