Why do people think boxers (primarily) and other sportative arts can't fight on the "streets"?

Question

1- last time I checked, the rules of physics are the same on the streets and off.

2- can someone name me the last upper class boxer, or better yet WHERE DO MOST BOXERS COME FROM, rich upper class neighborhoods? or high crime areas where you are more likely to get into a fight?

3- do you really think there is a ref blowing a whistle on the boxer and not the other guy?

4- do you train in class to spar in "streetfighting", which includes full contact eye-gouging, throwing bricks at each other, grindng each other's face into the pavement, picking up trash cans and slamming them full force into your opponent? throwing your opponent through windows and picking up glass?

when you train like that please let me know, I would love to see that school and so would the dog brothers I assure you.

Answer 1

You make some decent points, with a little overboard on #4, but I get the idea.   No one is going to train to that effect, but you can (as we do) fight full force without any rules to simulate a real situation.

Boxing, and the other sport arts are still Martial Arts.  In many cases the individual doing a sport art will be better equipped for a real world experience, because they constantly compete against others.  The negative to this is that they are normally paired up with someone of the same style, using essentially the same techniques.  This is, of course, also applicable to TMA's.  It all comes down to who knows their stuff better.  

We try and get other MA's in so that we can fight with them and learn what works and doesnt work in our system.  Traditional boxers are Very quick, and can take a beating, but lack the footwork and lower body protection.  I have fought them and won, and fought them and lost.  Both times I learned many things, mostly about myself.

Anyone who truly things that, has never put themselves against another skilled opponent from another style.

Answer 2

Usually these are just ignorant people.  They don't understand the years boxers spend developing their timing and reflexes.  An experienced boxer is going to be very difficult to hit and he will basically hit you at will.  Sure an experienced boxer would have a hard time against an NCAA wreslter that could shoot in at his legs but your average street fighter isn't going to have refined takedowns.

Answer 3

i think everything has been said

i mearly wanted to comment on how i love number 4 because its true

cause the closest to "street fighting" we have covered was mulitiple opponents with full gear and had to watch the strikes to certain areas and wooden knives in exchange for real ones

my favorite thing tho my sensei pitted 4 guys against me and said stay alive for 3 minutes without me telling them to stop, and like a street fight, i said theres the door and ran around the entire dojo

Answer 4

Boxers have a harder punch and much greater endurance than your average person.  But street fights often involve weapons and dengerous objects found nearby.  You have to be able to think more than just punch.  However, if it were a fight in school where its just man to man, boxers generally win because they know to to land a punch.  However, I wrestle in highschool and I have been in many fights before.  Wrestlers can easily get past punches by going for a low single.

Answer 5

Excellent post man. I don't understand why all these TMA practitioners think in this manner aswell. I am Judo/BJJ/Boxing and Muay Thai trained, and if I had the choice to fight a similar fighter in the streets one on one in a brutal alley or fight someone who has been practising a TMA for years and years or a 'combat' art like Krav Maga for instance. I know for a fact I would choose a Krav Maga beast or a TMA'ist forsure.

Call it ignorance. Call it what you will. But I know what I know from personal experience. I've been in street fights. I have been to countless clubs of various styles before choosing the ones I liked the most. I have seen many martial arts demonstrations and fights of countless styles live and on TV. And if anyone counts out a 'ring' fighter, from a more sports oriented style, then THEY are the ones who are ignorant, and I guarantee it.

Answer 6

it goes without saying that training in boxing has relevance on the street.. its downfall is when a guy doesnt let you box. if the fight goes to ground then all the boxing in the world wont save you against a seasoned ground fighter... boxing is a lethal sport when used on its own terms.. sparing in class with weapons is very helpful in a streetfight and ive yet to see a boxing gym to incorporate knife fighting/ knife defence into its program.

no fighting art is perfect and id much rather be trained in boxing in a street fight than be trained in nothing at all.. given the choice id much rather learn an art that doesnt focus on the one on one  fight so much but rather dealing with multiple opponents with the possibility of weapons. go watch art jimmerson vs royce gracie on youtube... he was ranked  as the no.10 light heavyweight in the world and he didnt get a punch off.

Answer 7

Ignorance I suppose :)***

Answer 8

Katana, I'm sorry to say this, but you are blatantly wrong about one thing:

TONS of BJJers are roaming the streets, robbing people for money. How else can they afford to pay 140 freakin dollars a month?!

But in all seriousness, anybody who thinks that full contact sport fighters couldn't handle themselves is silly. Just like full contact TMA or combative stuff (Krav), if you train with resistance and pressure testing, you've got a MASSIVE advantage over an untrained opponent.

