Boxers entering the UFC?

[TheManWhoCan]

"Ultimate challenge for Mayweather?

By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports



Floyd Mayweather stands almost 5-foot-9, weighs 154 pounds, has a 72-inch reach and can drop most mortals with a single swing of either hand.

He's fast, athletic and dodges punches as well as anyone, maybe ever. In 13 world title fights, he won all 13. His next one is May 5 in Las Vegas, this time as a junior middleweight, against Oscar de la Hoya, as big a fight as boxing has seen in years.

His nickname may be "Pretty Boy," but he is one bad, bad man.

On Cinco de Mayo we'll find out if Mayweather can beat de la Hoya – he's the heavy favorite – but could he beat a snarling, menacing, multi-skilled champion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship?

How about lightweight (155 pound) champ Sean Sherk, who may stand just 5-foot-6, may suffer from a distinct reach disadvantage, but as a mixed martial arts maste


Could the best pound-for-pound fighter in the old combat sport (boxing) handle a champion in the new combat sport (UFC)?

"UFC's champions can't handle boxing. That's why they are in UFC." Mayweather said Tuesday from Las Vegas during a break in training. "Put one of our guys in UFC and he'd be the champion. Any good fighter, he'd straight knock them out."

Dana White, a one-time boxer and boxing instructor and current UFC president, laughs at that.

"Boxers couldn't become mixed martial artists. That's why they're boxers," White countered Wednesday from England where UFC has an event Saturday. "They are one trick ponies. Our guys can do everything. They can box, they can kick box, they can wrestle and do jiu-jitsu. They are much better athletes than boxers."

Mayweather may be right, but he'd have to be. Any boxer stepping into the UFC octagon would have to knock his opponent out before the mixed martial artist got a hold of him, because once the fight fell to the mat, where things get nasty, the boxer is all but finished.

But, as Mayweather points out, the often (by boxing standards) clumsy and lead-with-their-face UFC guys would have to walk through a hail of vicious jabs, crosses and hooks to get there.

"Take Chuck Liddell," Mayweather said of the UFC's biggest star and light heavyweight champion (about 205 pounds). "Put him in the ring with a (boxer) who is just 10-0 and Chuck Liddell would get punished."

So you'd punish a UFC champion, too?

"Come on, man. What'd you think? Am I just 10-0?"

Mayweather is 37-0.

Liddell, with six inches and 50 pounds on Mayweather, isn't possible, but someone like Sherk, someone his size? With that insane reach, unreal punching power and by UFC rules aided by small, light 4-ounce gloves would Mayweather carve up Sherk instantly? Or would Sherk fight throughout the barrage and get Mayweather in a clutch no ref will save him from?

"They wouldn't have a chance to grapple (us) because we'd knock them out," Mayweather said in general. "(The boxer) would be knocked out before he even touched us."

Of course, without having their fists taped (UFC rule) a boxer might just break his hand on the first hard punch. Or perhaps no punch is strong enough to stop a charging opponent.

No one really knows what would happen at such an elite level.

"I used to talk like Floyd Mayweather when I was involved in boxing," White said. "I talked just like him, until I educated myself about this sport. These guys are amazing athletes, Floyd Mayweather is one of the best boxers ever, (and) Sean Sherk will whoop his ass in under two minutes."

"Any day that Mayweather wants to put his money and his ass where his mouth is, I'm ready," White continued. "If he wants to step up, let's do it."

First off, Mayweather was talking mostly in general about his disdain for UFC – "Boxing is an art, UFC is a fad." But Mayweather has spent almost as much time this spring ripping UFC as de la Hoya, who he seems to consider as little more than a matinee idol useful for only increasing the purse.

"I never knew popularity to win any fight," Mayweather said. "I'll beat him and come home and watch basketball."

The UFC, though, is clearly on his mind. He brought it up on his own Tuesday. Earlier this month he cracked that "anyone can put a tattoo on their head and get in a street fight."

Mayweather may be a talker – loquacious doesn't begin to describe the 30-year-old – but he isn't dumb. So maybe he is setting up another big pay day in the event he dusts de la Hoya and boxing has little to offer. Or maybe he just wants to promote a fight involving others.

Of course, the economics of UFC would have to change to get Mayweather to participate. UFC fighters make a fraction of top boxers. As part of the family business, Mayweather, his dad and his uncle handle all aspects of his career. For the de la Hoya fight he'll earn millions.

"Why would I go into a sport paying hundreds of thousands when I'm in a sport paying $20 million?" Mayweather said.

