Muay Thai vs Western Boxing

**Tom Yum** · 07-19-2009 01:51 PM

Welcome Russ!

I'm a huge fan of both like yourself. You mention that muaythai fighters don't spar full-contact - they do. Guys who are prepairing for fights do as much ring work across the board, whether muaythai or boxing.

Muaythai fighters are ok with taking hits too. The difference? The contact they are used to is spread over the entire body - kicks targeted to the lead leg, body, head, knees targeted to the leg, body, head and the same boxing punches, muaythai guys head butt, stomp and other stuff too - from my limited experience, most muaythai fighters haven't experienced the equivalent punching power of an experienced boxer, which can be a wake up call. At the same time, most boxers probably haven't been hit full on by a thai kick or knee.

My vote still goes for whomever can land first and eventually last.

Great to have you here and welcome aboard!

**russBboxin** · 07-20-2009 09:44 AM

thanks for welcoming me aboard! I am pretty much in agreement with you about the first one to score the most damage winning. I didnt realize that thai fighters sparred full contact like boxers do all the time, the people I have trained with told me muay thai usually doesnt incorporate knees and elbows in "sparring" matches but uses them in actual competitions and fights. So I guess another quesiton along this line would be for fight fans, there has been talks of an anderson silva vs roy jones fight. who do you guys think would win? anderson has expressed his desire to box roy jones jr in american boxing rules, and jones has mentioned fighting anderson silva in the ufc thoughts?

**Tom Yum** · 07-20-2009 03:56 PM

Originally Posted by russBboxin

thanks for welcoming me aboard! I am pretty much in agreement with you about the first one to score the most damage winning. I didnt realize that thai fighters sparred full contact like boxers do all the time

Muaythai fighters, like boxers, can only win from a knockout, TKO or by decision. They are fighters. As I understand it, sparring doesn't make up 100% of a fighters training - alot of it is conditioning (running, skipping, weight training, swimming) and drills (mitts, pads, bags, isolation training - working on scoring with a technique etc. and finally sparring)

Here's a link to a Muaythai camp in Thailand.
http://lannamuaythai.com/cgi-bin/s

Why?

If you intend on making a career or atleast an active amateur hobby out of fighting, you can't afford to sustain frequent injuries. You don't have to spar full-contact everyday to be a decent boxer or muaythai fighter.

Seems like fighters spend a greater % of training time sparring as fight time comes closer. I think its the same way in boxing?

Originally Posted by russBboxin

the people I have trained with told me muay thai usually doesnt incorporate knees and elbows in "sparring" matches but uses them in actual competitions and fights. So I guess another quesiton along this line would be for fight fans, there has been talks of an anderson silva vs roy jones fight. who do you guys think would win? anderson has expressed his desire to box roy jones jr in american boxing rules, and jones has mentioned fighting anderson silva in the ufc thoughts?

Got my first taste of muaythai overseas years ago. I've been fortunate enough to train at a few muaythai gyms across the country as well. In sparring, most gyms allow all of the punches from boxing, kicking to the legs, body and head - and knees targeted to the leg and body (but not the head).

They save the elbows and knees to the head for pad and bag work. A coach wants to build and protect his fighters - so they can fight and build the gym.

As far as Silva vs. RJJ in boxing, I think Silva would demonstrate some pretty good level of boxing skills, but would get downright outboxed if not knocked out by the 2nd or 3rd round, at best. In a UFC rules fight, Silva would take out RJJ within the first round if he takes the fight to the ground.

**Tee Sok** · 07-20-2009 04:41 PM

Hi all.

This is a nice discussion.
It makes me think about a boxing sparring session between Silva and Minotauro (who is also a good boxer).
Obviously it's the end of the sparing session as they are just so tired, but you can still see good boxing skills going on.

YouTube - Anderson Silva Sparring with Minotauro - MMA Fever!

**russBboxin** · 07-21-2009 09:13 AM

wish I could watch it! im in iraq and the download speeds wont let me watch any video online

**russBboxin** · 07-21-2009 09:16 AM

Originally Posted by Tom Yum

As far as Silva vs. RJJ in boxing, I think Silva would demonstrate some level of boxing skills, but would get downright outboxed if not knocked out by the 2nd or 3rd round, at best. In a UFC rules fight, Silva would take out RJJ within the first round if he takes the fight to the ground.

I tend to agree, the only thing that makes me want to see the MMA version because I know roy wouldnt handle any ju jitsu but the 4 oz gloves on a guy that is used to fighting with 10 oz boxing gloves, the hand speed even at this stage in his career I think would be insane! but I think anderson would win mma and jones in boxing.

**Tee Sok** · 07-21-2009 09:48 AM

Originally Posted by russBboxin

wish I could watch it! im in iraq and the download speeds wont let me watch any video online

I agree the size of the gloves is an important factor and the strategy changes because of that.

That's too bad for the video, I am sure you would have enjoyed it. Anyway, the video will still be there for you to watch another time!

