What do hardcore boxing fans love most about the sport?

[regmma123]

As someone who's been watching mma regularly for well over 15 years I can say there are different aspects to the sport that draw my interest..the original intent was to match two guys from different disciplines (i.e. kickboxing vs jujitsu) and Ive always found that to be such an interesting idea. Also you take fighters at the top who have the same strengths (like Anderson Silva vs Israel Adesanya or Damien Maia vs Ben Askren) and then its just who's sharper and who wants it more. Then there are the wars, the comebacks, the last minute finishes etc etc etc..

So with boxing is it similar to the latter? What are the variables that make a "must see" fight in boxing?

 

[jeff7b9]

I was a boxing fan first, then MMA and now both, having really fallen back in love with boxing in the last few years.

At the end of the day, it's a fight. Different rules, different sport, but for me at least, the same things draw me to it.

Skills, style and strategy..

What tools do you have?
Is there something unique the fighter brings?

Which fighter will find a way to win if it comes down to attrition, conditioning and heart? (usually this occurs when the skills and previously mentioned attributes are fairly even)

I love switch hitters (in both sports)

I love fighters that are masters of deception, angles, timing, feints.

I love knockouts. Just something primal about seeing a person shut off.
It fascinates me.
It is conclusive.

 

[zapataxiv]

both
there are different styles in boxing but it is more subtle than MMA. and the game of different approaches and how they solve problems is what I like.

also boxing has drama but it is more sustained and brutal than MMA. just look t Fury vs Wilder
in MMA that fight would have been stopped in the 4th instead both guys got to really throw everything they had and the better man got to retain his spot atop the mountain.

 

[burningspear]

Still tribal, many enjoy the comfort of gang. Love both.

 

[Jonny Ninja]

Boxing is more tactical and subtle. Some fights are like a game of chess, leaving little traps for your opponent to fall in to etc. I boxed for many years as well so there’s a more natural connection for me.

personanly I prefer boxing as a whole, but probably watch more MMA because the matchmaking is generally much better. My gripe with boxing is the best fighters tend not to fight each other, and there are too many squash matches in boxing

 

[aries]

I started as a boxing fan, then fell in love with MMA but ended up back with boxing. MMA has evolved a lot but boxing has over a 100 years on it. To me the level of talent in boxing is on another level and that's what draws me in. I think MMA will close the gap eventually but for me it's a way off yet.

 

[regmma123]

Awesome answers..exactly the details I was looking for

 

[Goober stoober]

two evenly matched fighters going at, regardless if titles are on the line. when you have zero idea whats going to happen and who's going to win. these moments feel rare but that adds to the intrigue.

i want to see drama, fighters forced to persevere and show everything in their toolbox.

i think this is why pac marquez, hagler hearns, gatti ward, bowe holyfield, are great fights to show new fans. it shows what happens when two skilled combatants go toe to toe, where nothing is given and everything is earned and every inch matters.

i watched zero of these fights live (cept pac mar 3/4) and they still get me excited anytime i through them on for a rewatch.

 

[Karl_Hungus]

both
there are different styles in boxing but it is more subtle than MMA. and the game of different approaches and how they solve problems is what I like.

also boxing has drama but it is more sustained and brutal than MMA. just look t Fury vs Wilder
in MMA that fight would have been stopped in the 4th instead both guys got to really throw everything they had and the better man got to retain his spot atop the mountain.

I'm out of likes, but you said something similar to what I was going to say. Boxing has a struggle of wills that plays out over a longer period of time, generally. When the struggle is back and forth, and intense, the tension is increased, which compounds the gratification.

 

[ironfist05]

Also you take fighters at the top who have the same strengths (like Anderson Silva vs Israel Adesanya or Damien Maia vs Ben Askren) and then its just who's sharper and who wants it more.

what I like about high level boxing is this, which you already noted you like in MMA.

 

[revoltub]

The past

 

[Rationality]

Many good answers in this thread. One thing different with boxing is the tension that can build up with more rounds. I love a fight between a power puncher and a skilled boxer and how round after round the boxer can have the power puncher missing from inches away time after time yet you know if one slips in the fight could change. In MMA the first Ngannou/Miocic fight was similar. I am always amazed at how a good boxer can make someone punch themselves out while almost touching toe to toe. Rope-a-dope for example. The sweet science.

 

[RichardHarrow]

Simply put - the science. No other combat sport comes close imo.

 

[Hagler]

History, and the craft.

 

[ICHEERTHEBULL]

I love both though I would favour boxing these days. I grew up in a boxing family and like many here my age also became obsessed with martial arts movies as a kid (Bruce lee jcvd) so that’s where I ended up with my training. When NHB/vale Tudo first burst onto the scene I can’t lie and say part of the appeal to me as a young teen wasn’t the sheer brutality. With the modern era I love the skill (mainly grappling/submission)and how one slip up and that three round advantage is gone.

Big drama show. Boing to me is a whole different kettle of man eating sharks. First of all big fights feel more like events. The fights for Fury/wilder started at 1400 the main event started at 0445 or there abouts. Most I knew watched it all. There something special about a boxing build up that I feel in most cases MMA lacks. Not necessarily when a fight is announced but when two fighters are obviously going to meet at some point along the road. Also with more people interested in boxing it becomes more of a event at home. For example I think the most I’ve had over to my house for a MMA event would be five. I had around 15 including women around at mine for mayweather/Alvarez for a 0400 start. More then that for other fights or fights that have been on at a reasonable time. When I was a kid boxing would be a massive get together, we’d have three or more family’s around at someone’s house. All the adults sitting on the couches and chairs and all the kids sitting on the floor with whatever room packed.

