Top 10 Athletes of Today

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81

[quote]gregron wrote:

[quote]USMCpoolee wrote:

[quote]rasturai wrote:

[quote]sardines12 wrote:

[quote]gregron wrote:

[quote]sardines12 wrote:

[quote]gregron wrote:
^^someone mentioned pacman earlier… But I would have to put some of the top level MMA guys over some of the top level pure boxers as far as “athleticism” goes just because they train more genres… plus i just really dont like boxing at all. (not to say that boxers arent really good athletes)[/quote]
any single discipline martial art will be more refined as far as talent. In other words Pac would be better at mma than the top mma guy would be at boxing. [/quote]

not true at all drewdines…

If the MMA guy was a good boxer (as some are former golden glove boxers) he could be able to go a few rounds with a boxer.

If the top level boxer got in the ring with a top level MMA guy he would be taken down and submitted or KO’ed within a minute or two.

BTW I’ve missed you inane ramblings since the NBA thread kinda died out.[/quote]

Uh no, thats idiot logic right there. The question is who is a better athlete, I say boxers because boxing has been around longer and is more refined. And there are very very few mma fighters who were golden gloves champs, Stephan Bonnar and Brian Johnson, lmao both would get wrecked badly in the ring.[/quote]

Bingo…some of the guys picking guys like GSP and what not…over present fighters like Pacman, Floyd Mayweather are completely out of their mind. Yes GSP is a great fighter…but you gotta realize the guys he fights are NOT world class athletes…you really think Dan Hardy is a world class athlete? No. The top elite boxers are world class athletes…you have MMA guys who tried boxing…but gave up and went to MMA…I don’t care what anyone says, to do boxing is much more of a skill sport than MMA. In MMA you can use strength and whatnot to your advantage…it’s not the same in boxing. Yes you train different aspects in MMA…but boxing is called the sweet science for a reason. It’s not an easy sport to master, although the concept of it is very simple.

I’d say boxing is definatel up there…someone gave that link for the studies with all the top sports and boxing was number 1 on the list for toughest compared to all other sports. I’d say it’s true. Going round after round, throwing punches, ridiculous conditioing, getting hit, co-ordination, speed, agility…there’s so many factors and you can’t fall short on anything. ANyways I’ve gone completely off topic.sorry lol[/quote]

To say boxing is more a skill sport than MMA is being blind man. In GSPs last seven fights he has fought three collegiate all american wrestlers. if you think wrestling is a sport where strength outweighs skill you haven’t wrestled. that applies to just about every combat sport (to clarify, it applies to all combat sports i have experience with, certainly not all). following that, MMA is the ultimate mix of combat sports, which should lead to the conclusion MMA is a skill based sport. Even for freakish humans like Brock Lesnar, D1 wrestling champ, so he has skill to back up his natural abilities. MMA conditioning is way more intense than boxing conditioning. I have never strictly boxed, but I have kickboxed, and I have rolled for more hours than i care to remember, and i can honestly say striking does not compare to grappling in how tiring it is. Which doesnt matter, because in MMA they do both. [/quote]

exactlly… Rasturi has some pretty bad logic in his post. He said the guys GSP fights arent world class atheltes while giving one example out of all GSPs opponents and then says all the top boxers are world class. He has no way of knowing that but throws it out there as a fact.

This next line pretty much describes HALF of MMA… only half
“Going round after round, throwing punches, ridiculous conditioing, getting hit, co-ordination, speed, agility…there’s so many factors and you can’t fall short on anything.”

Boxing can in no way be more intense physically than MMA because MMA does box. They do all of that same stuff (not to the exact same extent) plus a lot more with the ground work.

Im not even a huge MMA fan but I know that MMA is a lot more physically demanding than boxing.[/quote]
And I can understan Ratsurai’s logic the wrestlers GSP has faced aren’t even the cream of the crop, there is a whole other level after college wrestling you know.

82

What I meant in my original post were athletes that are extremely athletic. No golf bullshit, there not fucking athletic. I’m on about ball players MMA dudes. Sports which require a well rounded level of Athleticism (Speed, power, strength, flexibility, mobility, balance, endurance ect.) Not hitting a still ball with a big old club, not impressive a tall. Then from these sports that require major athleticism who is the most athletic? Think I might put Shannon Brown in my list also, hes freak!

83

More proof golf requires no athleticism is that alot of former pro basketball players play golf after they retire because it is easy on the body. No way is Charles Barkley gonna be any good at basketball anymore (search D.wade vs Charles barkley) But he plays golf all the time.

