Page 25 - Boxing News Magazine (January 2020)

when he boxed Floyd Mayweather, who was not even near
his prime, and he got destroyed,” said Ford. “The only time
he landed punches was when Floyd let him hit him. Floyd let
that happen because I guarantee he had money on every bet
available that night. He’s a money man, a businessman, and
I’m sure that’s why Conor was able to land the odd punch and
go some rounds.
“You’ve never seen Floyd fight like a Mexican coming
forward at somebody like that before. He doesn’t do that. He
did that because he was not threatened by anything McGregor
would do.
“But, on the flip side, you put a natural born boxer inside an
MMA cage against a mixed martial artist and the exact same
thing will happen. A boxer cannot fight off his back. Yes, they
have that puncher’s chance, but now you have to worry about
kicks, knees, elbows, wrestling, all of that stuff.”
Rico Verhoeven, the Glory kickboxing heavyweight
champion, is not only a master of feet and hands but also
has first-hand experience of what it’s like to spend time in the
ring with men fortunate enough to focus solely on one part of
their anatomy. His lesson arrived five years ago when he was
invited to do some sparring with Tyson Fury, back when Fury
was training in Belgium, and the Dutchman, being so close,
couldn’t say no. It was, he thought, a priceless opportunity to
see both what the future heavyweight boxing champion could
do with just his hands and what he, a world-class kickboxer,
could do with just his hands.
He was welcomed with open arms, too, for the simple
reason that most of the other kickboxers and mixed martial
artists the Furys had sourced from the Netherlands had
already tried and failed and been promptly sent home.
“They all thought, ‘No way, this is not for us,’” Verhoeven
explained. “You’ve got one of the best boxers in Europe
knocking their heads off with just the jab. It was crazy. They
weren’t used to it. For us, as kickboxers, it’s totally different to
what we’re used to.”
In their first session together, Verhoeven, 55-10 as a
kickboxer, stuck it out for six or seven rounds, even if by
the second both his eyes were closed. “It was quite a feat
considering we were wearing head guards,” he recalled,
laughing. “I didn’t enjoy getting my ass whooped, but it was a
great learning experience.”
Rather than discouraged, Verhoeven, to his credit, kept
going back. He went back for more punches and he went back
for his respect, which he was quick to gain from the Furys.
“I don’t want to say our sport is tougher, but when you get
kicked to the body, kicked to the leg and kicked to the head, ➤

GROUNDING:
Lytle [left] feels
that his boxing
past beneited him
hugely in MMA
Photo: ED MULHOLLAND/
USA TODAY SPORTS