Fighters from other combat sports who have crossed over into Boxing

[LNwolf87]

There once was this so-called confirmed news that Badr Hari was moving to the US to focus on boxing

What followed was a pic of him on Times Square, and that was that

Pity, he could have been good

He was going to train with Naseem Richardson when he got into boxing, I guessed he changed his mind after sparring lol

Naseem Richardson was quoted according to Fight Hype & Bloody Elbow.com saying “What won me over is he (Hari) said, “I don’t want to be top 10. I want to be the f***ing best.” He has the right mentality to do this s*** right here Richardson said. Richardson went on to say.” I remember when me and Freddie Roach was working together and Freddie told me when Manny Pacquiao walked through the door at Wild Card Gym, he said to himself, “That’s who I built this gym for.”Badr Hari could be that type of kid”.

Heres the link to the Article:
http://www.boxingnews24.com/2012/01...he-next-pacquiao-in-the-heavyweight-division/

 

[LNwolf87]

didn't Anderson silva try to box and looked silly doing it?> not sure seem to remember a video ....

He tried to do the Ali shuffle and got blasted in the face by his shorter opponent lol

 

[LNwolf87]

Lucas Brown is highly ranked in boxing and come from mma
also you have Joe Duffy

I thought he came from Boxing first? All I know is that he fought Daniel Cormier in Australia under MMA rules, and I heard he got fucked up in that fight. I can't fight the video of that fight anywhere though.

 

[LNwolf87]

Samart Payakaroon- 105lb, 108lb, 115lb & 126lb Lumpinee Stadium champion(Muay Thai)& WBC Super Bantamweight champ 122lbs (Boxing) -

Yokthai Sthoar- Lumpinee Stadium champ(Muay Thai) & WBA Super Flyweight champ115lbs (Boxing) -

Veeraphol Sahaprom n/- Rajadamnern, WBA, WBC

-Saensak Muangsurin Lumpinee, WBC

Amnant Ruenroeng-Lumpinee IBF

Troy Dorsey- ISKA bantamweight champ(Full Contact) & IBF Featherweight

-James Warring- WKA cruiserweight champ (Full Contact) & IBF Cruiserweight Kickboxing and MMA world Champions

-Semmy Schilt - 4x K-1WGP champ Glory World Series champ and King of Pancrase -

Mirko CroCop- K-1WGP champ and Pride GP champ

Awesome man thanks. so most of the guys that come from muay thai over into boxing, are they any good? and are they the ones who make the best transition into boxing that come from another combat sport? And what would transfer over from those other sports that would benefit them in boxing? toughness? punching power?

 

[Oscaraps]

He tried to do the Ali shuffle and got blasted in the face by his shorter opponent lol

lol now I remember that was funny, many moons ago I remember someone in the ufc forums saying he would have given rjj problems lol

 

[Queen B]

Sergey Lipinetz had over 500 kickboxing fights.

In boxing hes only 12-0 already getting a titleshot vs unified champion Indongo.

Knocked out everyone he fought except his debut and Lydell Rhodes

 

[ctrlaltdelete]

nieky holzken
tyrone spong

 

[ahheadlock]

JWP crossed over into boxing for a while before going back to MT.
I believe Danny Green also started out in kickboxing before focusing on boxing. (cant remember where i heard that so take it with a grain of salt)

 

[Queen B]

JWP crossed over into boxing for a while before going back to MT.
I believe Danny Green also started out in kickboxing before focusing on boxing. (cant remember where i heard that so take it with a grain of salt)

One of the GOAT Aussie MT fighter Bruce Macfie had several boxing fights but was unsuccessful

 

[Marc A]

I thought he came from Boxing first? All I know is that he fought Daniel Cormier in Australia under MMA rules, and I heard he got fucked up in that fight. I can't fight the video of that fight anywhere though.

You might be right I just wiki him and first pro fight was mma

 

[DeJulez]

You might be right I just wiki him and first pro fight was mma

Lucas was doing mma before he fully moved to boxing.
Either way hes just not very good I think.
Lucas vs Big Baby Miller would be a good fight for guys who started in other combat sports before they came to boxing.

 

[DeJulez]

Sergey Lipinetz had over 500 kickboxing fights.

In boxing hes only 12-0 already getting a titleshot vs unified champion Indongo.

Knocked out everyone he fought except his debut and Lydell Rhodes

Indongo is going to be the shit out of him.