84

[quote]sardines12 wrote:

[quote]gregron wrote:

[quote]USMCpoolee wrote:

[quote]rasturai wrote:

[quote]sardines12 wrote:

[quote]gregron wrote:

[quote]sardines12 wrote:

[quote]gregron wrote:
^^someone mentioned pacman earlier… But I would have to put some of the top level MMA guys over some of the top level pure boxers as far as “athleticism” goes just because they train more genres… plus i just really dont like boxing at all. (not to say that boxers arent really good athletes)[/quote]
any single discipline martial art will be more refined as far as talent. In other words Pac would be better at mma than the top mma guy would be at boxing. [/quote]

not true at all drewdines…

If the MMA guy was a good boxer (as some are former golden glove boxers) he could be able to go a few rounds with a boxer.

If the top level boxer got in the ring with a top level MMA guy he would be taken down and submitted or KO’ed within a minute or two.

BTW I’ve missed you inane ramblings since the NBA thread kinda died out.[/quote]

Uh no, thats idiot logic right there. The question is who is a better athlete, I say boxers because boxing has been around longer and is more refined. And there are very very few mma fighters who were golden gloves champs, Stephan Bonnar and Brian Johnson, lmao both would get wrecked badly in the ring.[/quote]

Bingo…some of the guys picking guys like GSP and what not…over present fighters like Pacman, Floyd Mayweather are completely out of their mind. Yes GSP is a great fighter…but you gotta realize the guys he fights are NOT world class athletes…you really think Dan Hardy is a world class athlete? No. The top elite boxers are world class athletes…you have MMA guys who tried boxing…but gave up and went to MMA…I don’t care what anyone says, to do boxing is much more of a skill sport than MMA. In MMA you can use strength and whatnot to your advantage…it’s not the same in boxing. Yes you train different aspects in MMA…but boxing is called the sweet science for a reason. It’s not an easy sport to master, although the concept of it is very simple.

I’d say boxing is definatel up there…someone gave that link for the studies with all the top sports and boxing was number 1 on the list for toughest compared to all other sports. I’d say it’s true. Going round after round, throwing punches, ridiculous conditioing, getting hit, co-ordination, speed, agility…there’s so many factors and you can’t fall short on anything. ANyways I’ve gone completely off topic.sorry lol[/quote]

To say boxing is more a skill sport than MMA is being blind man. In GSPs last seven fights he has fought three collegiate all american wrestlers. if you think wrestling is a sport where strength outweighs skill you haven’t wrestled. that applies to just about every combat sport (to clarify, it applies to all combat sports i have experience with, certainly not all). following that, MMA is the ultimate mix of combat sports, which should lead to the conclusion MMA is a skill based sport. Even for freakish humans like Brock Lesnar, D1 wrestling champ, so he has skill to back up his natural abilities. MMA conditioning is way more intense than boxing conditioning. I have never strictly boxed, but I have kickboxed, and I have rolled for more hours than i care to remember, and i can honestly say striking does not compare to grappling in how tiring it is. Which doesnt matter, because in MMA they do both. [/quote]

exactlly… Rasturi has some pretty bad logic in his post. He said the guys GSP fights arent world class atheltes while giving one example out of all GSPs opponents and then says all the top boxers are world class. He has no way of knowing that but throws it out there as a fact.

This next line pretty much describes HALF of MMA… only half
“Going round after round, throwing punches, ridiculous conditioing, getting hit, co-ordination, speed, agility…there’s so many factors and you can’t fall short on anything.”

Boxing can in no way be more intense physically than MMA because MMA does box. They do all of that same stuff (not to the exact same extent) plus a lot more with the ground work.

Im not even a huge MMA fan but I know that MMA is a lot more physically demanding than boxing.[/quote]
And I can understan Ratsurai’s logic the wrestlers GSP has faced aren’t even the cream of the crop, there is a whole other level after college wrestling you know.[/quote]

The reference to skill was directed to rasturai, if you read his post you’ll know what I mean. HAHAHA arent even the cream of the crop? The wrestling world after college is a not place of high salaries and crazy lifestyles. Which MMA provides for those talented enough to make it. Ok, not the cream of the crop, Matt Hughes, Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, i was going to link you to their college wrestling stats and maybe you would stfu with this ignorance, but if you can say they aren’t the cream of the crop without knowing that then there is no point.

