Thai vs. western boxing

[darrianation]

I was following the post started by L175 in the boxing forum. I was going to post this there then decided this would make a good thread of its own. Go there and read some of those posts there. There are some good posts there.

What I think would be interesting is Muay Thai vs. western boxing. They are much more similar well the hand techniques anyway. How about two evenly ranked and same weight class fighters go at it. Any interest in that? I would be interested.

The Thai fighter would use his kicks to his advantage and keep the boxer at bay. The boxer would use his footwork and fast hands and wait for the Thai boxer to make a mistake and then counter. The Thai boxer would clinch when the boxer closes and use knee strikes against the boxer.

So who would win? In my opinion it would be the Thai boxer. So what are your opinions?

[ryanhall]

As someone who does a fair amount of boxing and incorporates a lot of Thai and Bando into thier fighting, I say the Thai guy wins a large percentage of the time.

[Great Sage]

I tend to lean towards Thai Boxing as well... I remember when I was strictly boxing for a long time, then got the chance to work out with a Thai Guy... Odd as it sounds, I had a hard time with his kicks even though I had been in TKD and Karate in the past. I don't take anything away from boxing though... It's a tough sport and the acme of hitting with your fists.

[Tom Yum]

I would have to go with the thaiboxer. It only takes 1-3 full contact round kicks to the thigh to make it difficult to walk. The boxer has the disadvantage in the clinch as well because one well placed knee can destroy even a well conditioned athlete.

I wouldn't discount the toughness of any boxer, but its less complete. I have sparred boxers whos boxing skill level were better than mine while I used MT and they get caught offguard with leg kicks and knee from the clinch. Whenever we exchanged punches though their supperiority shows.

[Tom Yum]

Smash, I know what you mean about hitting a small target. Despite having my arms by my side, my coach finds ways to slip and nail me with hooks/shovel hooks that I sware are covered up by my elbows/arms (but somehow aren't).

He had me working on a drill with focus mitts where he holds the mitt for 1 second from which I have to nail the mitt otherwise I throw the punch and miss. The point of this is to notice quick targets and nail them; its hard. I miss every once in a while.

A lot of thaiboxers cross train in western boxing. They know the footwork. There's no denying the effectiveness of the sweet science; many top thaiboxers today are proficient in boxing. In American kickboxing matches, it seems like the fights go to the fighter with better boxing skills. I sparred (western boxing) with a pro-boxer who was about 25 lbs lighter than myself. It was frustrating to say the least. We went at it for 3 rounds. He was impossible to hit and hit extremely hard for a smaller guy. Allthough I primarily train in MT, my base is in boxing.

As for muaythai, you would have to fight an experienced practicioner to see for yourself. The clinch is not static; if he controls your head, he controls your body. He can pull you off balance and make it difficult to throw hard punches to the body. The mt clinch is extremely tight and you will find yourself being moved all over the place. A knee kick from the clinch makes professional fighters fold.

I think boxing is awesome and I would like to see someone of Tyson's calliber fight an Ernesto Hoost or a Rajnamdern Champion.

[darrianation]

Tom your right on!

[Aaska]

There was one time I got badly beaten up by a western boxer on the ring. (even though he was bigger and heavier than I was, I accepted the challenge... Neither kicking nor elbow strikes were allowed but hey! Loss is loss!)

Besides MT veterans, there are fighters that I ALWAYS feel uncomfortable in going against: good western boxers and good grapplers.

For numerous times in K-1 events, I have seen western boxers knocking out many kickboxers (Karate, Kung-Fu, TaeKwonDo, etc) and some MT fighters. I dare to say that many great KOs were done by punches in K-1.

I *personally* fear western boxers more over San-Shou/Sando fighers.

So who would win? In my opinion it would be the Thai boxer, but never underestimate Boxers!

[KZL]

Yeah, that's hard to call. It depends upon the skills of each, obviously.

There are a couple of golden glove boxers in our class, and I always have fun boxing them. They are slippery, and know how to get in and out relatively unharmed.

The best thai boxers I think study boxing also, and if that is the case, the advantage goes to the thai boxer. Also because of the greater number of weapons.

But it only takes 1 well places punch to knock a person out. (I unfortunately know this from experience. :-) )

[Tom Yum]

Again, which is why in events like K1, the better boxer usually determines the KO. But we can't deny Peter Aerts head kicking abilities either.

[terry]

Thai vs. Western Boxing. Get rid of the dichotomy and train both together. And either start the day with respect for both or learn it the hard way. Either way, both are great and fit together perfectly.

[darrianation]

Terry I totally agree with you. I just think its fun to talk about, but definitely don’t mean any disrespect.

Yea. You never know what could or might happen. Boxers are good at closing the distance and the boxer could get the quick KO or damage the Thai boxer to the point he couldn’t recover. I have sparred boxers using boxing rules and you can forget it. They move to well and their punches are amazing.

Honestly it could go either way. The Thai boxer would have to fight a smart fight, and not let the boxer get into a comfortable rhythm.

When I first started MT they did western boxing there too. My coach came from a strong kick boxing/boxing back ground. We sparred the boxers quite a bit, of course no kicks, elbows, or knees. They were good. However they would never spar us using MT rules, they were to afraid of getting one of there precious boxers hurt.

Still I’d love to see some boxer, MT match ups. But regardless which rules you use, MT, or boxing it will put one of the fighters at a disadvantage. Of course I’d like to see it any way. It show which is best for defending one’s self, not that I think either one is the best for self defense.

[Tom Yum]

Darrianation, check out pre-UFC:Boxing v. Judo post in the boxing thread. One of the sections has a Sanshou v. Boxing team exhibition match.

[Steve]

Originally posted by darrianation
Still I’d love to see some boxer, MT match ups. But regardless which rules you use, MT, or boxing it will put one of the fighters at a disadvantage. Of course I’d like to see it any way. It show which is best for defending one’s self, not that I think either one is the best for self defense.

darrian,

i'm just curious, what martial art do you think is the best for defending one's self? i kind of thought that thai boxing was one of the more practical martial arts for self defense. what do you think is?