Out of all the All-Time Great Boxers and Hall of famers in boxing, would you agree that...

[LatinTerminator480]

Roberto Duran and Nigel Benn would have been the most successful ones out of the rest, to transition from pro boxing career to pro MMA career very well due to the environment that they grew up and been around?

With the way Duran fights dirty throwing a few occassional elbows in his fights and being pretty deadly fighting in the clinch range, imagine if Duran transitioned to MMA fighting for the UFC by training in Muay Thai(imagine Duran making a best use of those elbows, clinches and kicks, without having to be hold back by limited rules and regulations) and Wrestling(I've read somewhere that Duran used to grapple a lot when he used to get into many street fights as a kid in the slums of Panama before turning pro in boxing, imagine if he trained in wrestling for a good enough amount of years). Not to mention, Duran has beaten up plenty of boxers twice his size.



Nigel Benn on the other hand, comes from a British Military background(more than likely trained in a military martial art that involves some form of grappling and striking) and a rouch childhood. He was also a pretty wild, aggressive figthter in boxing with a raging mean streak.

 

[Breakfast Bar]

The best would have been guys who wrestled or did other grappling styles at some point in their life. He t best would be stocky, athletic fighters who could best handle themselves in a clinch. Every HOFer could strike well enough so the difference in how they'd do is completely dependent on how well they could grapple.

 

[jm0b]

What's more, imagine if you wore shoes on your hands and gloves on your feet?

 

[Sunfish]

Butterbean showed what you need to make the move.

 

[senri]

Butterbean showed what you need to make the move.

 

[Noraaq]

A lot of the eastern european boxers have some type of greco wrestling background or training so one of them would be my choice

 

[Uptown Swinger]

TS based off of their environment and what they grew up/been around why not Tyson and Mayorga?

Also are mma fighters successful because of their environment and what the grew up/ been around?

 

[mrsenor]

TS based off of their environment and what they grew up/been around why not Tyson and Mayorga?

Also are mma fighters successful because of their environment and what the grew up/ been around?

no biting or strikes to the spine

 

[TankAbbott4Eva]

Vic Darchinyan's dad was Armenian greco roman coach so I assume Vic would have been good,he's talked about fighting MMA a few times (he's not HOF though).

AFAIK we haven't ever really seen an elite boxer in their prime transition to MMA, now that would be interesting.

As for the Duran mention he always said he was a better streetfighter than boxer, I'm sure he'd do well under any rules set.

 

[rshawneecarbon1]

I don't think you NEED a grappling background. That's silly. Look at mma today.It's getting further and further from that concept.

 

[BennyST]

I reckon Duran would be GOAT as an MMA guy. He had everything needed to succeed. Very strong, super quick, fast hands and feet, great power and very savvy and crafty in his ring IQ. Incredible variety in offense and brilliant defense too. Would be a great wrestler too and was amazing inside and out, leading and countering.

Along with that, he was the most ferocious fighter to ever do it and had stamina to burn, only getting better as the fight went on.

I've often thought that. Then again, he was one of the GOAT in boxing, so maybe his gift was in that and nothing more. He was obviously meant to be great, so I guess if you believe in fate and all that, he was destined to be a legendary boxer and wouldn't have made it as an MMA guy because he was destined for greatness in boxing.

I dunno!

 

[mozfonky]

Let's see, the oldtimers would probably be the best because they had the most extensive exp. Jack Dempsey knew all about streetfighting, probably more than just about anyone else and he dissected it just as astutely as he did boxing. Also, wrestling was a big part of boxing, kicks, etc.., before the rules came in, the gloves etc.., I think Joe Frazier would be a good streetfighter, sonny Liston was pretty capable and the stories of his strength still astound. rocky marciano just off of sheer heart, you'd have to kill him and he had a knack for finding a way to win. marvin hagler was once picked by mills lane to beat larry holmes in a streetfight. Fact is, without rules a fight can be pretty simple all you need is a mean streak and the right mindset. Lots of boxers and even lots of mma fighters have gotten fucked up out there on the concrete having a false sense of superiority.