Phrasal Verb(s): Cross Over
1. To change from one condition or loyalty to another.
OK, for those who started this read expecting to hear from the dead, while you won't be getting messages from beyond conveyed by a shady John Edwards, you may be getting insight into the slow killings of fighters' careers.
Maybe...
Can MMA fighters make the jump into professional boxing and produce successful careers?
Oh and if they do want to try...whoever does...they really need to hurry. Boxing is dying and will be gone any day now. (See how ridiculous that sounds, boxing haters?)
Anyway...
This crossing over between sports is nothing new. During my career working in the boxing world, many professional kickboxer’s tried to step up and make waves in the ranks of boxing's best. I cannot recall one who did it even close to the level of success they enjoyed in their original combat sport.
So the question is: Will that be replicated now between MMA and boxing?
Anderson Silva, an MMA enigma, wanted to take on Roy Jones Jr., a boxing enigma. The only thing that makes this fight kind of compelling, outside of watching them both perform, is that Roy is past his prime and Anderson is not. If Roy was in his peak years, the result wouldn't be very good for Anderson. It just wouldn't.
Now, Andrei Arlovski is training under Freddie Roach to make his debut in boxing. Arlovski is a skilled fighter and athlete that is very durable. But can he make the jump to the ring?
EliteXC's Lightweight champion K.J. Noons boxes, kickboxes, and fights in MMA. He surely proved how well he can throw hands against Nick Diaz and Yves Edwards. But can K.J. capture gold in boxing as well. He plans to.
The result, should combatants from MMA be able to cross over into boxing, could be fantastic. We could end up seeing an in-his-prime Jones vs. an-in-his-prime Silva type of fight between the two sports, if the pioneers of this move from MMA to boxing fare well. That would be amazing.
It would also give boxing the PR boost it needs, while simultaneously helping push MMA a little more mainstream.
But what about the MMA tide going back out—taking with it pro boxers trying their hands at Mixed Martial Arts, after some MMA guys attained recognition in boxing?
Clearly, the step FROM the melting pot of combat, MMA, is easier than the step INTO it from any one, exclusive combat discipline. Even if an MMA fighter is an average boxer at best, he at least knows the one craft he needs to, if and when he boxes. A boxer would be devoid of Muay Thai, Jiu-Jitsu, judo, wrestling, and more, should he try to fight in a cage.
The worst-case scenario would have MMA stars damaging themselves publicly by losing handily in a sport that is not identical to theirs. How badly they could hurt their reputations, if at all, is hard to determine at this point. I do know that the potential to do so is very real to some people...Ask Dana White.
Dana is two things: a businessman and a practitioner of boxing. He knows what could happen to Anderson Silva by trying to take on a boxer like Roy Jones, who is easily amongst the best the sport of boxing has ever seen. That's why Dana said no to Anderson.
As a fan of both sports, I sure do hope to see it work. And the crossover, in reverse, could also happen, though I'd expect it would take a little longer with so many fighting styles for a boxer to learn before being close to ready to battle in a cage.
That realm is also being explored by guys such as former heavyweight boxer Jeremy 'Half Man, Half Amazing' Williams. This guy has approximately an 88 percent KO ratio in boxing, and he's not even a big heavyweight. He is thus far unbeaten in his campaign in MMA, training at the famous Legend's MMA gym in Hollywood, CA.
The book on this is very unwritten, yet the story already has me hooked.
comments (9) write a comment »
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2 months ago
Hey...this was excellent and I'm not even a MMA fan...but I have been peeking at it every now and then. Really great stuff here....I love your writing style. You get my POTD.
from 2 months ago
Thanks so much. I try. Very kind of you!
Yacman
2 months ago
I'm curious about why both Silva and Jones are an "enigma"?
2 months ago
I am glad you asked Matt- one need only know what the word means as well as being familiar with their careers to realize why...
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This e·nig·ma Audio Help (ĭ-nĭg'mə) Pronunciation Key
n.
One that is puzzling, ambiguous, or inexplicable.
A perplexing speech or text; a riddle.
Both Jones and Silva have been difficult to figure out and an unsolvable riddle to those they've fought. Jones barely lost rounds, nevermind fights, for the better part of 11 years. Silva now shares that unbeatable aura when he steps in to fight.
The original reference to a fighter being enigmatic was Mike Tyson - a fighter who also mowed guys down and was difficult to solve in his prime.
Thanks for taking the time to read and comment!
Best,
YACMAN
from 2 months ago
Just for the record, when people refer to Tyson as "enigmatic" they don't mean his boxing skills, they mean his mind.
Contextually the wrong word to use. To say that Silva is the "enigma of MMA" would imply that people can't figure him out, not his fighting style.
I get what you were trying to say, but again, contextually the improper word choice.
2 months ago
im excited to see anderson silva give it a go against roy jones jr
from 2 months ago
Me too Kevin - me too
Unfortunately, Dana White said NO to it. I wasn't sure it was officially off the table yet myself...but last night I was hanging out with Anderson's manager and he confirmed that the Jones fight is not in the works at all now.
Yacman
2 months ago
Silva would get brutally ktfo'd even by an almost 40 year old Roy Jones. So no need to see that happen.
KJ Noons could make some noise depeding on what weight class he fought at. 154 is wide open as there is really no one of substance. guys generally skip over that weight from 147 to middleweight. And 147 is stacked, and I don't see him beating any of the top guys there like Cotto, Margarito, or Paul Williams.
As for AA, that is very, very interesting. Freddie Roach is one of the best trainers in boxing, and the heavyweight division is anybody's at this moment. I would love to see him box.
from 2 months ago
I agree 100% - and Arlovski could be exciting to see boxing.
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