Floyd Mayweather's thoughts on UFC 103

[Liquidrob]

http://cagereport.net/

Floyd Mayweather will be going head to head against the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) with his scheduled bout against Mexican boxing sensation Juan Manuel Marquez on September the 19th. Mayweather looks to prove the point that Boxing is still the king of combat sports, fighting on a night that coincides with a UFC PPV event. This battle between boxing and the UFC was by design as Mayweather chose to have his fight on the night of UFC 103. Saturday night serves as a major indicator of whether boxing can compete against the UFC any longer. Mayweather is beyond confident it can.

Obviously shaken, and left with a feeling that UFC PPV buys will suffer – The President of the UFC Dana White released a video earlier this week in attempt to persuade Mixed Martial Arts fans to purchase UFC 103 rather than the Mayweather/Marquez ppv. Mayweather, never one to back down in a war of words, addressed the issue at a pre-fight press conference in L.A early this week, When asked how he feels about going head to head with ‘UFC 103 Franklin vs. Beflort’ Mayweather dismissed it as a threat:

“Who’s Rich Franklin? There’s 8 year old kids just starting out in my gym who punch better than that guy. I’ve seen that guy try to punch and felt sorry for him, embarrassed for him – I think Roger [Mayweather] still has some spaces left in the beginners class, might want to get the basics down before he goes head to head with me. I mean come on, until he generates a revenue of 2.5 million he don’t even deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as Floyd Mayweather let alone be trying to compete with me. What you’re getting here is two of the best pound for pound fighters in the world going at it to determine who is number one, what they got there is two journeymen, bar room fighters who can’t tell a fish hook from a check hook.”

Mayweather was also asked to give his thoughts on how he feels the striking abilities of some of the premier strikers in MMA, such as Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovi?, might match up against the upper echelon heavyweight boxers.

“I think he forgot he has a right hand, give him a pair of 12 ounce gloves and Vlad Klitchko would tear up that ass in seconds. Look, I just watched an ex-UFC heavyweight champ, some overweight unathletic chump get one punched by an over the hill broken boxer, Mercer. Don’t get me wrong, I love Big Ray but his best days are behind him and he one punched an ex-champ, what more do I need to say? Just imagine what happens if a heavyweight contender lays hands on a MMA fighter. We both know wthat the aftermath will look like.”

While this will be the first time a major boxing event clashes with a UFC event, Mayweather insists that this will not be the first time he has beaten the UFC in terms of ratings.

“Look, I already went head on with the UFC in my fight against[Ricky] Hatton, we all know how that turned out and the same is gonna happen again on September 19th. I’m gonna give the people at home something to talk about the next day; everyone is going to be talking about the Floyd Mayweather fight that was on last night. Ain’t gonna be no one talking about those two guys who rolled around on the floor for 3 rounds. That’s why I was and still am the PPV king. ”

Mayweather even went as far to discredit MMA as a real sport calling it a ‘sideshow act’ and detailed the disparity in terms of pay between the two combat sports.

“The main difference between Boxing and MMA is the fact that boxing is a real sport and requires skill to reach the top. When you watch boxing you know you ain’t [going to] see some WWE clown walk in and take the belt after a couple fights. It ai’nt happening. That’s because it takes years to perfect and master the sweet science, MMA is nothing more than a sideshow act that probably won’t even be around in 10 years time. Boxing ain’t going anywhere, write that down. If so many people want to watch those guys fight then why isn’t Dana White paying them like it?"

 

[Liquidrob]

Btw, Rob, what month is Septemper?

Its the month right before Octoper...

 

[Liquidrob]

[ame="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x48dul_dream-on-by-kweiss_sport"]Dailymotion - Dream On by kweiss - un vídeo de Deporte & Extremo@@AMEPARAM@@http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/x48dul_dream@@AMEPARAM@@x48dul_dream[/ame]

 

[RKO BLACK RKO]

Why does he keep having a say :smh:

 

[Anthony]

Why does he keep having a say :smh:

Because you listen/read.

 

[Liquidrob]

although I dont agree with Floyd that much, american MMA has brought this onto it self, when everyone wants to 'stand and bang' the sport is going to get called out on there lack of technique by boxers

every fighter falls in love with there hands after training boxing for a couple months and in the end it just looks like bad kickboxing and fighters who have great wrestling and sub skills dont want to use them anymore unless they have to

be a complete fighter, not a bjj black belt who likes to throw haymakers, or a college wrestler who wants to throw overhand rights for 3 rounds, but the sport has made rules to make it a stand up game, so I cant blame them sometimes

 

[Steel Mamba]

I wish people would stop calling guys like Cro Cop a premiere striker, it just gives boxers/boxing fans more ammunition. Cro Cop had some amazing, probably the best kicks in the sport, but that does not make him a great striker. It just means that he can kick. The overall technical level of Cro Cops striking has never been up there with the best in MMA. If people stopped going to boxers and claiming that guys like Chuck or Cro Cop are the best strikers that the sport has to offer then they probably wouldn't be calling it a sideshow.