Accessibility/community. I can only speak for Ireland and parts of the UK on this one but I gather it’s similar in the states and elsewhere. Boxing gyms really are a huge benefit to the community I would go so far as to call them sanctuary’s and always seem to be open to just drop in. While there is of course tribalism IMO it’s nothing like MMA. Trainers and boxers will just drop by other gyms just to say hello and many times give advice to the youngsters despite teaching at or training at another gym. My god son has now been boxing around two years (give or take with Corona) and a few months ago send me a vid of him being shown a thing or two by Roy Jones fucking Jr!! It sounds cheesy but there is something magical about the boxing community.

History. Now I don’t just mean the obvious of let’s say tracing it back to John Sullivan or even before that to the bare knuckle days but also our fathers and their fathers. We have several generations that can give advice to kids today just starting their training. We also have several generations who have been watching boxing and still do, who actually saw the likes of Muhammad Ali or joe Frazier fight in person. When me and my brother sit down with my dad, uncles and when they were alive my grandparents chatting about boxing comparing generations it would be like the barbershop scene from coming to American!!

Make no mistake boxing is as dirty as a hippy chicks feet on the last day of Woodstock. If Harvey Weinstein was a sport he’d be boxing. Yet despite all the corruption and controversy boxing always has and always will retain something I find that MMA sometimes lacks. Class

 

[TeenageMutantLesnarTurtle]

I'm more of an MMA fan nowadays but I love both and was a boxing fan first.

Theres more of an aesthetic value to boxing because of the relative simplicity of it, its "cleaner" looking than MMA, the hit and not get hit aspect is more emphasized. Theres also more of a war of attrition element. You usually have to pace yourself and break somebody down over the course of several rounds. I do like the messiness and out of nowhere finishes of MMA too though, its just different vibes, both good.

Lastly, it has a rich history and holds nostalgia value for a lot of people. I grew up in the UK in the 90s so my formative experiences of combat sports was stuff like Eubank/Benn, Naseem, Bruno etc and obviously Tyson was a worldwide icon back then too.

 

[regmma123]

I love fighters that are masters of deception, angles, timing, feints.

absolutely. What boxers are masters of these skills? In mma it was prime Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida.. those two always literally had me on the edge of seat because they were masters of unpredictability. I definitely miss that

 

[jeff7b9]

absolutely. What boxers are masters of these skills? In mma it was prime Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida.. those two always literally had me on the edge of seat because they were masters of unpredictability. I definitely miss that

Off the top of my head:

Jersey Joe Walcott - master of broken rhythm, never in the same place, threw punches on "off beats"

Willie Pep - one of the most creative fighters ever to lace up the gloves.

Nicolino Locche - danced around the ring. Unhittable. Froze his opponents with feints both with his head and his arms.

Mohammed Ali, nuff said.

Larry Holmes. Crazy underrated heavyweight. Great jab, that he would throw while dancing around his opponent.

Manny Pacquiao - complete fighter including varied timing and feints.

Canelo Alvarez, one of the best feint users in the game.

lomachenko- groomed for boxing from his childhood, his father had him cross train other sports including wrestling, ballet for footwork. Exemplary amateur career. Technical master.

Tyson Fury (when at his best) moves in ways that defy science and gravity. Switch hitter, great jab, head movement, stutter steps and feints.


Lennox Lewis had like 5-7 different jabs, from varied angles and mixed them up, and would also sometimes leave his hand out or strip his opponents front hand down to open a punching lane for his right.

Bernard Hopkins- defensive master, alien, only fighter with a win over father time, crafty.

Pernell "Sweet P" Whittaker - another defensive genius, fight ending power, elite use of angles

Prince Naseem Hamed- switch hitter with dynamite in his left hand. Insane movement which included throwing punches from endless different angles, he would often get his opponent so far off balance that he would wind up beside them or even behind them, where he was in zero danger but he often had clean attack openings.


If I remember I'll come back and post more videos, there is an amazing video I watched recently on Jersey Joe Walcott and how he used his movement and broken rhythm to befuddle his opponents and create opening while avoiding damage in return.

Archie Moore 132 KOs (/TKOs) variety of tactics he could use either outside or in the pocket to create offense for him while he remained safe, even I'm the pocket while using his cross guard defense.

 

[mozfonky]

I love a lot of things but above all, I love the electricity of the big fight. Nothing like it.

 

[mozfonky]

Still tribal, many enjoy the comfort of gang. Love both.

that's a big part of it, I never wanted to mention how black folks sided with Wilder no matter how much evidence that he was the loser there was, they probably still side with wilder if a fourth fight happens. Even people who should know better like Evander Holyfield went with his Atlanta homeboy when he had to know the guy had nothing. It's also nationality, I've mentioned how many times the american media jumps all over a close fight and favors the american in it, like the Whitaker, chavez and Ramirez fights which weren't strictly one sided, bell to bell beatdowns and robberies.