They’re two different sports, OK?

Comparisons between the sports of Boxing and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts, for those of you not in the know) have been made for years. Which is better? Which has the more sustainable long-term future? Which athlete would win in a fight? Usually these debates spiral into a chaotic circus atmosphere, as you can see in this ESPN interview of boxing promoter Lou DiBella and UFC commentator Joe Rogan:

Buried in that wave of stupidity are some good points. First and foremost:

BOXING AND MMA ARE TWO DIFFERENT FORMS OF ENTERTAINMENT

Saying that Boxing and MMA are intimately connected and fated to scratch and claw over the same marking share just because they both involve people hitting each other is like saying baseball and football are the same because they both involve throwing a ball. Or like saying that anyone who watches NASCAR is a Formula 1 fan, and vice-versa. Unfortunately, DiBella quickly lost sight of that point once he started the name-calling (“It’s human cock-fighting” and “You’re not a boxing fan”), but the point stands nonetheless. Boxing is not competing with MMA for your dollar any more than with your local bar or movie theater.

Add to the fact that Joe Rogan made just as much of an ass of himself in his defense of the UFC. His veiled implications that he was more partial because he is also a boxing fan seemed to me a little odd when he refuted Brian Kenny’s statements by saying that boxing “is not aesthetically pleasing.” I’m a little curious why he claims to be a fan of something that isn’t fun to watch, but I digress.

The best observation made in this interview was actually by Kenny, when he pointed out that Boxing’s biggest challenge is that this “opponent” is dominated by one company with the advantage of being able to completely control its own marketing — Lou or Bob Arum or Oscar de la Hoya can promote their fighters, but it’s substantially more difficult to market the sport as a whole. And that’s where Rogan’s involvement, to me, seemed to be highlighted. He’s a UFC employee… I’m not saying his vested interest in a particular side of the debate is any less than DiBella’s, but Rogan’s paycheck depends on unwaveringly promoting the UFC and detracting from any competitor to its product.

Again, I digress. The point is that these are two different sports. Yes, Boxing needs to stop being complacent, and needs to realize that it can’t rely on its status and history to automatically attract the younger demographic. Yes, MMA is still the hottest and fastest growing event in all of sports. But last I checked, Mayweather-DLH was breaking PPV records despite UFC’s existence. Hatton-Pacquiao is still promising to be a great fight with great numbers despite a slumping economy. Really, they can both co-exist.

I bring all this up because recently former MMA champion Tim Sylvia signed up to box former Boxing champion Ray Mercer in a steel octagon cage. Boxing, in a cage, on a MMA card.

Mercer is 47 years old. Not to discount all older fighters, but if he was still athletically able to hack it he’d still be boxing. This fight has no more credibility than that laughingstock of a makeshift caged boxing match between Tommy Morrison and John Stover.

A good Boxer will be a good MMA-er in a boxing match under boxing rules. A good MMA-er will beat a good Boxer in a MMA match under MMA rules. Don’t give me crap about “who would actually win in a fight,” either. It’s not the MMA fighter. You know who wins in a real fight? The first asshole to pull a gun, or a knife, or any other weapon. That’s not what either of these sports is about.