85

They aren’t, olympic wrestlers>college wrestlers.

86

[quote]sardines12 wrote:
They aren’t, olympic wrestlers>college wrestlers.[/quote]

The difference isn’t as amazing as you think. Whats your experience with collegiate/oly wrestling? Obviously olympic wrestlers are higher caliber. To say a d1 champ isn’t the cream of the crop proves how fucking dumb you are. Thats like saying Ricky Hatton sucks at boxing since he isn’t undefeated.

following any sort of logic-

MMA>boxing

if you fail to see that logic you should talk to a doctor.

87

I didn’t see Shawn White anywhere on anyones list. Certainly he has dominated Snowboarding as much as anyone else has dominated. It’s an olympic sport, so he has amazing international visibility. And he does pretty damn good on a skateboard. I’d probably put him in a top 10 List along with Tiger, Phepls, Lance, etc… Those guys transcend thier sport.

V

88

[quote]Vegita wrote:
I didn’t see Shawn White anywhere on anyones list. Certainly he has dominated Snowboarding as much as anyone else has dominated. It’s an olympic sport, so he has amazing international visibility. And he does pretty damn good on a skateboard. I’d probably put him in a top 10 List along with Tiger, Phepls, Lance, etc… Those guys transcend thier sport.

V[/quote]
He’s on one of my lists.

89

[quote]Vegita wrote:
I didn’t see Shawn White anywhere on anyones list. Certainly he has dominated Snowboarding as much as anyone else has dominated. It’s an olympic sport, so he has amazing international visibility. And he does pretty damn good on a skateboard. I’d probably put him in a top 10 List along with Tiger, Phepls, Lance, etc… Those guys transcend thier sport.

V[/quote]

Yea Shawn White is a boss, plus he is a pretty damn accomplished skate boarder isnt he? Both sports impress the shit out of me

90

[quote]USMCpoolee wrote:

[quote]sardines12 wrote:
They aren’t, olympic wrestlers>college wrestlers.[/quote]

The difference isn’t as amazing as you think. Whats your experience with collegiate/oly wrestling? Obviously olympic wrestlers are higher caliber. To say a d1 champ isn’t the cream of the crop proves how fucking dumb you are. Thats like saying Ricky Hatton sucks at boxing since he isn’t undefeated.

following any sort of logic-

MMA>boxing
if you fail to see that logic you should talk to a doctor.[/quote]
No it isn’t but whatever. The difference in “wrestling” is huge, maybe not in mma wrestling but in actual wrestling it’s big.

91

[quote]sardines12 wrote:

[quote]USMCpoolee wrote:

[quote]sardines12 wrote:
They aren’t, olympic wrestlers>college wrestlers.[/quote]

The difference isn’t as amazing as you think. Whats your experience with collegiate/oly wrestling? Obviously olympic wrestlers are higher caliber. To say a d1 champ isn’t the cream of the crop proves how fucking dumb you are. Thats like saying Ricky Hatton sucks at boxing since he isn’t undefeated.

following any sort of logic-

MMA>boxing
if you fail to see that logic you should talk to a doctor.[/quote]
No it isn’t but whatever. The difference in “wrestling” is huge, maybe not in mma wrestling but in actual wrestling it’s big.
[/quote]

Ok so you keep comparing GSP and Pac as far as top MMA and top Boxing go right? Tell me how you think they would do facing eachother:

What would be your predictions for a boxing match?
What would be your predictions for a MMA match?

92

[quote]gregron wrote:

[quote]sardines12 wrote:

[quote]USMCpoolee wrote:

[quote]sardines12 wrote:
They aren’t, olympic wrestlers>college wrestlers.[/quote]

The difference isn’t as amazing as you think. Whats your experience with collegiate/oly wrestling? Obviously olympic wrestlers are higher caliber. To say a d1 champ isn’t the cream of the crop proves how fucking dumb you are. Thats like saying Ricky Hatton sucks at boxing since he isn’t undefeated.

following any sort of logic-

MMA>boxing
if you fail to see that logic you should talk to a doctor.[/quote]
No it isn’t but whatever. The difference in “wrestling” is huge, maybe not in mma wrestling but in actual wrestling it’s big.
[/quote]

Ok so you keep comparing GSP and Pac as far as top MMA and top Boxing go right? Tell me how you think they would do facing eachother:

What would be your predictions for a boxing match?
What would be your predictions for a MMA match?[/quote]

Allow me to interject my thoughts on the matter.

