I did boxing for quite a while before I started Muay Thai and up until I did I had the same opinion as some of you - that is that a good boxer (Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis etc.) would beat the living **** out of a skinny little Thai fighter. After a while of MT I realised how wrong I had been when we started doing a lot of sparring. My punching technique, power and speed are all far beyond anyone close to my level in MT but how the hell do I get close enough to use the punches... I step forward into punching range and promptly recieve a lightning fast push kick to the solar plexus followed by a roundhouse kick to the thigh. If I do get into range I can try to land a few punches but it's only a matter of time before i cop that push kick/thigh kick/knee etc. And if I'm worrying about those I cop a punch... Also for whoever said a boxer has strong legs so he can take kicks (I'm lazy so I can't be stuffed finding who it was ) I seriously doubt you've ever taken a MT round house kick to the thigh. Delivered with any power (which most MT fighters have more than enough of) they are crippling. And if it was a serious fight the kick could be aimed a little lower and snap the knee like a toothpick. Aim higher and it breaks some ribs... And of course elbows and knees add a whole new dimension to a fight as I'm sure you can imagine. Anyway, just my two cents worth .
