First it was Pretty Boy Floyd, now its Kelly Pavlik who is talking about the jump to MMA. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>“I’ve thought about doing something like that. But right now, I don’t see it happening. I’m focused on boxing,” said Pavlik, who won a unanimous decision over Jermain Taylor at the MGM Grand Garden on Saturday. “But you never know. I may try it someday.”</div> http://www.fiveouncesofpain.com/
A lot of boxers retire when their reflexes slow very slightly. It doesn't have to be much to cause a lot of damage. Would it be feasible for a guy like Pavlik to take up MMA when he's 35 or so as long as he's in top cardiovascular condition? Can a guy with only striking experience learn enough at that late a stage to be effective?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ghoti @ Feb 18 2008, 06:14 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>A lot of boxers retire when their reflexes slow very slightly. It doesn't have to be much to cause a lot of damage. Would it be feasible for a guy like Pavlik to take up MMA when he's 35 or so as long as he's in top cardiovascular condition? Can a guy with only striking experience learn enough at that late a stage to be effective?</div> IMHO the mental aspect of the sport is still the most important one, and the competitive drive of a person like Pavlik or Mayweather, along with a willingness to work hard and make sacrifices is a huge head start. Age isn't as much a factor in MMA as it is in most other pro sports. The goal of boxing is brain trauma whereas you can lose an MMA fight without a scratch or bruise. That's one of the reasons why you have guys like Randy Couture (44) and Chuck Liddell (38) still near or at the top of the sport.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (speeds @ Feb 18 2008, 11:07 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ghoti @ Feb 18 2008, 06:14 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>A lot of boxers retire when their reflexes slow very slightly. It doesn't have to be much to cause a lot of damage. Would it be feasible for a guy like Pavlik to take up MMA when he's 35 or so as long as he's in top cardiovascular condition? Can a guy with only striking experience learn enough at that late a stage to be effective?</div> IMHO the mental aspect of the sport is still the most important one, and the competitive drive of a person like Pavlik or Mayweather, along with a willingness to work hard and make sacrifices is a huge head start. Age isn't as much a factor in MMA as it is in most other pro sports. The goal of boxing is brain trauma whereas you can lose an MMA fight without a scratch or bruise. That's one of the reasons why you have guys like Randy Couture (44) and Chuck Liddell (38) still near or at the top of the sport. </div> Yeah, I'm only a casual MMA fan, but I'm familiar with Couture's story. He improved immensely in his late 30s. I'm wondering if that was due to his years of experience and everything becoming so ingrained. I think MMA is a lot like chess, and I know that the more things you see and react instinctually to, the better you get. Plus, it's a huge question whether the older boxers and wrestlers have the same innate ability for this sort of combat as someone like Couture. They don't call him "The Natural" for nothing. I think it would be very cool to see someone like Pavlik, who will do the work and listen to the trainers, become a proficient MMA fighter after he retires.
Any boxer moving over the MMA has to at the very least have takedown defense and very good defense otherwise every single intelligent MMA fighter will put them on their back and either submit them or GnP them and a boxer on his back with no Jitz is like a flipped over turtle. Yes there is a chance a boxer's hands will get a shot in to drop someone before they're put on the ground but that's what you call a puncher's chance and that ain't what these guys are going to want to have going into MMA. See Kongo,Cheick when he got put down as an example of a striker without a ground game.
