With the ascent of mixed martial arts into the mainstream sports world, came the inevitable friction with boxing. Even though both sides will throw the occasional verbal jab at the other, renowned boxing promoter Lou DiBella told Newsday he feels boxing has to fight its own battles. "I haven't been happy with boxing in years and anyone who's happy is a moron," he said. "But that doesn't mean that we're done. That doesn't mean that we can't come back. And I don't believe that UFC has anything to do with whether we come back or not."
Even though the 2.15 million pay-per-view buys for the Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight set a new PPV record for a boxing match, UFC president Dana White, who once managed boxers, still thinks that the future of boxing is in peril.
"Boxing is in trouble for one reason and one reason only - greed," White said in a conference call. "Everybody in it is greedy. Bob Arum and Don King have absolutely destroyed that sport. Stuck their hand in, ripped the life out of it and shoved it in their pocket. That's the reason boxing is in trouble."
Even the fighters are now getting into it. With Mayweather bashing MMA fighters, then later rescinding his comments, they have countered.
"I had a chance to fight James Waring," said MMA fighter and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Renzo Gracie. "Back then, he was like 230 pounds and I was like 168. And I choked him [out] in 50 seconds. If you just compare arts, I think MMA is much more complete."
When asked in a conference call before his title match against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 71 in Las Vegas last night if he'd be excited to fight a boxer, UFC light heavyweight champ Chuck Liddell said: "Not really. Beating up a guy that can't stop a takedown, that has no ground and can't stop a takedown, it doesn't really excite me too much. It's not much of a fight."
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