 

[ironfist05]

Awesome man thanks. so most of the guys that come from muay thai over into boxing, are they any good? and are they the ones who make the best transition into boxing that come from another combat sport? And what would transfer over from those other sports that would benefit them in boxing? toughness? punching power?

well, most guys that do boxing aren't going to be exceptionally good, period, regardless of what background they come from. That said, there are quite a few Thais who came from MT and became titlists, or even P4P fighters. Pongsaklek, Khaosai Galaxy, Veeraphol, Chitalada, Kyowa, Borkhorsor, Sorjarturong, Kingpetch, Chionoi, Payakaroon and several others all probably had at least some MT background, and several of those are ATGs (at least in their divisions).

There is a pretty distinctive "Thai style" to boxing (bear in mind that obviously not everybody fights this way, notably Pong, Chitalada, and Kingpetch). Generally it involves sitting behind a jab and grinding your opponent out, mostly with inside work jabs and crosses. The biggest strength (IMO) in this style is the conditioning. Thais are almost universally well conditioned and very tough, they're there fighting you from start to finish. They generally have pretty solid body work (both inside and outside) as well and are generally at least competent ring cutters. The weakness however, is that the style tends to be centered around being the aggressor, defense usually isn't stressed as much (at least not versatile defense, mostly it's just high guard). Some would say the fighters tend to be a bit flat footed so they can get outboxed. Relative to, say, the Cuban style, it's fairly crude, but it usually gets the job done.

 

[DeJulez]

well, most guys that do boxing aren't going to be exceptionally good, period, regardless of what background they come from. That said, there are quite a few Thais who came from MT and became titlists, or even P4P fighters. Pongsaklek, Khaosai Galaxy, Veeraphol, Chitalada, Kyowa, Borkhorsor, Sorjarturong, Kingpetch, Chionoi, Payakaroon and several others all probably had at least some MT background, and several of those are ATGs (at least in their divisions).

There is a pretty distinctive "Thai style" to boxing (bear in mind that obviously not everybody fights this way, notably Pong, Chitalada, and Kingpetch). Generally it involves sitting behind a jab and grinding your opponent out, mostly with inside work jabs and crosses. The biggest strength (IMO) in this style is the conditioning. Thais are almost universally well conditioned and very tough, they're there fighting you from start to finish. They generally have pretty solid body work (both inside and outside) as well and are generally at least competent ring cutters. The weakness however, is that the style tends to be centered around being the aggressor, defense usually isn't stressed as much (at least not versatile defense, mostly it's just high guard). Some would say the fighters tend to be a bit flat footed so they can get outboxed. Relative to, say, the Cuban style, it's fairly crude, but it usually gets the job done.

Why dont alot of the MT guys go into MMA?
I think they would really excel there.

 

[ironfist05]

Why dont alot of the MT guys go into MMA?
I think they would really excel there.

There are a few (Rambaa Somdet is the MMA 115 GOAT) but they generally don't get much press. Here are a few guesses as to why:

1. I'm pretty sure MMA is illegal in Thailand (could be wrong on that one).

2. they'd have to learn grappling, which would be a huge distraction from their MT/boxing.

3. The champs make good money in MT and are huge stars, they wouldn't the same visibiity to the media as MMA champs as they would boxing/MT stars.

4. Thais are controlled by their promoters completely. They consider themselves their promoters' employees and they are famous for letting their promoter decide their next fight for them, with no input from themselves. It wouldn't surprise me if a lot of promoters are just against the idea of doing MT.

5. Most top boxers from Thailand are in the sub 126 divisions. MMA doesn't really do anything below 125 (and you see how poorly MM is treated to begin with). There are a few promotion withs 115ers (One and Shooto come to mind) but the divisions where the Thais are strongest aren't really a thing in MMA. 125 would already be pushing it. I'm pretty sure MT's "heavyweight" division means anything above 160 lbs.

6. Activity. A lot of MT guys fight like once every three weeks (sometimes as tuneups against scrubs, sometimes against legitimate opposition). They like to stay active and keep the money coming in. There is no way in hell the UFC is dishing out 500K every three weeks for a champ that probably won't draw well.

I agree though, if top MT guys came to MMA, I think they would smack around the MMA guys in their striking. The level of MT in MMA is about as bad as the level of boxing.

