Are boxers anywhere near as strong as a weightlifter/bodybuilder?

Question

Could professional boxers such as Tyson, Ali or Valuev lift anywhere near as much as a professional weightlifter such as Ronnie Coleman, Arnold or Scott Mandelson?

Fra Divdo, Ronnie Coleman has 2% body fat. This is really low.

Fra Diavlo: Putting a boxer of the same with against a weightlifter of the same weigh wouldn't be very fair, since usually, pro boxers like Tyson (who weighted 220 himself) weight a lot less than pro weigh lifters who usually weight 300+. (that wooden fighting dummy hing sounded pretty cool)

Everyone: I wasn't asking about fighting skills, I know mma, etc are better trained fighters. I was just interested in knowing if fighters focused on strength a lot.

Answer 1

Mate, strength isn't how much you can lift. It's how many times you can do it and more importantly, how hard you can hit without being hit. A considerable part of strength translates into stamina. Boxers are lean-mean fighting machines, where as power-lifters actually have a much higher percentage of body fat. They actually want to get some extra weight on them for leverage.

Okay, let me give a non-boxing example. Bruce Lee could take a 75lb barbell and from a standing position with the barbell held flush against his chest, he could slowly stick his arms out, lock them and hold the barbell there for 20 seconds, that's pretty damn tough for a guy who at the time only weighed 138lbs. I know 200lb weight lifters who can't do that.

Again, Bruce Lee could do push ups on his thumbs and push ups with 250lbs on his back.

The biggest problem in designing equipment for Bruce was that he'd go through it so damn fast. He had to reinforce his wooden dummy with automobile parts so he could train on it without breaking it. He had started to get built for himself a mobile dummy that could actually attack and retreat to better simulate "live" combat, sadly Bruce died before the machine was built. It would have been strung up by big high-tension cables that was going to be connected between two posts, one on either side of his backyard. The reason for the machine was simply because no one could stand up to his full force punches and kicks, Bruce's strength and skill had evolved to a point where he had to fight machines

Now that's strength, mate. Strength isn't how big you are. It's about having each and every muscle in your body fine-tuned and like a coiled spring ready to bounce back.

Now, although Bruce Lee is a hard ideal to live up to, I think the only athletes to come close are boxers/MMA folks and other martial art people. Pit a body-builder and a boxer of the same weight against each other. First ask both of them to do what the body-builder does best. And then ask them both to square-off in the ring. I think the boxer would lick the other poor sod in both tests.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

Tank ~
It's all in the training. If, lets just write for the sake of argument Tyson was training as a weightlifter or power-lifter than he'd be as good as he trained. Ronnie Coleman just didn't jump out of the womb and start dead-lifting small sport-scars.

There is natural strength that boxers or any well trained athelete has, but just because a guy is big doesn't mean he can crack, Chris Byrd for instance couldn't break a egg.

My old trainer who walked around at about 170 pounds and 5'8 got into a fight with a guy who at the time took third in the Mr. Universe competition and cleaned his clock. So it goes to show you never could tell.

Answer 4

bodybuilders aren't really about practicality but asethetics. They'll do benchpresses with a flat back and to the neck to get the best peck development. A weightlifter such as a powerlifter is after ultimum strength, to just be able to lift more on top of more. Boxers don't care about the aesthetics and really want to avoid the unneccessary bulk. Strength is important but in a fight (think Max Baer vs. Primo Carnera, a professional bout as well as in a street brawl, strength isn't the highest factor. You need technique (how to keep balance, throw a punch) and speed. Your blows should snap off and you should be able to move, slip, a block. I don't think an average boxer would be able to lift as much as another athlete who dedicates himself solely to lifting weights. Boxers are certainly in better overall condition and I'd easily put money on a Tyson to knock out an Arnie within 1 round.

Answer 5

To answer your question probably not. But could Ronnie, Arnold or Madelson go three, three minute rounds with Tyson, Ali or Valuev? I've seen weightlifters come into boxing gyms before after making the comment that boxing training looked easy and they could handle it, and they were literally gassed after sparring for 6 minutes. I mean totally spent.

Answer 6

i agree with both posts above me. look at jameel mccline, the guy is 6'6 and weighs about 270 but doesn't have that many knockouts, but then look at mike tyson who is 5'11 and in his fighting prime weighed around 218-222 yet was knocking out guys who weiged 240.

Answer 7

You saw Rocky!

Answer 8

I doubt

Answer 9

are you fu.ckin retarded?