15 minutes of raw fucking power, both going blow for blow, with neither giving up an inch

I’ll never forget September 16, 1981. It was the day I got completely fucking hooked on boxing. That was the date of “The Showdown,” Sugar Ray Leonard versus Tommy “The Hitman” Hearns. I was introduced to a few things that night. It was the first thing I ever watched pay per view, it was the first time I ever followed something so closely for months before that I knew every detail about both fighters. And it was the first time I saw two gladiators go to war and put everything they had to give on the line. From that moment on I was hooked, and I saw many great battles for many great years. But those great fights are few and far in between.

For those people out there who just saw their very first MMA fight, they had their Leonard/Hearns moment when they watched the Leonard Garcia and Chan Sung Jung fight. That fight was 15 minutes of raw fucking power, both going blow for blow, with neither giving up an inch. It was the kind of battle you hope to see every time. My favorite quote from Garcia after the fight was: “I broke my hand in the first round and my corner said, ‘It doesn’t matter, keep fighting.’”

Here’s one of the biggest differences between MMA and boxing: MMA fans know there are fights like that on the horizon all the time. Boxing has disappointed me so many times with shitty fights, its’ hard to buy into the hype of what promises to be a great fight, only to be disappointed once again.

The biggest reason for MMA dominating boxing is the combat is better, the anticipation is better, the matchups are better, the athletes are better…MMA is just fucking better than boxing. I remain hopeful about boxing and I’ll watch the Floyd Mayweather /Shane Mosley fight May 1, but even if it lives up to the hype, it will never come close to being as good as the Garcia/Sung Jung fight.

~Tip