The problem with this is that they are trying to compare apples and oranges. I think that a better way to compare sports is to consider what sport best prepares you to be good at any sport!!

Lets create a quick hypothetical situation. We will take an above average competitor and match them together in each sport respectively. For a good sample, we will use the top five sports in the ESPN poll.

Boxing, Hockey, Football, Basketball, and Wrestling.

:::Lets Box:::

1st- Boxer...No question he's going to master his own sport.
2nd- Wrestler...The training is similar and once the wrestler gets inside, his body control tears an inexperienced fighter to shredds.
3rd- Hockey...these guys know how to fight, but aren't good enough to hold off the wrestler.
4th- Football...just way tougher than the basketball player.
5th- Basketball...After all, it's against the rules to touch anybody in b-ball so to get punched just floored him!!

:::Let Play Hockey:::

1st- Hockey...Dude rocks on the ice.
2nd- Boxer...He learned how to move on ice while working on footwork and balance but still can't work a stick.
3rd- Wrestler...low center of gravity and strong legs help to move on ice.
4th- Football...more physical but not very graceful.
5th- Basketball...Once on the ice he looked like he was going to hurt himself.

:::Lets Play Football:::
1st- Football...Good balance of physical power and athletic grace.
2nd- Basketball...Agility and speed helped to avoid the need for too much contact, also good with the ball.
3rd- Wrestler...Overall was pretty good, but the quick burst running eventually wore him out. Also didn't seem overly confortable on offense, he seemed to be more of a defense man.
4th- Hockey...All the skating helped him to condition himself. Still looked a little clumsy on offense. Could lay some devestating hits just as long as he didn't have to try to catch somebody.
5th- Boxer...Not a good runner, not good at tackling, could barely throw or catch. Pathetic...

:::Let's Play Basketball:::
1st- Basketball...Cleaned house!!!
2nd- Football...Everyone pretty much stunk, but the football player was used to handling a ball.
3rd- Wrestler...Once in a while the team must condidtion in the gym.
4th- Hockey...Slow runner, and couldn't make a basket to save his life!!
5th- Boxer...Can this guy do anything but punch?

:::Let's Wrestle:::
1st- Wrestler- Toasted everyone!!!
2nd- Football- This guy at least lasted while he was on his feet. Once he got taken down...it was all over!!
3rd- Hockey- Pretty much the same as the football player only not as strong.
4th- Boxer- Pretty used to being in close but he seemed completely baffled by the double leg!!
5th- Basketball- Spent nearly the entire 10 seconds of the match complaining that he was being fouled!!!

So now, lets score them...(1pt=5th and 5pts=1st)

1st- Wrestler (18pts)- Not good with a ball, but physically sound and tough!! Good endurance except when it involves a lot of running.

2nd- Football (17pts)- Good with hand eye coordination and pretty tough, but doesn't have a lot of finess when it comes to contact sports.

3rd- Hockey (15pts)- Relatively good at everything. Good conditioning. Skates fast...runs slow. Clumsy with a ball...great with a stick.

4th- Boxer (13pts)- Superb at boxing...not great at anything else. Good conditioning though.

5th- Basketball (12pts)- If he can keep from getting physical he will do fine. Looked like a cold fish during the contact sports. Agile and fast on his feet. Great with a ball!!

So there you have it!!

I have also done both over the years and from a conditioning/preparation standpoint they're pretty equal if you do it right. Unfortunately for both sports, people don't train like they should. It makes me sick to see some of these so called "professional athletes" step into the boxing ring 30 plus lbs. overweight. If both competitors are equally skilled and conditioned, each sport is equally tough. No place to run, no place to hide. You either step up or get hurt physically and mentally. If the competitors are not equal, it could be worse.

I have also participated in the Firefighter Combat Challenge, which ESPN calls the "toughest two minutes in sports", and I'll have to agree. Full firefighting gear, breathing from an air bottle on your back, carry a 42lb hose bundle up a 5 story tower, hoist another 42lb hose roll up to the top of the tower, race back down the tower, use a 9lb mallet to drive a 160lb steel I-beam 5 feet, zigzag 140 feet between hydrants(they hurt when you miss the turn), pick up a charged hoseline(1.75" ID) and drag it 75', open the nozzle and strike a target, pick up a 175lb dummy and drag him backwards 100' to the finish line. No weight classes but they do break by age. World record time 1:19 by a FF from Kansas (OPFD). If it's ever in your area go out and give it a try, you'll see what I mean. I'm done!

I haven't weighed in on this topic until now, but the wisdom I impart will be enough to convince you all.

I refer you to the greatest movie series of all time: "Rocky I-V." In Rocky I, Apollo and Rocky go the distance in an incredible bout. Both are completely drained after the match--but that is not why it is the toughest sport.

We move on to Rocky II, which begins with Apollo and Rocky in the hospital. Rocky's face is seriously messed up. He spends a couple of days in the hospital. Why? Because he got punched a lot. Getting punched in the face hurts. Apparently some of you have forgotten that.