**jdoc619** · 08-26-2009 07:56 PM

I think the BJ Penn's dominance over Kenny Florian on UFC101 proves how boxing can overcome muay thai.

**Sieh Tanonchai** · 09-06-2009 08:32 PM

Hi,

I am also new here in this forum. It looked nice to me so I joined.

Regarding the comparison of western boxing and MT it is for sure a thought many will have, but it is not meaningful, I think.

Let's remember, MT is part of the traditional Thailand art of war. Just a few techniques were taken and allowed, so MT was born, made for sports and bedding. By the way the thailand art of war is called Pahuyuth, and Pahuyuth is a complete fighting SYSTEM.
Western Boxing was exclusively made for sport. Its techniques do not come together in an own system. So you better do not compare both.

If a MT-fighter meets a WesternBoxing fighter it is like always: The one who is better at that special day at that special time, wins probably. But what means better? Doesn't it include fitness, experience, knowledge, possibility, orders etc? I think you better do not decide ahead of time. bedding is based on this ...

:-)
Tanonchai

**the tick** · 09-07-2009 08:10 AM

Fights 4 You: Peter Aerts vs Yosuke Nishijima

**Marksmarkou** · 09-08-2009 06:58 AM

The tuth is that technically, A muay Thai fighter should always beat a boxer, simply becuase of the amount of extra weapons other than punches he has.

However, to say that a Muay Thai fighter will always beat a boxer is wrong. It all depends on who is better on the day. Who hits harder (at the right time and at the right places), who moves better and who is faster.

**Tom Yum** · 10-31-2009 08:09 PM

Originally Posted by the tick

Fights 4 You: Peter Aerts vs Yosuke Nishijima

Nishijima was not prepaired for kicks to the leg or muaythai clinch work. He took a solid beating. Good demonstration of why the art/techniques you aren't familiar with can beat you.

Likewise, K-1 kickboxer Cyril Abidi got clobbered by former pro-boxer Francois Botha.

**tiger uppercut** · 12-06-2009 05:49 PM

i fought a boxer few years ago, i knocked his teeth out. the first move he did was a straight punch, all i did was slight step to the left and my right shin smacked on his thigh, while he was staggering my right elbow connected to his mouth K.O!!!!!

**ninjachamp2** · 01-07-2010 08:29 PM

Muay Thai vs Western Boxing

Who would win in a STREET fight?

A Westerner who trained Muay Thai in Holland and fought in Thailand

For street self defense a combination of skills is key and only focusing on the combat skills of boxing which is incorporated into Muay Thai too will limit ones potential for winning a fight.

I live in Thailand and run a mixed martial arts training and self defense camp on the island of Samui.

Though we cover a full range of martial arts, I will send students for some additional hard core training to a Muay Thai gym and for good reasons.

As Python pointed out - the person can very often make the style, but when taking two peole of equal skills and giving them either Western Boxing or Muay Thai would you side on the more rigourous of the two - especially if that training is done in Thailand.

But this only leads to more debating on what is tougher and the gym on attends is key - as well as the coaching. Balance is certainly a key strategy.

Many fighters start out in Western Boxing and migrate to Muay Thai to add some powerful elements to their game.

If we are only talking about PUNCHING then you have to realize that you don't need the Muay Thai or the Western boxing label. What you need is to understand the basic punches (what produces the result you are looking for) and then practice, practice, practice.

Start with a heavy bag to get your basics covered then start working with a sparring partner.

Look into the science behind punching and understanding that a collapsing jab (where you put your body weight into the punch) has a different application than say a snapping or twisting jab.

The street is a different game and you will need to contemplate other elements that come into play. For example, grappling on the concrete is not the most realistic (fun for the elbows and knees) and if you can't take a fall to the ground, your ground game doesn't do you much good.

I remember a night out in Amsterdam I noticed a punky kickboxing student get into an arguement with a bulky drunk. When the situation reached punching stage the kickboxer went for a kick to the head (though his jeans didn't stretch like the shorts do in class) the motion of his right leg tighten his jeans and pulled his left leg up and off the ground - down he went. The drunk landed on the kickboxer and took over the fight with punches. The comedy is that he led battle with punches and so in reference to your question it is certainly the most important aspect to work on.

For those that have been watching battles like the UFC since the beginning you might remember it used to be a system dominated by ground fighting and now has evolved back to a standing game with punching being key.

But all of this is irrelevant in a street fight where you have chairs and your biggest enemy is the concrete floor beneath your feet.

**sixthangel** · 01-12-2010 09:42 PM

Muay Thai is more like a martial art but boxing is more like a sport. They are alike but you can't really compare the two. Muay Thai has way more tactics fo street self defense that are also the basics for women self defense. If you have learned Thai boxing history, this guy - Nai Konom Tom was capture by Mianmar (dont' know how to spell that) and had to fight with other boxers infront the the emperor as entertainment. History says he fought 100 match and won every match. This is because Muay Thai was taught as self defense.

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