I have up a piece today at SBNation.com in which I talk a little about boxing technique as it translates to MMA and how I feel Toney’s skills will translate to a fight with Randy Couture. The larger point of the article is that boxers don’t possess some sort of rare power especially in an MMA context. Where the increased ability to knock someone out from comes from is the ability to throw more accurate punches with better technique. Here’s a taste of the article in hopes of enticing you over to SB Nation’s headquarters to take in the full piece:
Here is a list of men with at least 10 pro boxing bouts and 5 pro MMA bouts:
Marcus Davis – Pro boxing record: 17-1-2 (12 KO), MMA record: 17-6 (6 KO)
Chris Lytle – Pro boxing record: 13-1-1 (7 KO), MMA record: 29-17-5 (4 KO)
KJ Noons – Pro boxing record: 12-2 (5 KO), MMA record: 10-2 (8 KO)
Jeremy Williams – Pro boxing record: 42-5-1 (35 KO), MMA record: 5-0 (3 KO)
Despite a lot of talk from people who follow both sports there does not appear to be a direct correlation between having experience as a pro boxer and being a massive KO artist in mixed martial arts. This comes down to the rather obvious differences in the sports. The threat of takedowns and kicks take away the ability of a boxer to sit down on their punches and deliver them with full power. That threat can be witnessed with clarity in this exchange between Chris Lytle and Muay Thai stylist Thiago Alves:
More after the jump due to a large .gif in the entry:
You can see Lytle throwing an overhand right to close distance and covering up from the return left hand of Alves only to eat a nasty leg kick with his left foot still planted. Lytle is an experienced and successful MMA veteran, he knows what to expect in an MMA bout. How will James Toney handle the first time he instinctively goes to his boxing defense and eats a leg kick or gets double legged for a takedown?