Boxing Amateur

MMA fights are very exciting since it showcases a lot of action through the different martial arts around the world. Believe it or not, MMA or mixed martial arts would involve at least a dozen martial arts including boxing, taekwando, jiu jitsu, muay thai and others. The reason is because when a number of martial arts when used and combined properly would allow better self-defense. MMA fights would allow a number of people to use several martial arts in one fight.

In a way, fighters can take advantage of the strengths of the different martial arts and perform better. There would be two basic aspects in the mixed martial arts game. This would include the striking and grappling game. The striking aspect would involve the use of boxing, muay thai, taekwando and other martial arts that would utilize kicks, knees and punches to hit one’s opponent. This would result to knock outs since punches and kicks would result in fast and rapid blows. The grappling aspect is called the ground game since this would involve wrestling and jiu jitsu, which requires people to take down their opponents. The ground game is ideal for smaller people since they can negate the height and reach advantage of their opponents when they are both wrestling at the ground.
Winning using the ground game would include striking and submissions. Submissions would involve either manipulating the joints of opponents or choking them out using the rear naked choke. Mixed martial arts is an exciting fight game since everything can happen in a split second. Many people are now training to be experts in multiple disciplines or martial arts so that they can compete and defend themselves in the highest possible level. In fact, millions of MMA or mixed martial arts centers have been established to teach people everything that would make them a better fighter.

Many athletes from a single sport such as boxing and karate are also studying other martial arts. This would enable them to compete in MMA fights, which now have greater commercial appeal. That is why MMA athletes are now earning more compared to other sports. The worlds of mixed martial arts are evolving in a very rapid rate. It may seem counteract other combat sports such as boxing. The MMA sport has grown big on both the real word and digital world. Because events like UFC and Strikeforce are only available on cable TV and pay per view channel, many fans have put up MMA videos online for others to view. The web has helped this sport grown quickly across the globe.

Pierce Egan, the famed 19th-century boxing journalist who coined the term “sweet science,” wrote that “Drummers and boxers, to acquire excellence, must begin young.”

It is as if the fates conspired to push 22-year-old Deontay Wilder toward pugilism just to prove Egan wrong. The 6-foot-7 heavyweight, whose bronze medal on Friday kept alive the U.S. streak of winning a boxing medal in every Olympics in which it competed, never meant to be a boxer. Not like his USA Boxing teammates, all of whom were ducking and diving by age 12.

Wilder grew up as a basketball player in Tuscaloosa, Ala. He was in his freshman year playing at Shelton Community College when his girlfriend became pregnant. It wasn’t by design. An early ultrasound showed that Wilder’s daughter would be born with spina bifida.

“Our hearts dropped,” Wilder said. “Doctors gave us the choice to terminate the pregnancy, but after a while I just said, it really doesn’t matter, this is my little girl.”

Wilder dropped out of school and found work at Red Lobster and driving a Budweiser truck so he could support his daughter and shuttle her to doctors and hospitals to fix her clubbed feet. But there was a hole in his heart where basketball had been, and with team sports out of the question, boxing was something that offered a flexible schedule. Thus, 3-year-old Naieya Wilder helped keep the U.S. medal streak alive by turning her daddy to boxing. “She’s healthy and smart,” Wilder said, proudly.

For the first time in 20 years, USA Boxing established a residence program and required Olympic boxers to live in Colorado Springs beginning last September, a response to America’s dearth of boxing gold in recent Olympics after a gilded history. Wilder, with his coach’s blessing, seized the opportunity to “play catch up,” he says, with intensive training.

But other team members resented being plucked from their long-time coaches. David Ali, father of 20-year-old lightweight Sadam Ali, who lost his opening bout, said before the Olympics that Sadam “could have gotten better training [at home in New York]. He has two trainers here.”

Light welterweight Javier Molina, 18, who lost his first fight at the Olympics, said that the residence program “takes me out of my comfort zone. The only thing I like is I get to know the other Olympians, but I don’t know if that’ll help me. This isn’t like a basketball team.” Molina said that while the USA Boxing coaches are very good coaches, Roberto Luna, the man who has coached him since he was eight, “knows my weaknesses.”

