In boxing, you fight in close range a lot and for a lot longer. So these technical little exchanges are much more important and guys get super good at them.
In MMA, you got 2 things going on. First, the effective range of strikes is much wider, so there's much more emphasis on footwork and in-out movement. If a guy was super good in the punching range like Ward, it would be pretty easy for guys to work around that and avoid that range. Second thing is smaller, lighter gloves make the blocks less effective and parries much harder. Ward would still be super sick with MMA gloves and he'd probably KO anyone who stood there and traded with him, but if he relied on the same blocking and parrying he does now, punches would find their way through. But most guys would just strike from the outside and take him down if he tried to close the distance.
It's just the kind of skill that wouldn't form itself naturally in MMA. It could be a useful tool but it could also be worked around, so you'd need to bring more to the table than just that. I tend to think the most effective techniques are the ones that evolve naturally in the sport, not the ones that evolved naturally in another sport. That's like a round peg in a square hole. That's kind of how I feel about some of these techniques. They fit with boxing, but we'll have our own techniques that fit only with MMA that are just as skillful and beautiful. I think the striking in MMA kicks ass, personally. I enjoy the striking in MMA more than the striking in boxing or kickboxing.