Mayweather knows full well, though, that the pay per view money is there for the taking on something like this, a battle that would be intriguing at nearly every level. White would just about kill for this to go down, preferably with Mayweather involved as a fighter.

"I'm willing to put together a fight for Sean Sherk and Floyd Mayweather with numbers that would make sense for Floyd," White said. "And I guarantee you he would not accept it. Floyd Mayweather would never fight in the UFC because he would get his head ripped off."

Yes, he would. But only if Sherk didn't get his head ripped off first.



Dan Wetzel is Yahoo! Sports' national columnist. Send Dan a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast."


And.....


"Floyd Mayweather, Jr doesn't want to battle a UFC champion. No problem. IBF World Welterweight Champion and former high school/college wrestling star Kermit Cintron would like to accept the challenge from UFC President Dana White, it was announced today by Main Events CEO Kathy Duva. Cintron, who will be defending his IBF crown against mandatory challenger Walter Matthysse on July 14 in Atlantic City, NJ, would like to battle the UFC champion following his June IBF title defense.

"I want the fight," said Cintron. "I can wrestle. I can box. I can beat those UFC fighters at their own game. Tell Mr. White to make me an offer and I'll take on his guy after I fight Matthysse on July 14."

Cintron (27-1, 25 KO's) captured the vacant IBF crown on October 28, 2006, when he destroyed Mark Suarez in six rounds (TKO 6). The 27-year-old Reading, PA resident by way of Carolinas, Puerto Rico once finished 10th at the NJCAA Wrestling Championships. As a senior in high school he was offered full wrestling scholarships to Wisconsin University and Ohio State University.

The Cintron-Matthysse bout will serve as the co-feature to the Arturo Gatti-Alfonso Gomez contest. Main Events is promoting the July 14 evening of boxing, in association with The Tournament of Contenders, LLC and Caesars Atlantic City."


This'll be crazy. Cintron has enormous punching power and a lot of talent.

[ItalianStallion]

i think ufc n boxing r two different things..bring a boxer into ufc n i have money on the ufc guy...ufc guy in boxing ring n i'll put money on boxer...this will be a nice marketing tool...boxing vs. ufc...which is the better fighter? who cares..its 2 different type of martial arts...ufc incorporates boxing while boxing is seperate than muay tai..kickboxing...wrestling...mma is ufc which has a bunch of different fighting stlyes...it just so happens that boxing is one of em...sure a well versed boxer would hold his own in the mma octagon..but when u have sum1 who knos 4-5 different fighting stlyes...they have a an extreme avantage over a fighter who just uses their hands...o well we will see what happens next few months wit this

[TheManWhoCan]

Here's my take on this. If you put a MMAist into the boxing ring, he'll lose because chances are he doesn't have the skills the boxer has. The haymaker shot won't ever work. If you put the boxer into the octogon, he at least has a chance of winning because of his abilities (straight fast shots, variety, and power). Sure the MMA guys have other skills, but how ofter do you see somebody losing to an elbow, kick, body shot, knee, or submission, compared to KO's with hands? Just becuase they have those abilities (aparently) doesn't mean they are good at using them.

I don't think it's quite as cut and dry as some people would make it out. Just because you put a boxer into the UFC, doesn't mean that suddenly the boxer can't ever win because everyone in the UFC is a world class wrestler (which they are not). You at least have to give the boxer a punchers chance, and that goes a long way. Serra vs. St. Pierre anyone?

[iancobb00]

Let me just say that, since seeing the Ortiz v. White thing, I've found a new respect for Dana. His quote "I used to talk like Floyd Mayweather when I was involved in boxing," White said. "I talked just like him, until I educated myself about this sport. These guys are amazing athletes, Floyd Mayweather is one of the best boxers ever, (and) Sean Sherk will whoop his ass in under two minutes."--makes me happy...

As for the topic at hand, it really depends on the fighter and not the background. Some great Thai fighters went on to have very successful careers in Western Boxing, defeating renowned champions at their own game. Some try, some succeed, some fail, and that's the way it works...

As for Floyd, he's a pompous idiot. He should probably stick to talking straight boxing, as, from what I've heard, he got lucky in his last fight with De La Hoya.

It always amazes me how much people try to sell their stuff. BJJ guys always say their style is the best. Kickboxers brag about the knockout. Honestly, how many pro-fighters with little dicks and compensating egos are there in the world? Anyone can be ko'ed. Anyone can be submitted. That's the combat sport game, and it is a game/sport.