It didn’t help that some of the coaches were loath to part with their prized pupils, and many continued to exert influence from afar by email and phone. Wilder’s coach, Jay Deas, bought into the idea that Wilder needed to make up for lost time, and “did not interfere,” says USA Boxing coach Dan Campbell. “Other coaches didn’t want to cooperate.”

In the broader view, though, Egan had a point about experience. This U.S. team was extremely young, with an average age just older than 20, and only one returning Olympian, world champion flyweight Rau’shee Warren, who lost his opening bout.

Wilder could use more amateur bouts to hone his skills, but his punishing power — in a test prior to the Olympics, his jab measured stronger than all but one other U.S. boxer’s power punch — may ensure this is his last Olympics. Wilder said he’s already gotten calls from promoters. In other countries, so-called amateurs enjoy great financial support.

“International boxers, like Cubans, they get paid to stay amateur; we don’t get paid to stay,” said Ali, the first Olympic team member since Riddick Bowe in 1988 to hail from New York City, where boxing gyms have dwindled from a high of 150 in the mid-1980s to 50. “So we go for it once, and turn pro.”

To the detriment of both amateur and professional boxing.

Many people believe that boxing is dead because of the rise of MMA, and while that may be true there will always be those amateurs who continue to keep the sport alive with some highlight reel knockouts of their own.  After all, who needs a ring or octagon when you can put on a show in the comfort of your own living room.

These two guys put the gloves on and decided to get a couple of swings in there with their friends watching.  They touch gloves and right away the mayhem begins.  With their fists swinging wildly, both guys get in some devastating shots before the final blow is landed.

It was the type of blow you would expect to see delivered from a giant heavyweight fighter, or perhaps even the right hand of Dan Henderson.

This is without a doubt one of the better amateur boxing matches I have witnessed as there could have been at least two or three knockouts prior to the punch that ended it.  It was a great finishing shot, but I am not sure what was more enjoyable to watch; the knockout, or the reaction of those in the room, including the male who delivered it.

One thing about amateur boxing is the ringside doctors tend to be amateurs as well.

With the low ratings that many boxing matches have received, and the extremely high ratings that MMA has received, is it reasonable to conclude that boxing is losing the battle?

Boxing has fallen out of favor in recent years for many good reasons:  There are too many shady promoters (can we say Don King?), too many weight classes, too many weight divisions, too many “manufactured” stars, and too little of what boxing fans need:  Great fights between great fighters.

In the wake of MMA-Mixed Martial Arts-many have questioned the continued viability of boxing.  Pay per view trends in each sport were beginning to support that claim.  Mixed Martial Arts, once relegated to the blood and lust fans, regulated itself (or was regulated!) and became a sport with true cross-over appeal.  The pay per view numbers began to meet and exceed those of prized boxing matches.

Boxing and MMA are two different sports.  Many will say “fighting is fighting is fighting.”  True, in each sport, the competitors go to war and seek to beat the other into submission, but that is where the similarities end.  Boxing is (or was?) pure, natural and…sweet with a storied history.  MMA is new, raw, and much broader.  A fighter can use multiple skills from wrestling to Jujitsu to defeat their opponent.

MMA captured the viewership of many boxing fans not for the blood and guts (its rawness!) but because it was beginning to show signs of what people loved about boxing:  competitors willing to lay everything on the line to beat their opponent.

We recently witnessed the last fight of one of MMA’s greatest fighters, Chuck Lidell.  He embodies the phrase lay it on the line.  When Chuck Lidell walked into the ring, he would give you everything he had, risking life and limb (a literal statement in MMA) to provide a great fight.

When was the last time you have seen this in boxing?  The boxer laying everything on the line in the ring?  The recently retired (and now becoming unretired) greatest pound-for- pound boxing champion is Floyd Mayweather Jr.  With such amazing skill, he never once seemed to give everything he had, or risk anything, in the ring.  True, he would always win fights, but he never won the hearts and minds of the people.  He was always in it for him, not for you, not for the fans.  The people paid Floyd Mayweather Jr.  He did not pay them back.

In this manner, boxing lost its fan base.  The people decided to stop paying because they were not being paid back.

However, just when it looked like boxing was going to receive a knockout punch, recent boxing champions, like Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines, are proving their mettle and their willingness to lay it on the line.

