Stipe Miocic can claim the title as the greatest UFC heavyweight fighter for his incredible championship defense record. The Ohio native is an admirer of boxing and incorporates it into his MMA fights. He was a Golden Gloves boxing champion and has expressed interest in returning to the sport. The 38-year-old UFC heavyweight champion name-dropped two of the biggest personalities in the sport and claimed that it would be great if he fought them.
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Miocic said, “I would love to box. If there’s a chance I could fight (Anthony) Joshua or (Tyson) Fury or something like that, it’d be great. I think that’d be awesome. … Listen, I think I can find a way – always do.”
Michael Bisping questioned if the fighter would make the jump immediately or wait till he retired from MMA. Miocic revealed he is open to discussions with the UFC, but admitted that his sojourn in the squared circle needed to come sooner rather than later.
He said, “I would love to do it somehow, sooner the better of course. Everyone’s getting older here, I think I’m in the best shape…I’m doing great. Yeah, I have to just sit down with the UFC and see what they think…You know how it works, it’s all discussion first.”
Stipe Miocic has a real shot at being a boxer
Stipe Miocic claimed 13/15 T/KO wins via punches. He has knocked out the likes of Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum and stunned Daniel Cormier at UFC 241 with vicious body blows. These numbers and names on his T/KO list are evidence that Miocic has the game to box.
He also has the game to withstand the punishment from his opponent. At UFC 220, Miocic successfully withstood 25 minutes and 33 strikes from UFC KO artist Francis Ngannou. He avoided a whopping 93 strikes in total.
Fans may argue that the punch of an MMA fighter is way different from one from a trained boxer. However, the MMA gloves are smaller, thus permitting a fighter to strike his opponent with greater impact. Also, Miocic’s coach claimed, “Stipe had been boxing for six or seven months and he was beating guys with like 150 or 200 amateur fights.”
Read: “If You Want To Get Better, Always Be The Student” – Stipe Miocic
Professional boxing is at a much higher level, but Miocic has the record, the experience, and the drive to excel should he elect to trade the MMA gloves for boxing gloves.
What do you make of his intention to fight the likes of Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury?
