Canadian Politics Today

And then there's the actual in-ring product.  Tony says people just want "brutal knockouts".   I don't think Tony has actually watched much MMA, because for every "brutal knockout" there's several minutes of grappling or clinch-work that isn't exactly action-packed. I think one of the reasons people have lost interest in the boxing in-ring product is that it's first off very repetitive and predictable, and also that it's very artificial. By artificial I don't mean that the results are fake, I just mean that it's not really how people actually fight. Boxers throw punches at their opponents head and upper torso, and wrap up each others arms, and the referee comes over and separates them, and they do the same thing again. If somebody gets pushed into the ropes, the referee comes over and separates them, and they do the same thing again. If somebody gets stunned by a heavy shot, the referee will separate them and give the fighter a moment to recover so that he can go get punched in the head some more.  Every time something actually happens in a boxing match, the referee comes in and separates the fighters. I find it incredibly tedious.  Whereas in MMA, if the fighters wrap up each others' arms, or get pushed against the fence, or if somebody gets stung by a heavy punch, that's usually when things start to get more intense.

 -k

Different strokes for sure because both my friend and I watching the fight last night were saying the complete opposite.  We prefer watching boxing to UFC because it's a lot more like a sport whereas MMA is more like a street fight.  I went as far as saying the only time I lost interest in watching boxing was during the Mike Tyson era because it was just about brute force and knockouts.  Watching Mayweather box is like watching a figure skater doing a really difficult move whereas watching MMA is like watching a great tackle in football. 

Some of my most enjoyable boxers were the entertainers like Sugar Ray Leonard and Muhammed Ali.  There is so much strategy and endurance involved in boxing and it's not necessarily about strength, Mayweather being a perfect example.  MMA is instinct and reaction which is commendable and entertaining but not nearly as much, to me, as boxing.