It's not street fighting/self-defense; there isn't a win or die mentality and there isn't any "invincibility clause" in the contracts.
I train hard and properly. I could take out any UFC/Pride fighter, boxer, BJJ grand champion. But that's because, in my "world", there are no rules, and I couldn't take the chance of letting someone get hurt. I'd be tearing out eyes, biting throats, breakin' bones, detaching testicles, et c. It wouldn't be pretty, and it's not supposed to be. I train with the intent to prevent the harmful from doing harm to me and/or those I care about.

In the ring, my chances are reduces to 50/50--give or take 30 percent--on account of the sport aspect.
That's what makes it enjoyable for most; it's a battle of technical proportions and heart in which the best man that evening should win.

I would say Floyd's got his head up his rectum, but I think his head'd be too big to fit. That's a bitch move, Mayweather.

[TheManWhoCan]

I'm not a big fan of Mayweather myself. I hate smack talkers that do it too much. That said, the man is the best boxer I've seen in my generation. He's so talented it's ridiculous.

As for the fight that just passed, I saw the last 5 rounds and it went decisively to Mayweather. The people that I talked to also said that Floyd won it. Oscar shouldn't have gotten the win, but on one judges score card he did.

[waterdragon]

this is an ag ol contest, only it used to be against boxers and wrestler, there was a famous video of Ali fighting a large asian wrestler than i have forgotten the name of. All the asian did was keep sliding on the floor and kicking Ali's knees. not the best fihgt to watch but the right tatci to employ.

So now we ahve the UFC that claim to be all round fighter versus the specialists from boxing. i have posted on this forum before that i think the UFC is becoming more popular than boxing so maybe this is the only wy they can bring back some respect to the sport.

it will ba interesting fight, i think it will really come down to just the tactics on the idividual fighters

[Pro_Khan]

I agree with D. White.
"Boxers are one-trick ponies. That's why they're' boxers."
If anybody...ANYBODY wants to try their hand at MMA, then I say let them.

But MMA requires multiple disciplines, and a degree of dedication that sloppy-ass corrupted jocks from other sports can't handle.

[g_samsa]

Originally Posted by Pro_Khan

I agree with D. White.
"Boxers are one-trick ponies. That's why they're' boxers."
If anybody...ANYBODY wants to try their hand at MMA, then I say let them.

But MMA requires multiple disciplines, and a degree of dedication that sloppy-ass corrupted jocks from other sports can't handle.

Blah Blah Blah. "sloppy-ass". Huh? Who are you calling sloppy anyway? You aren't making any sense. Are you calling Floyd sloppy? De La Hoya? Who is sloppy?

[PowerHouse]

Sherk would get the TD and ground and pound away. Sherk seems to have a decent enough chin and has been boxing 12+ years so it's not like he is going to be sticking his chin out there for Mayweather to rip off. It would be hard to knock Sherk out when he comin for the TD. Sherk wins 9/10 times IMO.

I'll say this though love em or hate em Floyd is one hell of a boxer.

[TKD-Nate]

MW VS Sherk: MW would keep the fight sweet on the feet but the second it went to the ground Sherk would smash his ass. 2 differant sports and you can't really say one person is better, of course MW could slap the shit out of Sherk on his feet but MW would just get embarrassed on the ground. I think the fight would be stupid and Sherk would be highly favored in my mind.
MW and Sherk are both awesome athletes and this fight will never happen, MW doesn't have the balls to go out on this far of a limb.

You only live once and MW says he just wants to be remembered as a legend, he has plenty of f*cking money so if he backs up the stuff he says he should be in the octagon in a few years and make a name for himself that will be embedded in the world of FIGHTING not just BOXING.

[TheManWhoCan]

But what about Kermit Cintron in the second article there? A talented high school wrestler, and a great boxer looking to accept Dana's proposal to fight Sherk. There's no doubt that Cintron is the better puncher here, and because he's got some wrestling experience, he can build on that for fight time and try to just stuff takedowns all night a la Chuck Liddell. If Kermit can learn, then beat Sherk, Mayweather could do the same.

[painless2]

Boy, I hope this happens! I would love to see Mayweather get his ass kicked, and have to shut his mouth. He was thoroughly unimpressive in the fight with De la Hoya, despite winning. He is hiding behind the payout only, which is the thing that pro boxers seem to always do. If he's so confident that it will be such an easy fight, then why not take the few hundred thousand, after all he could blow that on an Escalade with rims or something else frivolous right?

[PowerHouse]

It was just hype to get a bigger PPV draw. Everyone does it(mabye not to that extent) but Mayweater wants no part of any top MMA'er out there in a MMA match. All hype.

[painless2]

He is such a punk with that mouth. THis is a PPV that I would actually buy, never again with boxing, what a bore!