Fastforward to Rocky IV, the best movie of the 1980s. Apollo fights Ivan Drago, the Mad Russian, and is **killed.** He did not die because of conditioning, but because he got the crap kicked out of him. Boxing killed him. Later, Rocky beats the crap out of Drago (after Drago had the cojones to say, "You vill lose"). Drago and Rocky once again end up in the hospital.

I agree that wrestling is a terribly taxing sport. In fact, I'd put it at #2 on my list. But we all sit here and debate the conditioning and weight cutting aspects--that's not the question. The question is, "What is the toughest sport?" If we answer that, it's obviously boxing. To my knowledge, it's very rare for a wrestler to die during a match, and it may not have happened at all. (Don't bring up the college wrestlers who died a few years ago--they died cutting too much weight the wrong way, not while wrestling.)

Boxing kills people (sometimes). Wrestling does not. Boxing too much gives you brain damage. Wrestling does not. Boxing = death, wrestling = life.

What's tougher?

Besides proving that boxing is tougher than wrestling, I have also proved a theory I have had for a long time: All problems in life can be solved by 'Rocky' references. Thank you. *bow*

Oooohh...Good One...Good One!! (insert golf clap)

I was thinking of Rocky when I said the piece about training on ice to increase your footwork too!!

Their have been some very good point's brought up up on both sides of this discussion. I competed in wrestling in high school and college, football in high school, competed in a judo tournament, and trained in karate. I would have to agree that the beating that a boxer takes is something that I would not want to go through on a regular basis. I was surprised when I rented an Ultimate Fighting video and saw how well the wrestlers did. Out of the first 15 or so competitions wrestling had four champions. The champions were Marc Coleman, Dan Severn, Randy Courture, and Don Frey. Virtually all the winners had competed in wrestling at some point (or had some form of grappling training). Boxers didn't win any championships and were basically being humiliated.
The other fighting discipline that did well was ju-jit-su, which relies on grappling.

Once while watching Olympic wrestling, on TV, they posted a stat which read that wrestling was the second toughest sport as far as total body fatigue. Number one was swimming. If you have never seen an Ultimate Fighting competition I suggest you watch UFC I thru XV. They give wrestling a lot of credibilty.

Prant I think what you're referring to, would be the debate as to what is the most dangerous sport.
Which is a differen topic all together.

leonwrestle I also like your point on the UFC or extreme fighting. It's true you don't have any type of consistent success in there without very strong skills in the art of grappling. That's been proven time and again.

Prant-
I also agree with Joel T. Boxing may be one of the most dangerous traditional sports out there, but the debate is toughest.

There is a Native American sport that consists of 100 indians on horseback stampede down a steep hill into a huge lake once a year. Its a really sanctioned thing and all (i saw it on real TV). Many indians fall to their deaths and get trampled or drown. By your logic this Native American insanity sport would be the "toughest" because it poses a great risk of death, but by no means is it the toughest.

I'd say something that physically taxes and pushes the body to its limit is a tough sport. A triathalon, mile run, 3000m steeplechase and wrestling all are really freaking tough. When your done with the sport you've just competed in and you want to die from exhaustion, then u know its tough.

What about Le Tour de France! That thing is beastly.

The annual Alaska Tundra Lemming Marathon is an event that seems to demand quite a lot from its competitors, they run a long way and then swim a long way, nobody knows how far they swim because none of them ever come back. Now that is a tough event!

I did the polar bear plunge once.

Why is video game playing not on this list??? And the tour de france is very difficult but it also has a how do u say spirit lifting attitude because if a guy with 1 testi can overcome that it tells me that we can overcome alot....ok now i'm done sounding like a flippin retard

Yeah, Le Tour de France is tight. In fact, after posting that this morning, Michael Wilbon of Pardon the Interruption cited Lance Armstrong as possibly being the best athlete pound for pound for owning Le Tour de France because the event is so hard. And Michael Wilbon is tight.

That is yet to be seen or heard!


I have yet to sound in on this debate but will make this comment, hopefully without sounding too brash. I come from a boxing family; I have 2 uncles that are Golden Gloves National Champions, one that still holds the record for most National Golden Gloves Championships. I also boxed for a number of years and was nationally ranked and considered by some as being quite good. All of that said, wrestling due to the number of matches, the frequency of those matches, conditioning, diet, etc, involved, is a much tougher sport than boxing.

While boxing may be close it is not that close, while basketball or football may be ranked higher it is obviously voting by fans who never participated in, or are very knowledgeable about most of the sports that is doing the voting.

One last note, Lance Armstrong is the man! When you have personally seen those guys going up the side of a mountain at high rates of speed, on a bicycle after burning approximately 10,000 in a days time, in mile 112 of a multi stage race you will be impressed. To do that after going through what he has gone through is insperational. Of all of the sporting events I have ever seen the Tour Dupont was the most incredible thing to watch over a 3 or 4 day span, and I missed about 10 days or more of the event. The hardest things I have ever done, training for a triathlon one time and swimming over a mile. That was years ago and far from the present, but for the old bald headed men of America there are still memories.

Indeed sir!!! What Armstrong does is beyond me. The things he does are superhuman, he is a freak of nature.

Well, for once I will admit that I was wrong. If Fike Murches has mad experience in both sports, I will concede that he would know better than I.

Damm you, Fike, for proving me wrong!