 

[Liquidrob]

I wish people would stop calling guys like Cro Cop a premiere striker, it just gives boxers/boxing fans more ammunition. Cro Cop had some amazing, probably the best kicks in the sport, but that does not make him a great striker. It just means that he can kick. The overall technical level of Cro Cops striking has never been up there with the best in MMA. If people stopped going to boxers and claiming that guys like Chuck or Cro Cop are the best strikers that the sport has to offer then they probably wouldn't be calling it a sideshow.

We have had this agruement before, you are judging fighters with your boxing glasses on, you rip Cro Cop and say he is not an elite striker, but than say he has the best kicks in the sport, kicks are strikes

if Klitchko entered MMA you would porbably say he is the best striker in the sport, but he would probably never throw a kick, knee or elbow, but just based on his hands you probably would say that, but on the flip side we have Mirko who has some of the best kicks in MMA and a very good straight left

you value punching way to much IMO

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

Boxers overvalue punching in MMA...they also fail to see that MMA is the sport of "ALL" fighting, not just punching and believe that top fighters need to be top punchers for them to be legit.

MMA fighter beats boxer in MMA fight. Boxer beats MMA fighter in boxing match.

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

I wish people would stop calling guys like Cro Cop a premiere striker, it just gives boxers/boxing fans more ammunition. Cro Cop had some amazing, probably the best kicks in the sport, but that does not make him a great striker. It just means that he can kick. The overall technical level of Cro Cops striking has never been up there with the best in MMA. If people stopped going to boxers and claiming that guys like Chuck or Cro Cop are the best strikers that the sport has to offer then they probably wouldn't be calling it a sideshow.

There is more to striking then hand-play. Kicks, elbows, knees are all apart of that equation, too.

 

[Steel Mamba]

We have had this agruement before, you are judging fighters with your boxing glasses on, you rip Cro Cop and say he is not an elite striker, but than say he has the best kicks in the sport, kicks are strikes

if Klitchko entered MMA you would porbably say he is the best striker in the sport, but he would probably never throw a kick, knee or elbow, but just based on his hands you probably would say that, but on the flip side we have Mirko who has some of the best kicks in MMA and a very good straight left

you value punching way to much IMO

Boxing is the focal point of striking. That's movement, footwork, and the hands. You're not going to find many fighters who can have a successful standup game without those three things, so it should be the most important when talking about striking.

 

[Steel Mamba]

There is more to striking then hand-play. Kicks, elbows, knees are all apart of that equation, too.

kinda. Elbows and knees are mainly worked from the clinch or on the ground, not always but for the most part. A good clinch/ground game includes knees and elbows and is something seperate from striking IMO.

 

[Steel Mamba]

Ok, to be honest with you striking is basically another word for boxing to me. lol, so maybe Rob is right, I might be looking at it a bit wrong.

 

[Steel Mamba]

Nonetheless boxing ability > kicking ability. If you want to be a great standup fighter you're just not going to get by without true boxing skills anymore. The sport is evolving.

4 posts in a row FTW

 

[Liquidrob]

Boxing is the focal point of striking. That's movement, footwork, and the hands. You're not going to find many fighters who can have a successful standup game without those three things, so it should be the most important when talking about striking.

Boxing is not the only striking art with movement and footwork, Boxing is the focal point of boxing, it is a great striking art, but boxing only will get you tossed on your dome and subbed

Some of the stances and defenses are not good for MMA, you will get leg kicked, double legged, taken down from the clinch, etc...

Boxing gives you zero defense of leg kicks, zero defense on shots, zero defense or takedowns form the clinch, etc...those all have have to come into play to be able to 'box' in MMA

Chuck was an elite striker (In MMA) against grapplers, his TD defense made his striking great, it is a mix, without his college wrestling he wouldnt become a champ, of course he could have been more technical, but he didnt need it for who he was facing

Chuck > Any boxer fighting against who he was fighting at the time, thats why this sport is hard, thats why this sport is hard to judge, thats why this sport is hard to critque, there are way to many variables

Boxers are only getting hyped now because everyone wants to 'stand and bang' and they see some sloppy stuff out there, but they were not saying that 5-10 years ago when the TD was so quick, but guys are getting away from that so the old arguement is back

Of course a boxing 'WW' would destroy Kos if he wanted to stand there and trade like he has been, but if he shoots its over just like it would be 10 years ago

MMA'ers will never have the hands boxers have, probably ever, because you need to spend your time on MMA and not just 'boxing', boxers will always be better boxers, kickboxers will always be better kickboxers and MMAers will always be MMAers, the gap will close, but there will always be a gap

 

[Liquidrob]

Nonetheless boxing ability > kicking ability. If you want to be a great standup fighter you're just not going to get by without true boxing skills anymore. The sport is evolving.

