Issue 031
November 2007
If you are one of the many mixed martial arts (MMA) fans that regularly haunts the internet chat rooms and forums devoted to the sport, the chances are you have read or participated in an online discussion on what would happen if a professional boxer stepped in the cage with a professional mixed martial artist.
Style versus style arguments have raged since the dawn of time and will probably continue in one form or another long after we are gone. It is perhaps ironic that fans of MMA, a sport born of that same argument, should now be locked into a similar dispute with the art known as the sweet science.
Many challenges have been laid down to boxing over the years. In 1934, British filmmakers got two athletes - one of them the Swedish wrestler Anders Larsen, the other a boxer – to put on a friendly sparring match in order to see what might transpire.
It didn’t go well for boxing. Despite the fact that the film is of a friendly demonstration rather than a real fight, it is apparent to all but the most untrained eye that the wrestler has the edge. He repeatedly covers up and closes the distance, before clinching with or unbalancing his opponent and taking him down into a range of locks and holds.
Around 40 years later, Muhammad Ali was at the top of the boxing tree, known universally as The Greatest. Boxing was it the height of its popularity and had anybody suggested at this time that it was not the pinnacle of combative prowess, he
would have received some funny looks.
The Japanese were not so certain. They were curious to see would happen if a top grappler were put in with a top boxer. Negotiations produced a challenge match between Ali and wrestler Antonio Inoki.
Unfortunately, the actual bout was a farce. Inoki was subject to such a restrictive ruleset - such as no submission holds - that there was very little he could do beyond dropping to his back and lashing kicks into the legs of a baffled Ali, who clearly had no inclination to go to the floor.
The match was derided and proved nothing - but it did at least show that professional boxers were not guaranteed a win. It is a shame that Inoki was placed under so many restrictions. A decisive submission victory on his part would have shown that there were other ways of dominating an opponent beyond punching him unconscious.
The world had to wait until the advent of the UFC before boxing was placed in legitimate competition with other styles. Boxer Art Jimmerson took part in the very first tournament. His lacklustre performance
(he tapped out the second Royce Gracie took him down) might have made a few people think, but unfortunately the UFC at that time did not
enjoy widespread popularity or credibility.
These days it is a different story. MMA is everywhere and it seems at least some in the boxing world are nervous. Disparaging remarks have been traded freely by professionals in both sports and the fans have been quick to follow suit.
UFC president Dana White recently laid down a challenge to Floyd Mayweather Jr, inviting him to fight a top UFC athlete. Of course, the $2 million that White was offering probably wouldn’t persuade Mayweather to pass you the salt, let alone fight in the Octagon, but the challenge ignited public interest.
If the public see a top-ranked professional boxer being soundly thrashed by a mixed martial artist in a high-profile bout, it could allow MMA take one step further toward centre stage.
For such a fight to happen, the money would have to be right. The prize money available to boxers is astronomical compared to what even elite mixed martial artists are paid.
It will be impossible to persuade a famous boxing name to get into the cage unless the purse resembles that which would be laid on for a big boxing match.
Of course, given the ever-increasing profile of MMA, this is a distinct possibility. Big boxing promoters such as Bob Arum have already taken an interest in mixed martial arts. If such figures come to the conclusion that there is money to be made from this new sport, you can be guaranteed they will soon be all over it, but would this be the best thing for MMA in the long run? Do we really want to see jaded boxing promoters hosting mixed martial arts fights?
Dana White and fans worldwide may be confident that a boxer wouldn’t stand a chance in the cage, but success may be a double-edged sword. As with many things in life, perhaps we should be careful what we wish for, just in case it comes true.
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