There are lots and lots of black belts. I only meant that an extraordinary fighter in whatever art would typically beat a merely very good fighter in another art. The art does not yield some supernatural advantage such that one art can always dominate.

The interesting question of, say, one of the ten best black belts in the world against one of the ten best boxers? Equalizing body mass? I really don’t know.

Open space is key, because when you get it you can run the other guy over with your car.

Actually we do a lot of clench work in Muay Thai – it is probably the most exhausting thing we do. The bruises left after a session of it are many, and the clench is where some of the most devastating blows such as knees and elbows can be thrown most effectively.

There are indeed many factors, but it is fair to say that boxers have plenty of training when it comes to blows to the head, but have NO training whatsoever when it comes to kicks to the knee or lower calf, though.

I was trying to find Nobuhiko Takada’s match with former champion Trevor Berbick – which is quite illustrative – but could not. Takada is supposed to be a fair kicker. It took one low-kick to get Trevor out of the ring, barely walking.

And you can’t fight if you can’t walk.

Interesting scenario. You are both right and wrong, IMHO. Generally the average size differential between martial artists (140-180lbs) and heavyweight boxers (210-240+) is going to be a consideration.

Speaking as someone who has been kicked in the head while sparring a very experienced competitive black belt and martial arts instructor in multiple arts, I can attest, it really hurts. It rang my bell and stunned me for a second or two. I’d still rather face that than a punch in the head from a competent professional heavyweight boxer, much less a world champion caliber fighter ( though not a flying kick). The physics is completely different and a boxer’s punch far more likely to cause a knock-out blow for than a kick coming upward from the hip.

A martial artist has far more “tools” to use against a boxer but their punches usually aren’t anywhere near as high-impact ( boxers being punching specialists). Moreover, if the martial artist is pinned against the ropes by the boxer and can’t effectively kick (MT would not be at this disadvantage to the same extent) he’s going to get pounded. Few martial artists can fight in a phone booth sized clutch, something boxers train to do. Given plenty of open space, the martial artist will probably take/wear the boxer down with low kicks as you described.

That’s a pretty bold statement, Lex. Most boxers who challenged MT, TKD or Karate fighters have been thoroughly defeated by low kicks, against which boxers have no training whatsoever.

Legs are longer than arms. The small differences make all the difference sometimes, even if you are a very fast puncher. And there are even faster kickers out there.

> Anyway, in real life having a skill of some sort is not only healthy, but invaluable in a mugging or other violent situation.

Unless the other guy has a gun, Dan. “God may have made men and women, but Colt made them equal”, as they used to say.

The world heavyweight boxing champion would beat most black belts in any art, etc.

All these arts are refinements that build on a base of fitness, speed, mass, strength, etc.

For instance here (turn up the sound to hear the incredible force with which the MT guy kicks) is an obvious mismatch of a very experienced Muay Thai fighter tossing a lower level Tae Kwan Do guy around the ring.
Anyway, in real life having a skill of some sort is not only healthy, but invaluable in a mugging or other violent situation.

Too aerobic for my tastes… but to each his own :O)