Boxing Versus Mixed Martial Arts, Part II
- Posted on Mon, September 28th, 2009
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When all of the receipts were tallied, the Floyd Mayweather vs Juan Manuel Marquez PPV fight card generated over a million buys. It 
signalled the culmination of a decade-long quest for Mayweather to become the leading draw in boxing.
To many, it also sent a strong message to denizens of mixed martial arts fight cards (i.e., UFC 103 which was staged on the same night). While UFC President Dana White and others set this up as a showdown between boxing and MMA, I never saw it that way and never will.
First, let’s get the facts straight. UFC 103 was by no means a major fight card, especially compared to a boxing event like Mayweather-Marquez, which marked Mayweather’s return to the sport after a two-year "retirement."
Despite the over-the-top, pre-fight boasts by Dana White, expecting this MMA card to best Mayweather-Marquez was a stretch to say the least. Secondly, no one on either side of the "combat sport" pond expected Mayweather-Marquez to do this well. Not even the equally boastful Mayweather could have envisioned these numbers. And last but not least, the events aren’t really in competition if you ask me.
Don’t let the mainstream sports media fool you. Despite some superficial similarities (blood-letting, knockouts, and punching), both sports are very different with contrasting fan bases. The similarities naturally cause people to compare the sports, and that’s fair. I also understand that there will be competition for advertising and PPV dollars in the combat sport arena. But that doesn’t mean that each fan base should hate on the other to get attention.
There is room for boxing and mixed martial arts. Although both sports are inherently violent, I sincerely hope they reserve their pot-shots and low blows for the rings in which their combatants participate. If promotional heavies like Golden Boy (boxing) and the UFC (MMA) are smart, they would be looking at synergies rather than verbal beefs. Beef may be good to eat, but it ain’t necessarily good for business in the long run.
Boxing and mixed martial arts, with their violent nature, will never play well amongst many segments of society. The sooner that both sports realize this and look for ways to cooperate rather than hate, they will both be better for it.
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Awe yes, the age old question: Will MMA take over boxing? The short answer is NO. Especially not when a non-title belt match sells over 1 million PPV’s. I look at MMA as the “indoor-soccer” of the fighting world. People love it, not for the skill or athleticism of it, but for the quick and dirty knock-outs. As someone who has occasionally tuned into MMA fights, I left feeling like most of the guys fighting were just average joe’s with so-so talent looking to earn a few extra bucks. While the same exists in boxing, those boxers will seldom make up a big under card for a major fight. There is also something to be said about watching a live MMA fight. And this is just my observation from seeing it on television, since most fights eventually end up on the mat, how does someone watching the fight in attendance enjoy it when they can’t see a damn thing? Even in the cheap seats at a boxing match, I can still make out what’s going on without having to see the giant screens. I think this tiny fact makes for most people wanting to see it on PPV vs. in person. I really feel that MMA is just not ready yet to take over or even compete for top talent. The purse money is not there yet and the household names are just not there. And as for the hate you mention, keep in mind that most of the hate comes from MMA fans that are ever so quick to remind me and boxing fans (when I mention that I like boxing) how “boxing in dead, on the decline, sucks.” I agree that there is room for both sports, but MMA needs to remind their fans of that one sport really isn’t superior over the other, because in the end, it’s a sport who’s participants may someday be interchangeable (however unlikely that may seem today. )
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