Answer 9

because there not good on the ground. the can kill anyone stanidn tho

Answer 10

I think it's the other way around, a streetfighter wouldn't be a good boxer or mma fighter. Only because a streetfight does not have regulations, and boxing and mma does. I think it's more of a...hmmm... they wouldn't fight on the streets.

Answer 11

I agree totally Bluto. i have never said that boxing or MMA would not be effective for self defense. I actually have stepped in the ring with an ex heavyweight boxer who was golden gloves and I can assure you that if anyone doubts that boxing is effective try it, you will be suprised.

As for the ground part stated by someone, I do nto see too many wrestlers or BJJ people roaming around attacking people at random or for their money.

Edit- LMAO @ Rear Naked Jokes response.

Answer 12

1) Physics?  The human fist is not designed for straight punches.  Hence the need for conditioning, wrappings, and gloves.  This isn't to say you can't do a lot of damage.

2) Upper class boxer...John Douglas, the 9th Marquis of Queensbury.

3,4) No comment

If you're interested, check out Rodney King's "Street Boxing". He's the white guy from South Africa, not the black guy from L.A.

Answer 13

Probably because most people who see boxing matches on TV today are used to seeing it held in ritzy venues with lots of fanfare and promotions that make it look like a WWE match complete with pre-fight drama. What most of these people don't realize is that modern boxing pretty much started out as prize-fighting in the streets with little or no rules, where anyone can come off the streets and challenge the local champ for money. The sport's image only cleaned up a bit after noblemen started betting on the fighters and decided to add a referee and rules to protect their bets from unfair tactics. It took a long time before the sport evolved into the boxing we see today. While I was growing up, boxing matches lasted 25 rounds, that took a lot of guts, determination and stamina on the boxers' part  to fight that long and hard . And I doubt anyone can say an untrained streetfighter can last that long in a ring and still be able to throw bombs at his opponent's chin with pinpoint accuracy.

In the streets of the city where I grew up, most of the street toughs consider boxing the primary street fighting art next to sticking a knife into your opponent's side and whacking em in the head with a 2x4.

Answer 14

obviously them PEOPLE as you put it are not worth listening to as there uninformed opinion is c**p.

any physical training and/or conditioning will help you defend yourself.

Answer 15

Most boxers are physical people who would perform well in a street fight against average opponents.  There is a disadvantage in that they train hard to win while following a set of rules.  Both boxers and martial artists have a disadvantage that they are used to a lot of people trying to hit them and violence against them doesn't always register in their mind as being the danger it is.

When the chips are down, you will follow your training.  Police used to train on the gun range and collect the empty brass in their pockets for reloading.  When officers were found dead with brass in their pockets people realized the training had to change.  Boxers are not trained that their fights are about survival, but a street fight is.  This decreases the performance they might otherwise have.

Answer 16

Maybe they should test the theory out by spitting in a boxers beer the next time they are at a bar.

Answer 17

Any contact sport cannot guarantee you a win in a street fight.  Don't always assume your attacker is going to be inexperienced and without training himself.

Although Jiu-jitsu in my opinion would be the best training you can get to help you overcome an attacker in a street fight.  Then there is self-defense classes which would  include any means necessary to survive.  I don't discount boxing but it certainly isn't the be all and end all to fighting.

What you descibed in #4 sounds like TV wrestling.

To answer #2

Yea, most boxers are from low income areas.  That does not always mean high crime. And just because you come from a poor neighborhood does not mean you fought 10 guys on the way to corner store.

I don't know much about Prettyboy's upbringing but he comes from a family of boxers.  His father was a former contender and his uncles former champions.  Did he grow up poor?

Plus you can find a gym almost anywhere in any variation of rural area.

Answer 18

Boxing is very useful on the streets. I've used it. An untrained guy will come at you most of the time full of anger, and looking to knock your head off. Boxing is about much more than punching. Footwork and evasion are key. The boxer can avoid and parry wild strikes that a street fighter is likely to deliver, and when the time is right, unleash accurate counter punches. Given the situation, you can use the jab to keep distance. You can use boxing clinch work to control your opponents head, arms and/or body. And you can use the "illegal tactics" of boxing that are perfect for the street. Those include the same elbows that they throw in Muay Thai (regardless of the name of the art, elbows are elbows) there's nothing stopping you from gouging a man's eye, biting or headbutting them in close, because there are no rules. The problem occurs when the opponent has a weapon, or the fight goes to the ground. But one on one, hand to hand, I might even be inclined to say that boxing is as effective as Karate, Kickboxing or even BJJ on the streets.  Maybe even more so.