4 posts in a row FTW

it is only when close enough, if a kickboxer can stay on the outside and work a boxers leg or go up top, its over, just like if the boxer can get inside and close the distance and keep out of the clinch

there are ranges in fighting, kicking is the longest range, boxing is next and than its the clinch game, boxers only have the boxing range while the kickboxer has the kicking and clinch range in there favor

 

[Steel Mamba]

Boxing is not the only striking art with movement and footwork, Boxing is the focal point of boxing, it is a great striking art, but boxing only will get you tossed on your dome and subbed

Some of the stances and defenses are not good for MMA, you will get leg kicked, double legged, taken down from the clinch, etc...

Boxing gives you zero defense of leg kicks, zero defense on shots, zero defense or takedowns form the clinch, etc...those all have have to come into play to be able to 'box' in MMA

Chuck was an elite striker (In MMA) against grapplers, his TD defense made his striking great, it is a mix, without his college wrestling he wouldnt become a champ, of course he could have been more technical, but he didnt need it for who he was facing

Chuck > Any boxer fighting against who he was fighting at the time, thats why this sport is hard, thats why this sport is hard to judge, thats why this sport is hard to critque, there are way to many variables

Boxers are only getting hyped now because everyone wants to 'stand and bang' and they see some sloppy stuff out there, but they were not saying that 5-10 years ago when the TD was so quick, but guys are getting away from that so the old arguement is back

Of course a boxing 'WW' would destroy Kos if he wanted to stand there and trade like he has been, but if he shoots its over just like it would be 10 years ago

MMA'ers will never have the hands boxers have, probably ever, because you need to spend your time on MMA and not just 'boxing', boxers will always be better boxers, kickboxers will always be better kickboxers and MMAers will always be MMAers, the gap will close, but there will always be a gap

I agree with everything you said, except Chuck being an elite striker. If he was an elite striker I think he'd still be fighting today, but instead the technical striking of other fighters has risen and he didn't adapt to that change. So, that doesn't make him an elite striker if he could only dominate in that aspect when he was facing grapplers. That like saying a WR is great, but only when a LB is matched against him.

Also, when I'm talking about boxing in MMA, I mean MMA's form of boxing. But, for the most part a lot of the fundamentals do transfer over, the stance is just slightly different, the defense is going to be a bit different, and how you attack the body is different. For the most part a lot of the fundamentals are the same or just slightly adapted.

 

[Liquidrob]

I agree with everything you said, except Chuck being an elite striker. If he was an elite striker I think he'd still be fighting today, but instead the technical striking of other fighters has risen and he didn't adapt to that change. So, that doesn't make him an elite striker if he could only dominate in that aspect when he was facing grapplers. That like saying a WR is great, but only when a LB is matched against him.

Also, when I'm talking about boxing in MMA, I mean MMA's form of boxing. But, for the most part a lot of the fundamentals do transfer over, the stance is just slightly different, the defense is going to be a bit different, and how you attack the body is different. For the most part a lot of the fundamentals are the same or just slightly adapted.

he was an elite striker against grapplers in MMA, his game was tailored for grapplers, overall he was not, but against grapplers he was one of the best ever, he also KO'ed Overeem a very talented striker and Guy who is no slouch either, Chuck was great against grapplers and had KO power to hand with some technical strikers

tough to change your game when you have KO'd a bunch of guys and were a lot older and finally fighting some legit strikers

look at Chuck vs Tito compared to Rashad fighting Tito, Chuck beatdown Tito twice, just brutal, but Rashad couldnt do much against Tito, styles make fights, Chuck had his gameplan and it made him great

 

[Kuzzy Powers]

Dailymotion - Dream On by kweiss - un vídeo de Deporte & Extremo

Not sure why you posted that in this thread but that video gives me chills.

 

[SHOGUN]

I wish people would stop calling guys like Cro Cop a premiere striker, it just gives boxers/boxing fans more ammunition. Cro Cop had some amazing, probably the best kicks in the sport, but that does not make him a great striker. It just means that he can kick. The overall technical level of Cro Cops striking has never been up there with the best in MMA. If people stopped going to boxers and claiming that guys like Chuck or Cro Cop are the best strikers that the sport has to offer then they probably wouldn't be calling it a sideshow.

:rofl:

Mirko was a phenomenal kickboxer and one of the better K-1 fighters during K-1's 'golden age' of HWs. Hanging with and defeating legends like Ernesto Hoost, Peter Aerts, and Remy Bonjasky - all premier kickboxers (Hoost argued one of the GOAT) - before he was even a full-time fighter should be enough credentials as a top striker. Not many guys can do that. Period.