There is no question that mixed martial arts (MMA) has grown to a level that only a few had ever imagined – but who started this rumour that the sport of boxing is dead?

Definitely not 1972 and 1976 Olympic boxing silver medalist Simon Mircea who is now the president of Dynamo Boxing Club in Winnipeg.

“No, I don’t think boxing is slowing down,” Mircea said. “I’ve been around the world and I can tell you that it is really strong, especially here in Manitoba.”

This could be the typical old-school versus new-school battle. Fifteen years ago boxing was the only option until MMA came along. Either way both sports call on some of the most conditioned athletes in the entire world and bring incredibly entertaining fights in different, yet identical, ways.

Hearing that boxing and MMA are boring sports is ludicrous. Seriously, people don’t have to get knocked out or ripped apart for it to be entertaining. Don’t believe me? Spend sometime watching Forrest Griffin go at it with Stephan Bonner or any of the three famous Morales versus Barrera brawls.

These athletes spend countless hours studying opponent’s patterns, trying to find weaknesses and how to utilize angles.

“ I have some students who fight MMA and they tell me how important boxing really is every workout.

Simon Mircea, president of the Dynamo Boxing Club

“MMA uses many technical skills from boxing like cardio, footwork and striking,” Mircea said. “I have some students who fight MMA and they tell me how important boxing really is every workout.”

Because in boxing you can only use two weapons, your right and left hand, the science of the sport is very intricate. Besides in the heavyweight division, there usually aren’t significant reach and height, and definitely not weight, advantages. That’s what is great about boxing – the fighters are mirror images of each other, no excuses. The best skilled fighter wins.

MMA brings a variety of fighting styles on the ground and on the feet, including boxing, which also makes this sport incredibly intricate. Not only do you have to worry about throwing and defending punches, you have to worry about not getting your arms and legs broken. That’s what is interesting about MMA: one mistake can cost you a punishment.

But the big question everyone wants to know is how long would a competitor in each sport last in the opposite sport?

Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski will answer this question on Apr. 11 when he makes his boxing debut. There have been many rumours that current UFC undefeated middleweight champion Anderson Silva has challenged multi-time boxing champion Roy Jones Jr. to a boxing match. This would be a dream boxing fight with a true answer.

On the other side of the spectrum, after being influenced by Kimbo Slice, former heavyweight boxing champion Hasim Rahman will test the MMA waters.

Still, time will tell.

Published in Volume 63, Number 22 of The Uniter (March 5, 2009)