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The counter argument is that because the UFC is a single organization,
they can pay even their lowest paid performers around half a million
dollars every year, unlike boxers.
There are other points to be made as well. Boxing is tainted for so many
reasons. The questionable judging, the ridiculously uneven matches
designed to boost a future champion’s record rather than deliver a
spectacle for fans are just two examples. In a way, the UFC can claim
to be much more transparent and has fewer vested interests. These
factors enable the UFC to put on more consistent fights.
But what about in the ring? Boxing fans will argue that few to none
of the current MMA fighters could square up against an elite boxer
like Pacquiao. They would simply get annihilated. MMA fighters can’t
strike like a boxer. And for all that supporters of MMA talk about the
dangers of take downs, with a bit of training the best boxers could be
made ready to deal with that particular danger.
The question of which sport is better is effectively moot. It is like trying
to put together an all time best starting IX: it fills the time at the pub
but it is pointless. The question that really matters for the future of both
sports is which one the 14-year-old kid entering a gym for the first time
will choose.
It doesn’t matter whether boxers are paid more or if they are better
athletes now. If MMA keeps getting the numbers it is getting, keeps
growing the way it is growing, then the most talented young people
will be pulling on the thinner gloves of MMA and practising their take
downs instead of combinations.
The second question that could affect the growth of MMA is the latent
danger of the sport. It does not take an expert in physics or medicine
to see that MMA is a very dangerous sport. Over time, the sport has
become safer due to changing rules, but when the aim of a sport is to
effectively knock someone into next year, there are bound to be some
risks.
Boxing fans argue that their sport dominates
MMApartly because boxersmakemoremoney.
According to this list of 2012’s top earners,
boxers are still pulling in the big money…
1.
Floyd Mayweather: $85 million
2.
Manny Pacquiao: $62 million
3.
Tiger Woods: $59.4 milion
4.
LeBron James: $53 million
5.
Roger Federer: $52.7 million
6.
Kobe Bryant: $52.3 million
7.
Phil Mickelson: $47.8 million
8.
David Beckham: $46 million
9.
Cristiano Ronaldo: $42.5 million
10
. Peyton Manning: $42.4 million
2012’S HIGHEST PAID
SPORTSPEOPLE
Photo By Victor Ortiz
Floyd Mayweather
sportscover.com
APPLICATIONS FOR SPORTSCOVER’S 2012
SPONSORSHIP FUND HAVE OPENED!
20 grants of US$750* are offered to grassroots sports clubs worldwide.
Apply at
sportscover.com/ssf
* Or equivalent