First of all, is Pacquiao fighting at 147? As a welterweight fighter, this is the highest possible weight he can fight at, whereas GSP has to cut just to get to 170. If they fought at a catch weight, then neither would be at their respective optimum weight, which would be detrimental for both, obviously. But let’s say they do simply to level the playing field a bit.

At 158, Pacman is clearly going to lose a little handspeed and/or endurance, but perhaps gain a little bit of punching power, whereas GSP would lose some punching power and maybe even be physically drained from cutting to 158. In a boxing match at this weight, GSP is probably still going to get dominated, but there is no doubt in my mind that he could last at least a couple rounds with Pacman, if for no other reason than he would be able to prolong the inevitable by avoiding going toe-to-toe with Pacman.

But were he to actually try and win the fight rather than simply delay a KO or TKO, things might get ugly for him. He would probably end up winded fairly quickly due to the drain on his body from cutting to 158-160 in the first place. But I still think he could make it out of the first round.

However, in an MMA fight, I think he could take down and finish Pacman in stunningly quick fashion, one minute tops. In MMA, the option is still there to stand and trade blows with Pacman, but even if he were stupid enough to do this and somehow got knocked down, Pacman would have to either try to mount and finish him ground-and-pound style or wait for him to get back up. If he tried to mount GSP, it would be over for Pacman pretty quickly because his ground skills are no match for GSP’s at all.

Of course this wouldn’t happen. GSP would simply shoot for a takedown, maybe end up in a clinch and then take him down. From there it is only a matter of HOW he finishes Pacman rather than IF he finishes him.

In short, each guy would win in their respective discipline, but GSP would dominate in his much more than Pacman would in his. I think this would be the case for any matchup featuring a top MMA fighter versus a top boxer, simply due to the fact that a boxer is totally unfamiliar with fighting anyone other than another boxer, whereas MMA fighters are for the most part not unfamiliar at all with boxing. After all, MMA fighters have to work on their standup boxing skills, whereas boxers never work on their ground game because it does not exist in their particular discipline.

Now, if a heavyweight were to go at it with a heavyweight MMA fighter, things might be more evenly matched if the MMA fighter is prone to fighting standing up. The punching power from a heavyweight has the potential to knock the MMA fighter right the fuck out with a lucky punch in either discipline (see: Ray Mercer versus Tim Sylvia). But the top heavyweight boxers wouldn’t stand a chance against someone like Noguiera or Frank Mir in their primes in an MMA fight.

93

[quote]sardines12 wrote:

[quote]USMCpoolee wrote:

[quote]sardines12 wrote:
They aren’t, olympic wrestlers>college wrestlers.[/quote]

The difference isn’t as amazing as you think. Whats your experience with collegiate/oly wrestling? Obviously olympic wrestlers are higher caliber. To say a d1 champ isn’t the cream of the crop proves how fucking dumb you are. Thats like saying Ricky Hatton sucks at boxing since he isn’t undefeated.

following any sort of logic-

MMA>boxing
if you fail to see that logic you should talk to a doctor.[/quote]
No it isn’t but whatever. The difference in “wrestling” is huge, maybe not in mma wrestling but in actual wrestling it’s big.
[/quote]

Right, be we are speaking about MMA wrestling, and a collegiate national champ is freakish wrestler no matter how you look at it, to argue that is plain ignorance.

OP, sorry for taking this so far off topic.

Here is my list
Chris Johnson
AP
Lando McClain
GSP
Jon Jones
Kirbit Centron (one of you boxing guys could correct me on how to spell his name) d1 wrestler turned pretty good boxer (i think)
Shawn White
LBJ
Nadal
Phelps

Edit- good post DBCooper, are you a sports writer?

94

[quote]DBCooper wrote:

In short, each guy would win in their respective discipline, but GSP would dominate in his much more than Pacman would in his. I think this would be the case for any matchup featuring a top MMA fighter versus a top boxer, simply due to the fact that a boxer is totally unfamiliar with fighting anyone other than another boxer, whereas MMA fighters are for the most part not unfamiliar at all with boxing. After all, MMA fighters have to work on their standup boxing skills, whereas boxers never work on their ground game because it does not exist in their particular discipline.