The battle between MMA and boxing is not yet over.  It’s in the mid-rounds and boxing has recently caught a second wind.

After scandal robbed Roy Jones Jr. of the Olympic Gold at Seoul in 1988, the International Olympic Committee decided that serious changes needed to be made to Olympic Boxing. Most boxing experts and fans agree the changes have only caused more controversy by making judging less reliable and have stripped boxing of its former glory.

1988 Olympic boxing scoring:

• 5 judges score bout
• The white part of the glove must land on front of head/torso for a point
• Each judge marked their score on a scorecard

1992 scoring after changes:

• 5 judges score bout
• The white part of the glove must land on front of head/torso for a point
• Each judge has 2 electronic buttons, one for each respective boxer
• 3 of 5 judges must press a respective boxer’s button within 1 second for him to receive a point

The last rule is not a misprint. When a fighter lands a qualifying blow 3 of 5 judges must press a button within 1 second of each other in order for him to receive a point. Button scoring threatens integrity of scores.

In the course of a bout judges may get the buttons mixed up, believe they are pushing a button hard enough when they’re not, or buttons as on a TV remote, keyboard or gaming controller can stick or malfunction.

Under this system flurries between fighters, ‘’infighting where no full force punches can land’’ (Boxing – Olympic Rules, Judging and Officials), in which more than one punch literally couldn’t be counted using the 1 second method the AIBA (International Boxing Association) relies on, are to be scored as a single point after the flurry ends. That point is to be given to whichever one of the boxers the judges feel got the better of the exchange; provided that three of the judges push one of the boxer’s respective buttons within 1 second of each other after that flurry ends.

This is very controversial. A flurry between fighters can be advantageous to both and can be difficult to score even when a judge has the time to evaluate the flurry and contemplate them subjectively; process that can take longer than a single second even by an experienced judge.

Seeking objectivity?

According to the International Olympic Committee the electronic scoring machine was introduced to make judges’ officiating more objective. Boxing is not an objective sport. Factors such as ring generalship (how well fighters control their opponent in the ring), technical efficiency, and accurate effective punching are subjective, key factors to being an effective boxer. In fact these factors are the very essence of boxing; what separates the sport of boxing from the act of fighting and what made Muhammed Ali, Leon Spinks, George Foreman and others Olympic Champions. Under the Olympic rules however, these aren’t even taken into account. And fighters receive no extra points for knocking their opponent down.

A major flaw in the 1 second scoring was made clear Tuesday night in Beijing when USA’s Rau’shee Warren, as NBC Boxing commentator Teddy Atlas pointed out, scored a point while reeling off balance and falling to the ground after a blow by South Korea’s Lee Ok-sung.

This is only one of a number of incidents at the 2008 Olympics thus far. There is a consensus amongst boxing experts; boxing at the Olympics has been ruined by the 1992 rule change. It will be interesting to see if the AIBA changes anything at the conclusion of the Beijing Games to bring legitimacy back to Olympic Boxing and restore its former glory.

Only men’s competition. No women’s competition.

Boxers qualify for the Olympics through performances at regional tournaments in Europe, Asia, the Americas, Africa and Oceania. The number of boxers accepted from any region depends upon the strength of boxing in that region and varies between weight divisions.

The boxers are paired off at random for the Olympic Games, without regard to ranking. They fight in a single-elimination tournament, with the winner advancing to the next round and the loser dropping out of the competition. Winning boxers progress through the preliminary rounds to the quarterfinals and semifinals. The two semifinals winners fight for the gold and silver medals, while both losing semifinalists receive bronze medals.

Bouts consists of a total of four rounds. Each round is two minutes in length with a one-minute interval between each round. Contests are won by knockout or on points. A point is awarded for a scoring hit with marked part of the glove on the opponent’s head (side or front) or body (above the belt).

A panel of five judges decides which hits are scoring hits. Judges each have two buttons before them, one for each boxer, and they press the appropriate button when they believe a boxer delivers a scoring hit.

An electronic scoring system registers a point whenever three or more judges press the button for one boxer within a second of each other. No point is awarded for a hit unless three of the five judges agree.

