The toughest sport in the world is...

[sligobhoy67]

Boxing. (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/sportSkills) According ESPN anyway!




oh yeah! Vote Bernard! http://espn.go.com/boxing/

[TheBoss]

Cycling in 20th !!, what a joke !

[DmanDmythDledge]

Tennis 7th? Badminton is way, way more tough than that. Tennis is actually easy going compared to it. Looking at the comparison of each section between them it's clear that nobody that has played badminton had anything to do with it. That's the way things like that are always going to be though, minority sports are always going be sold short.
http://www.badminton.bnl.gov/ten-bad.html

I presume you think cycling should be higher Boss?

[passinginterest]

Not darts? Shocked is all I can say.

[John83]

No sign of chess-boxing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_boxing)? You try calculating a queen sacrifice with a concussion!

[Hairy Bowsie]

Tennis 7th? Badminton is way, way more tough than that. Tennis is actually easy going compared to it. Looking at the comparison of each section between them it's clear that nobody that has played badminton had anything to do with it. That's the way things like that are always going to be though, minority sports are always going be sold short.
http://www.badminton.bnl.gov/ten-bad.html

I presume you think cycling should be higher Boss?

I'd imagine both are equally gruelling to the big girls blouses who play them.

Tennis and Badminton :rolleyes:

[Bluebeard]

Funny that the top five are sports that are either founded in the US, or dominated by them (with the possible exception of boxing), and in all cases are the most popular on TV over there. Baseball is 9th FFS - higher than distance cycling, squash, alpine Skiing and Pole Vaulting, for examples.

[De Town]

Cycling in 20th !!, what a joke !

Sure that's easy when your drugged off your tits.

[Schumi]

Baseball ninth? How tough can it be when they can play a full match nearly every day?

[Dodge]

Sure that's easy when your drugged off your tits.

Have you tried descneding at 90 mph whacked out of it on Coke?

[sligobhoy67]

Cycling in 20th !!, what a joke !

Its an amazing sport but in truth there is little skill involved. Lungs like balloons and yer away.

[shakermaker1982]

cheerleading only 52nd?

[the 12 th man]

Its an amazing sport but in truth there is little skill involved. Lungs like balloons and yer away.

If played "straight" it's (Cycling) without doubt the toughest sport,can you imagine what it must be like to climp Alp D'Huez with your lungs screaming at you to stop?

They have to go through the pain barrier for prolonged periods.

[sligobhoy67]

If played "straight" it's (Cycling) without doubt the toughest sport,can you imagine what it must be like to climp Alp D'Huez with your lungs screaming at you to stop?

They have to go through the pain barrier for prolonged periods.

surely the ability to have a massive lung capacity shouldnt be enough all that the ultimate sportman requires though eh!

Boxing is the ultimate sports, requires the ultimate in terms of physical and mental endurance and ability.

The heart that it must take to ply your trade in such a tough sport whilst having an equally good opponant punching you at the same time trumps the monotonous repetition of driving a cog around.

I put rowing and cycling in the same bracket - both require phenomenal lung and endurance capacity but relatively little skill.

[superfrank]

I would reckon ice hockey.

First, you have to master ice-skating at high speeds.

Second, you have to master swinging a stick at a tiny object as it flies around at high speed while at the same time skating at high speeds.

Third, you need lightning quick reactions.

Finally, you have to have the other mental attributes which make great sportsmen.

[the 12 th man]

surely the ability to have a massive lung capacity shouldnt be enough all that the ultimate sportman requires though eh!

.

I probably over simplified by saying your lungs as your whole body must be wracked with lactic acid as you get near the summit(bearing in mind you have to do it all again tommorow),I spend an unholy amount of time watching sport on TV and in person and I think it's the toughest anyhow:)

[bennocelt]

Cycling in 20th !!, what a joke !

Def agree with this, Cycling has to be the toughest, and also can very damaging to the a-hole area - at least that's why i gave it up, could barely walk after it. No wonder Cyclists have few or any children!

[Bluebeard]

I probably over simplified by saying your lungs as your whole body must be wracked with lactic acid as you get near the summit(bearing in mind you have to do it all again tommorow),I spend an unholy amount of time watching sport on TV and in person and I think it's the toughest anyhow:)

The tactical nous required to win is also important to note - which break to take, how to finish the win, which wheel to take in the run in - this being just for the one day races or an individual stage. Have a gawk at Kelly winning Milan San Remo in 1992 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jC6vGMEVXU) for a master class in coming from no chance to glorious and tactical victory.

The stage races require a greater degree of strategy and tactics closer to an athletic version of chess than most sports I can think of.

With the exception of Chess Boxing obviously.

[osarusan]

Interesting that golf scored 2.5 out of 10 in the "nerve" section, while horse racing scored 8.

I'd have thought that in golf, nerve was astonishingly important, given the amount of time between shots to let nerves fray.

