what if bruce lee was a boxer instead of a martial artist?

[gilgamesh]

It's definitely interesting to ponder. I'd like to have seen him box a half decent journeyman or something just to see what kinda tools he brought with him initially.

[HomicideHenry]

Well, let's compile a list of journeymen featherweights, and look at who they beat and lost to. If they mainly lost to explosive movers... Then Lee probably would have beaten them... Can we name 10, 15, 20 journeymen from that era that Lee would have beaten who were in the mix back then?

[Caractacus]

I think if Bruce Lee had decided to become a professional Boxer instead of pursuing Martial Arts(particularly Gung-Fu)
he would have turned professional relatively late around age 23 years.
Then would have fought for about 6 years
and retired with a 52-0 record (all first round KO's)

[Caractacus]

Bruce Lee's weight was "naturally" 130 lbs ?
I think he weighed around 147 lbs when filming GAME OF DEATH,
but he dropped a lot of weight when he interupped its filming to go film ENTER THE DRAGON.

[Caractacus]

you know what famous boxer always reminded me of Bruce Lee somewhat ?
Argentinian Middle-weight champion
Carlos Monzon (who was of Spanish & Native American extraction)especially their body types.
Now imagine if Monzon was able to punch and counter at super-sonic speed like Bruce Lee.

[HomicideHenry]

Hell, I already rate Monzon at #3 all-time middleweight, so he'd easily be #1

[HomicideHenry]

and if you type the words "Bruce Lee + Weight" it comes up 130 pounds. Now, there was a period of time where he did alot of weight training and got up to 160, but quickly stopped doing it because it slowed him down so much he saw it as a detriment, so he went down to 135-140.

[Caractacus]

Bruce Lee Solar-Plexus punch was so fast even in Slo-Mo !!!!

[HomicideHenry]

I think if we are all truly honest about things, especially since the first UFC event, people generally have an idea of what really works in fights (particularly among high level athletes) and what is 100% complete unadulterated BULLSHIT.

Watch Lee's stuff, and watch a couple of UFC ppv events, or a couple of Vale Tudo bouts from Brazil, etc and you will see the universal disparity between Lee and legitimate well rounded fighters. He was a showman,at the end of the day.

[Noxy]

What weight would he be?

[Caractacus]

oh yeah ? then check this out.

[Controversial]

Not forgetting that Bruce Lee also used stunt doubles for the more acrobatic scenes.

[HomicideHenry]

At the end of the day...

#1- He never competed in combat sports... So if he never did it... How could you ever know how good he was? Exhibitions and demonstrations with gloves and headgear, etc don't prove anything.

#2- The only people who say he was a genuine badass are his wife, friends, and a few martial artists who were his students... Oh and Frank Dux and Stephen Seagall, two extremely controversial names in the world of martial arts

#3- Films and movies are just that... Entertainment... Its no different than Arnold or Stallone refusing to ever die or lose in fight scenes... And besides, I'd rather rank Jackie Chan or Jet Li or Chow Yun Fat above Lee in terms of choreography and fight sequences

#4- Walls, Lewis, Norris, etc and others liked Bruce for bringing popularity to what they did for a living and worked out with him, showing him different techniques... But at the end of the day we're talking about a PRACTITIONER and not a genuine athlete who tested his skills and abilities with real fighters... They'd of royally hurt him if they wanted to have done so

[Noxy]

oh yeah ? then check this out.

Quick and a southpaw.

[Caractacus]

[ewenhay]

Nice little video but didn’t really answer the question which can't really be answered anyway with any degree of certainty.

If Lee had to fight within certain limitations such as Queensbury rules then how would he cope?

Would it be like watching McGregor v Mayweather where the specialist holds all the cards? Although Lee had much better hand skills than McGregor does.

[Caractacus]

Dude,have you not ever heard just how hard that the "little Dragon" could punch ?
reportedly he had heavyweight power in a 135 lbs body,that and his super speed made him truely incredible.
Who in his boxing weight division could take the best punch in his era ?

[Caractacus]

Listen Up Round Eyes

[IKSRTFO]

Bruce Lee's weight was "naturally" 130 lbs ?
I think he weighed around 147 lbs when filming GAME OF DEATH,
but he dropped a lot of weight when he interupped its filming to go film ENTER THE DRAGON.

He weight 126 at his time of death and described as 140 during Fist of Fury. In today's weigh in rules, he'd be a featherweight to lightweight at a height of 5'7 to 5'8 with a reach of a 6 footer. Basically similar dimensions to Mayweather.

[HomicideHenry]

Street Fighting doesn't mean Jack SHIIIIIIT... That lame ass excuse that "I'm made for the street, not the cage" is NOTHING more than a cop out... Like Bas Rutten said many times, "You think I can only fight with rules? I'm far more dangerous and proficient without rules than with them."

That's like those bareknuckle guys claiming that they are in someway superior to gloved boxers. It's entertainment, sure, but let's get real here.

[Caractacus]

[HomicideHenry]

Again, that's a movie... That logic is like saying Michael Jai White REALLY could have beaten Bob Sapp, Kimbo Slice, Nathan Megaman Jones, etc... Just because someone has a history in the martial arts doesn't mean anything, especially when that guy is 120-130 pounds.

[Abradolf Lincler]

Although Lee had much better hand skills than McGregor does.

Yeah? Any proof?

[ewenhay]

Although Lee had much better hand skills than McGregor does.

Yeah? Any proof?

Yeah, I've seen Mcgregor box. You think his hand skills are better than Lee's?

[Caractacus]

IMOP mcGregor fights /boxes like a Thai Kickboxer.
He isnt rapid-fire 'flow-energy" like Bruce Lee was.