When two boxers trade blows in a flurry of infighting, where no full-force punches can land, the judges wait until the end of the exchange and award a point to the boxer who got the better of it. At the end of the bout, when each judge’s points have been totaled, the boxer awarded the most points by a majority of the judges is declared the winner.

If two boxers end up with the same number of points, the judges decide a winner by assessing such factors as which of the two took the lead and showed better style.

If the judges determine those factors to be even, they turn to which competitor showed better defense. Punches to an opponent’s arms do not score points. Punches that are judged to have no force behind them do not score points.

When a boxer commits a foul, he faces a caution, a warning or, in extreme cases, disqualification. Two cautions for a particular offence mean an automatic warning, and three warnings of any kind mean disqualification.

Some of the more common fouls include hitting below the belt, holding, pressing an arm or elbow into the opponent’s face, forcing the opponent’s head over the ropes, hitting with an open glove, hitting with the inside of the glove and hitting the opponent on the back of the head, neck or body. Others include passive defense, not stepping back when ordered to break, speaking offensively to the referee and trying to hit the opponent immediately after the order to break.

During a bout, a boxer is considered down if, as a result of being hit, he touches the floor with any part of his body besides his feet. He also is down if he is even partly outside the ropes or hanging on them helplessly from being hit, or if he still is standing but is judged to be unable to continue.

When a boxer is down, the referee starts counting from one to 10 seconds. The count now is timed electronically, with a beep sounding for each number, but referees often still choose to call them out. The referee also is required to signal the count to the downed boxer by holding a hand in front of him and counting with his fingers. If the boxer is still down after the 10 seconds, the opponent wins on a knockout.

Even if a boxer gets back on his feet immediately, he is obliged to take a mandatory eight-count. After the eight seconds, the referee will give the command “Box” if he feels the match should continue. If the boxer gets to his feet but falls again without receiving another blow, the referee starts counting at eight.

A boxer who is down and being counted can be saved by the bell only in the final round of the final. In all other rounds and bouts, the count continues after the bell sounds.

If any boxer takes three counts in one round or four counts in the bout, the referee will stop the fight and declare the opposing boxer the winner.

If the referee has to stop a bout in the first round because a boxer has suffered a cut eye or a similar injury, the other boxer is declared the winner. If it happens in the second or third round, though, the judges’ point tallies up to that time determine the winner.

Three doctors sit at ringside and each has the authority to stop a bout if medical reasons appear to necessitate it

If both boxers go down at the same time, counting continues as long as one remains down. If both remain down at 10, the boxer with the most points is declared the winner.

Other ways a boxer may be declared the winner during a bout include the referee stopping the bout because the opponent is taking too much punishment, or the opponent being disqualified or withdrawing, perhaps because of injury. Also, the opponent’s seconds could decide he is suffering too much punishment and throw in the towel.

Boxers are required to shake hands before the first round and after the results have been declared.

The age limits for Olympic boxing are a minimum age of 17 and a maximum age of 34.

Boxers must be clean shaven or facial hair restricted to a small moustache no longer than the length of the upper lip. Beards are banned.

Before every bout, a medical examiner must declare the boxers fit.

Boxers must weigh in every day.

There are 11 weight divisions (with maximum weights) as follows:

• Light flyweight (48 kg)
• Flyweight (51kg)
• Bantamweight (54kg)
• Featherweight (57kg)
• Lightweight (60kg)
• Light welterweight (64kg)
• Welterweight (69kg)
• Middleweight (75kg)
• Light heavyweight (81kg)
• Heavyweight (91kg)
• Super heavyweight (more than 91kg)

Boxers must wear boxing gloves conforming to AIBA standards. Gloves weigh 10 ounces and feature a white strip to mark the main hitting area.

Competitors wear either red or blue.

Bouts are conducted in a square ring measuring 6.1 metres inside the ropes on each side. The floor of the ring consists of canvas stretched over a soft underlay, and it extends 45.72 centimetres outside the ropes.

Each side of the ring has four ropes running parallel to it. The lowest one runs 40.66cm above the ground, and the ropes are 30.48cm apart. The corners of the ring are distinguished by colors. The corners occupied by the boxers are coloured red and blue, and the other two corners, called “neutral” corners, are white.