Boxing and MMA; two very different sports with a common foundational layer who’s fans sometimes wildly oppose one and other. MMA with it’s less restrictive rules and smaller gloves, is often erroneously perceived as the more violent, brutal and dangerous pursuit, and so suffers scornful comments from some of the more blinkered citizens of this pugilistic sport.
Whatever side of the fence you sit on, there is always great debate to be had over who would win should the best from each sport compete against one and other. Imagine Guillermo Rigondeaux vs. Demetrius Johnson or Andre Ward vs. Chris Weidman. Depending on which rules the fight would be sanctioned under, those fights would be highly entertaining and educational affairs.
These examples are just fanciful thoughts, but one clash between two opposing representatives could become a reality. Leila Ali, the daughter of ‘The Greatest’, who retired in 2007 as the undefeated WBC World female super-middleweight champion with a record of 24-0 with 21 KO’s, has let the world know that she reckons she could make short work of the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey(11-0, 2KO/TKO, 9 Submissions).
For those of you who don’t know, Rousey is a beast. She has run through a female division still in its infancy like a blow-torched machete through, well, something akin to butter. She is arm-barring her way into the UFC Hall of Fame having already become the first American ever to medal at the Olympics in Judo. But Ali dismissed her as “too small for me” when speaking to TMZ.com.
After that revelation, Elie Seckbach of Esnewsreporting.com could not help but pose the same question to another boxer in welterweight star Brandon Rios(33-2-1, 24KO’s). Rios, just as Ali did in her interview, drew the distinction between MMA and boxing, saying it was highly dependant on whatever rules the girls were forced to play by.
“Boxing-wise I think Leila Ali has the advantage, not only the size but Ronda is very good at ground work in MMA and she’s not used to standing up for the whole twelve rounds or whatever, If you take it the other way round I would pick Ronda Rousey. She would take her out.”
When boxers drift into the cage for a change of scenery, they tend no to enjoy the view. Former WBO World Heavyweight Champion ’Merciless’ Ray Mercer managed to get a win in his only visit but James Toney, one of the most talented and accomplished boxers of the 1990’s was taken apart by Randy Couture in under 100 seconds after a typically colourful preamble. Unless boxing is just one discipline under your belt, it’s probably best to stay out of the Octagon.