Now, if a heavyweight were to go at it with a heavyweight MMA fighter, things might be more evenly matched if the MMA fighter is prone to fighting standing up. The punching power from a heavyweight has the potential to knock the MMA fighter right the fuck out with a lucky punch in either discipline (see: Ray Mercer versus Tim Sylvia). But the top heavyweight boxers wouldn’t stand a chance against someone like Noguiera or Frank Mir in their primes in an MMA fight. [/quote]

^^This is basically EXACTLY what I was getting at. I know the whole weight discrepancy thing due to weight classes but the fact remains that MMA guys have to train boxing and are at least competent on their feet. They wouldnt win a bout against a top boxer (unless they landed a freak punch) but they could last a couple rounds. Boxing isnt about finishing guys in the first or second round like MMA is.

95

Tony Romo
Vince Young
GSP
Floy Mayweather
Usain Bolt
Brock Lesnar
Marius Pud
Dwight Howard
Kobe Bryant
King James

96

if we are going by the title of this thread and saying the top 10 athletes of today wouldnt it basically be the top athletes from each sport? top football guy, top basketball guy, top swimmer, ect. ect.?

You would have to put Tiger Woods at the top even though I dont think he is that athletic. The first ever billion dollar athlete and winningest/most dominant of all time? Its gotta be him number (as much as I dont like to put him there)

97

[quote]mbdix wrote:
Tony Romo
Vince Young
[/quote]

hahahahahahahhahaahhah!!! I know your from texas but lets be honest… hahahahhahahahahaha

98

[quote]USMCpoolee wrote:

[quote]sardines12 wrote:

[quote]USMCpoolee wrote:

[quote]sardines12 wrote:
They aren’t, olympic wrestlers>college wrestlers.[/quote]

The difference isn’t as amazing as you think. Whats your experience with collegiate/oly wrestling? Obviously olympic wrestlers are higher caliber. To say a d1 champ isn’t the cream of the crop proves how fucking dumb you are. Thats like saying Ricky Hatton sucks at boxing since he isn’t undefeated.

following any sort of logic-

MMA>boxing
if you fail to see that logic you should talk to a doctor.[/quote]
No it isn’t but whatever. The difference in “wrestling” is huge, maybe not in mma wrestling but in actual wrestling it’s big.
[/quote]

Right, be we are speaking about MMA wrestling, and a collegiate national champ is freakish wrestler no matter how you look at it, to argue that is plain ignorance.

OP, sorry for taking this so far off topic.

Here is my list
Chris Johnson
AP
Lando McClain
GSP
Jon Jones
Kirbit Centron (one of you boxing guys could correct me on how to spell his name) d1 wrestler turned pretty good boxer (i think)
Shawn White
LBJ
Nadal
Phelps

Edit- good post DBCooper, are you a sports writer?[/quote]

No. Sportswriters are the used, broken condoms of the writing community.

99

[quote]gregron wrote:
if we are going by the title of this thread and saying the top 10 athletes of today wouldnt it basically be the top athletes from each sport? top football guy, top basketball guy, top swimmer, ect. ect.?

You would have to put Tiger Woods at the top even though I dont think he is that athletic. The first ever billion dollar athlete and winningest/most dominant of all time? Its gotta be him number (as much as I dont like to put him there)[/quote]

Well, then the list should include the top athlete and/or most athletic person in the ten sports that require the most athleticism. In no particular order, in terms of both athleticism and greatness:

Football: Vernon Davis-6’3" 250 and a 4.38 40 time? Unreal.
Basketball: Lebron James

MMA: GSP

Tennis: Roger Federer

Decathlon: Bryan Clay-winner of the Gold Medal at Beijing

Baseball: Jose Reyes-the sport itself does not require as much athleticism as the others, but his particular position (ss) requires a ton, as does hitting a baseball, which he’s been slumping at lately, but he has power, speed, agility, eye/hand coordination, body control etc.

Hockey: Sidney Crosby

Snowboarding or skateboarding: Shaun White

BMX: Kevin Robinson-great all-around rider and current champion at X Games Big Air Comp.

Rugby: Daniel Carter-requires, and has, many of the same attributes as football

Gymnastics: Yang Wei-the best athlete in the most athletic sport

100

[quote]gregron wrote:
if we are going by the title of this thread and saying the top 10 athletes of today wouldnt it basically be the top athletes from each sport? top football guy, top basketball guy, top swimmer, ect. ect.? [/quote]
Obviously not because then it would be Top athletes in there sport. I really only wanted to know the most athletic dudes on the planet, merely to youtube them for inspiration.

Mbdix, brilliant list dude!