 

[rikwebb]

Berto has a family deep in the MmA world. his bro fought for showtime and pops was a kung fu champ but not sure if he ever competed other than boxing

Pretty sure his dad even competed in an early UFC also

 

[DeJulez]

There are a few (Rambaa Somdet is the MMA 115 GOAT) but they generally don't get much press. Here are a few guesses as to why:

1. I'm pretty sure MMA is illegal in Thailand (could be wrong on that one).

2. they'd have to learn grappling, which would be a huge distraction from their MT/boxing.

3. The champs make good money in MT and are huge stars, they wouldn't the same visibiity to the media as MMA champs as they would boxing/MT stars.

4. Thais are controlled by their promoters completely. They consider themselves their promoters' employees and they are famous for letting their promoter decide their next fight for them, with no input from themselves. It wouldn't surprise me if a lot of promoters are just against the idea of doing MT.

5. Most top boxers from Thailand are in the sub 126 divisions. MMA doesn't really do anything below 125 (and you see how poorly MM is treated to begin with). There are a few promotion withs 115ers (One and Shooto come to mind) but the divisions where the Thais are strongest aren't really a thing in MMA. 125 would already be pushing it. I'm pretty sure MT's "heavyweight" division means anything above 160 lbs.

6. Activity. A lot of MT guys fight like once every three weeks (sometimes as tuneups against scrubs, sometimes against legitimate opposition). They like to stay active and keep the money coming in. There is no way in hell the UFC is dishing out 500K every three weeks for a champ that probably won't draw well.

I agree though, if top MT guys came to MMA, I think they would smack around the MMA guys in their striking. The level of MT in MMA is about as bad as the level of boxing.

I didn't know if they were making good money in MT. I assumed they weren't.
But if your making good money in MT like boxers do in boxing, then there is really no incentive to go over there.

But Ive seen some MT guys in the low divisions that look like they would be absolute hell for some of those UFC guys.

 

[Clear Winner]

There are a few (Rambaa Somdet is the MMA 115 GOAT) but they generally don't get much press. Here are a few guesses as to why:

1. I'm pretty sure MMA is illegal in Thailand (could be wrong on that one).

2. they'd have to learn grappling, which would be a huge distraction from their MT/boxing.

3. The champs make good money in MT and are huge stars, they wouldn't the same visibiity to the media as MMA champs as they would boxing/MT stars.

4. Thais are controlled by their promoters completely. They consider themselves their promoters' employees and they are famous for letting their promoter decide their next fight for them, with no input from themselves. It wouldn't surprise me if a lot of promoters are just against the idea of doing MT.

5. Most top boxers from Thailand are in the sub 126 divisions. MMA doesn't really do anything below 125 (and you see how poorly MM is treated to begin with). There are a few promotion withs 115ers (One and Shooto come to mind) but the divisions where the Thais are strongest aren't really a thing in MMA. 125 would already be pushing it. I'm pretty sure MT's "heavyweight" division means anything above 160 lbs.

6. Activity. A lot of MT guys fight like once every three weeks (sometimes as tuneups against scrubs, sometimes against legitimate opposition). They like to stay active and keep the money coming in. There is no way in hell the UFC is dishing out 500K every three weeks for a champ that probably won't draw well.

I agree though, if top MT guys came to MMA, I think they would smack around the MMA guys in their striking. The level of MT in MMA is about as bad as the level of boxing.

Interesting post, but that last point isn't right, IMO. Boxing in MMA is realllllyyyyyy bad. The MT isn't great, but the boxing is far worse.

 

[ironfist05]

I didn't know if they were making good money in MT. I assumed they weren't.
But if your making good money in MT like boxers do in boxing, then there is really no incentive to go over there.

But Ive seen some MT guys in the low divisions that look like they would be absolute hell for some of those UFC guys.

well part of it is that these guys get paid well for each fight, and they simply fight more often than a boxer does (as much as twice a month) so, that coupled with sponsors and lowered prices in Thailand make for what is pretty good money (at least in Thailand). It's not Floyd money, but it's good money. Certainly, it's at worst comparable to UFC pay.

yeah, no doubt about it. I don't know that much about MT, but the guys there are just at another level in terms of striking skill and athelticism

 

[realdealgeale]

One of the GOAT Aussie MT fighter Bruce Macfie had several boxing fights but was unsuccessful

Jwp best mate Paul Briggs started MT. Also sam soliman, who had alot of KB fights.