Why do kick boxers (even Muay Thai fighters) transition better to boxing than the other way around? Most of the time that I see boxers attempting to transition into kickboxing they get beaten up badly 99% of the time. Samrak Khamsing began his fighting career in Thai boxing and won an olympic gold medal in 1996 in boxing. Vitali Klitschko began his fighting career as a kickboxer and transitioned pretty smoothly. Samart Payakaroon began as a Thai boxer and won the WBC title back in 86. Rick Roufus tried his skills in boxing after a successful career in kickboxing and did rather decent. You have Chris Algieri who's not all that great of a boxer (in my opinion) but could probably accomplish more in boxing than someone who was initially a boxer then decides to go into kick boxing. I'm pretty sure Ernesto Hoost could of become an EXCELLENT boxer straight out of K1 if he really wanted to. If you haven't watched his fights then maybe you should and be prepared to be marveled by his boxing skills. He never even stepped inside of a boxing gym. Just recently we have Holy Holm. I'm not a huge fan of MMA, women's boxing (or anything having to do with women because they typically suck at every sport ESPECIALLY boxing in my personal opinion) and it deeply saddens me to see the boxing community trying to claim her. First of all Holy Holm began her fighting career as a KICKBOXER inside of an MMA gym (NOT a boxing gym) under Mike Winkeljohn. Last time I checked that's an MMA guy to the core and so is her other primary trainer Greg Jackson. During her fight with Ronda Lousey it was the elbow (Muay Thai technique) that initially hurt Ronda really bad and the oblique kicks (another Muay Thai technique to hyperextend the knees) that messed up Ronda's horrendous footwork even more. It was also a kick to the head that knocked Ronda out. You wanna talk about footwork and movement? Holm's resembled Lyoto Machida (a karate man) or Alexander Gustaffson much more so than she resembled Mayweather. I really don't see why the boxing community is trying to claim this person and seeing it as a win for them when clearly it's got NOTHING to do with boxing. Holm's is a kick boxer/MMA fighter and all her boxing titles mean nothing other than the possible lack of competition in women's sports. She's the best that women's combat sports overall has to offer. Oh and if you watch that fight again you'll see that Lousey tagged Holms flush across the face several times throughout that fight. So back to my original question. Why do kick boxers transition exponentially better into boxing than boxers trying to get into boxing? The best from boxing turned kick boxing I've seen is Francois Botha and that was a monstrosity. At the very least the average boxer is significantly more skilled than 99% of MMA fighters. MMA fighters couldn't transition to anything other than wrestling.
There's never been a top boxer who's switched over to kickboxing in their prime, or even took it seriously. Botha, Mercer, Arthur Williams were just looking for another paycheck after their time as contenders in boxing had ended. Where as the kickboxers who switched over to boxing had plenty left... That's the difference. Not really much incentive for a boxer to switch over to kickboxing, learn the trade and do it full time. There's plenty incentive for kickboxers to switch to boxing.
"Incentive" as in more money? The paycheck these kick boxers get is a joke compared to the big names in boxing. A Muay Thai fighters incentive is to put food on the table every night. In that case what incentives do kick boxers/ Thai Boxers have to get so good within their own sport? Why not just cross over to boxing and call it quits after making their millions? In an MMA fighters case I can truly understand why it's best for them to stay in MMA and never attempt getting into a boxing ring. Here's why: http://giant.gfycat.com/LiveSeveralIncatern.gif
Boxers can't handle being kicked, simple. You can say they are the toughest sportsmen in the world (they really aren't), but once they get a kick or two they are like mice.
Because if you go from kickboxing to boxing you will know the basics of punching. If you go from boxing to kick boxing then you know nothing about kicking. Kicking isn't just about offense; it can be used to keep and judge distance just like a jab. You also need to know how to block against kicks. Another factor is taking a kick. A lot of MMA guys get accussed of having glass jaws as they haven't had the rough spars in the gym and on fight night in the amateurs that most boxers get to build up there toughness. The same applies to taking and blocking a kick with your legs. Boxers have glass legs.
Cro Cop went into amateur boxing while taking a break from kick boxing. Cro Cop also started off as a kick boxer. Ramon Dekkers started off doing judo and boxing for less than a year and completely switched over to Muay Thai. He's got some of the hardest punching I've even seen anywhere. They don't call him "The Turbine From Hell" for nothing.
