Please Stop Comparing MMA to Boxing

By Raphael Garcia

This past Saturday some MMA fans may have been pulled away from the cage to watch what went on in the boxing ring. Current pound-for-pound destroyer, Manny Pacquiao, faced off against a fighter who once held that status, Shane Mosley.

At the end of the night, many of us watched what we expected to happen. At 39 years of age, Mosley had little chance to hang in there with Pacquiao, who battered him with blows for 12 rounds. It was apparent after the knockdown in round 2 that this was not going to be a good night for “Sugar” Shane. As the fight went on, more and more people became disinterested and started the evening’s sports bar mating rituals. I myself left early rather than get caught in the parking lot traffic.

What caught my eye, however, was the number of pieces from MMA outlets asking what the Pacquiao-Mosley fight means for MMA. My answer to that is a resounding “Nothing.”

The MMA community needs to move away from the comparisons to boxing, especially when it comes to story after story about how the latter is dead or dying without making the fights that fans what to see. I myself am a boxing fan and enjoy watching pugilists in the ring whenever I can. That being said, I can still recognize when the sport is in danger of becoming irrelevant, if it already hasn’t.

The sport is losing out in more ways than just fan support. I expect to see more athletes who at one time would have focused on boxing, instead move into mixed martial arts. While the financial potential is not even in the same league, the competitive and celebrity aspect of MMA, versus that of boxing, is on par.

Instead of trumpeting its demise, I believe that MMA should learn from boxing, and work hard to avoid the mistakes that sport has already made. In a way, the growth and development of the UFC is proof that the sport is doing just that. As the organization gets bigger and brings in more of the top fighters, we fans will get to see the fights that we want. The UFC’s “Pacquiao-Mayweather Moment” is more avoidable, as the UFC continues to expand and bring in the world’s best fighters.

While I do not believe that mixed martial arts has yet taken the position of top combat sport in the world, I do think it’s heading in the right direction. With careful expansion, and consistently creating the fights that fans want to see, MMA can overtake its predecessor, while at the same time avoiding the same pitfalls that have ensnared it today.