by James Riddick

Created on: January 21, 2009

Should reports be true, and Floyd Mayweather Jr be considering a career switch to MMA, how would he get on amongst the ranks of the UFC and could a fighter trained almost exclusively in boxing really be a success in MMA?

I think initially it is important to praise Mayweather Jr for his prowess and professional record as a boxer, although retired at the time of writing this article, he is the best pound for pound boxer in the world, and a comeback may be around the corner as potentially there are still some great, and very lucrative fights out there for him.

Mayweather Jr combines defensive skill, elusiveness, good footwork and very quick hands to devastating effect, as shown in his last bout with Ricky Hatton, which resulted in a 10th round knockout.

However, as good a boxer as he is, can these talents transfer over to MMA? I think, initially, you'd have to say they would, but with limited success.

Boxing is only one of the skills an MMA fighter needs to be successful, and Mayweather would need a great deal of training in wrestling, Ju Jitsu etc to be able to compete with his UFC contemporaries.

Such is the diversity of skill and fighting styles in MMA, you would have to assume a boxer would be too one dimensional and would be taken to the floor as soon as possible, and then either submitted or knocked out.

This is not to take anything away from boxers, or the sport of boxing, but they would be wholly unprepared for the take downs, ground and pound and submissions which they would have to face in the UFC, as this is something they would not have any experience in dealing with.

Boxing is a specialised variant of fighting, whereas MMA combines many martial arts and fighting styles to create a more complete and well rounded fighter.

Mayweather Js isn't strong enough to compete with the rigours of the UFC, and would need to rely solely on his boxing skills to win, something which, in my opinion, would leave him too restricted to be a success in MMA.

It is very unlikely that there will be a great deal of cross over between boxing and MMA, given they are two very different sports, requiring different skill sets. However, Alexander Arlovski may try his hand at boxing given the recent comments by acclaimed boxing trainer Freddie Roach.

It will be interesting to see how Arlovski would do in a boxing match, but Floyd Mayweather Jr shouldn't take the risk and any comeback should be in boxing ring and not the octagon.

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