Basic HTML Version
By Timothy Mottram
touchline
26
Feature
It used to be said that boxing was the sport that all others
aspired to. While football and hockey soften their message
of violence with their goal being, well, goals (or tries, or
touchdowns), boxing shows us what we really want to see.
Two men in peak physical condition, punching each other in
the ultimate quest to knock the other one unconscious.
This is competition at its rawest.
Mixed Martial Arts seems to be taking things a step further.
The Queensbury Rules, framed in the 1860s to govern
boxing, are from a different world. MMA allows for fighting
moves that would make the late Marquess turn in his grave.
With the rise of MMA, boxing is looking nervously over its
shoulder.
Under the aegis of the Ultimate Fighting Championship,
MMA has become a global phenomenon. From a sport that
was not a blip on the sporting radar 20 years ago, now pay-
per-view revenue and sponsorship deals are flooding the
sport with cash. But like with all up-and-comers, there are
plenty of questions being raised by the establishment.
One of the earliest but most enduring questions was how
it compared with boxing. At first glance, MMA allows its
fighters more latitude to bring down their opponent. The
rules are looser, the gloves thinner, and apart from strategic
attacks on the groin, pretty much anything goes.
For the UFC to keep growing, at least some of its new fans
will have to be former boxing enthusiasts. To a certain
extent, they are competing for the same fans base. Boxing
is still in the ascendancy. Crucially, supporters of boxing cite
the difference between paydays.
EPSN Magazine claims that Brock Lesnar was the highest
paid MMA fighter in 2010, bringing in a very solid 5.3 million
dollars. Boxing’s golden boy, Manny Pacquiao, nailed a
staggering 32 million in the same time. The argument runs
like this: if the purses in boxing are considerably bigger, then
the considerably better athletes will be drawn to the sport.
MIXED MARTIAL ARTS:
WHERE NEXT?
Photo By Eric Langley