Also, it gets 1.63 for power ("The ability to produce strength in the shortest possible time"), while baseball gets 6.5, despite the motions being quite similar, especially when using a driver.

Hand & Eye coordination - golf 6.00, association football 6.5

Methinks that in this case at least, the panel of experts were not all that familiar with the sport they were analysing.

[the 12 th man]

Interesting that golf scored 2.5 out of 10 in the "nerve" section, while horse racing scored 8.

I'd have thought that in golf, nerve was astonishingly important, given the amount of time between shots to let nerves fray.



I suppose you have to measure the choice of losing a fortune on one bad shot as opposed to your life/livelihood on one bad jump in a N.H race.

[osarusan]

I suppose you have to measure the choice of losing a fortune on one bad shot as opposed to your life/livelihood on one bad jump in a N.H race.

Fair point. All the sports that score high on the 'nerve' category are those with a more significant risk of injury / death.

Methinks I should have looked at the ratings a bit more carefully.

[sligobhoy67]

You need mental strenght in every sport, in boxing you need to have a good chin and be able to punch, anyone can punch with training and you can build up a decent chin

I think you need to stop reading comic books!!!

No mention of tactical nouse, supreme fitness, cat like reflexes, stamina of a Spartan and the speed of a cheetah! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaMo4k7iG7s)

If it was all about brute strength and punch power then you would see meatheads like Mariusz Pudzianowski and Brock Lesnar would be top boxers - hmmm! wonder what lame "sport" they decided to get involved with! :cool:

[osarusan]

anyone can punch with training and you can build up a decent chin
With all due respect, I'd have to disagree with that.

Bernard Dunne and Wayne McCullough are two examples of two boxers who don't have a decent punch. Listen to Dunne's interview with RTE about how he hit Poonsawat some great shots and didn't budge him. Yet Poonsawat ended the fight as a contest with the first punch he landed. Yes, training can help timing and technique, but not power.

As for the chin, just look at Roy Jones Jnr. He was so outrageously gifted he almost made it through his entire career without anybody discovering he had very little resistance to a good punch. Again, training can help your body and legs be strong to help absorb it, but like punching, there is only so much training can give you.

[weecountyman]

re. boxing, you can't "build up a chin" you have it or you don't. Punch power, you can only punch as hard as your body will allow. It's a simple matter of physics for the latter - force = mass x acceleration. The faster you punch the harder you hit. Ali concussed most people with his jab as it was lightning fast. Tyson knocked people over early in his career for 2 reasons, 1. they were punchbags, 2. he hit them quicker than most heavyweights could. It's the most disheartening thing to hear from someone before a fight "He doesn't have a punch on him" which could mean he'll run and hide and be battered, or he'll pick you off with rapid shots while you wait to unload. But chin is there or it isn't, and anyway, no matter how "hard" your chin is, it can't stand up to a snappy hook or flailing haymaker if it catches you right!

Cycling is a massively tough sport, up there with marathon running, but cheating makes them both look suspect. Boxing is tougher than and homoerotic fare that goes on down in the O2 with big muscly men oiled up and rolling around in short shorts (not knocking it for those who like it, but it just looks like my local on a Friday night after closing, without the shorts and oil, and with Dunnes denims and Penneys t-shirts).

Tennis isn't an easy sport, especially for those who win a few matches. Apart from endless practice, in tournament you'll have 3 x 2 hour matches and still only make a quarter final in a minor event, yet on average you sweat off heaps and make a pittance. But again drugs make the top levels a bit suspect though the sport still is tough.

NH racing must be the toughest.

[Boo_Boy]

Keys:
POWER: The ability to produce strength in the shortest possible time. Example: Barry Bonds.


ESPN writers can have fun too!.

[SkStu]

resuming drinking in the evening, after a couple of hours pause, when you were drinking all afternoon is the toughest sport i ever did.

[MeathDrog]

Rowing 39th? It should be top 10 easily. Very tough endurance sport.

[Dodge]

Very tough endurance sport.

Are there any easy endurance sports? I mean the worrd endurance is a bit of a giveaway

[MeathDrog]

Are there any easy endurance sports? I mean the worrd endurance is a bit of a giveaway
You know that's not my point. :rolleyes:

[weecountyman]

David Haye said on soccer am before his title fight that you build up your chin. He's been getting punched in the face since he was a child

David Haye doesn't like to get hit, to build up his chin he's perfected the art of hit and run, or hit and swamp! Though maybe there's a new "formula" to build up a chin.

More to the point, a weak chin means weak neck and nervous system (plus the toughest chin doesn't protect against a sneaky left hook), but maybe new techniques have changed this.

[shakermaker1982]

David Haye has only ever fought two punchers and was KO'd and wobbled (Carl the cat Thompson and Morbeck). As soon as he fights somebody with a decent whack he'll be levelled.

If you could add strength to your whiskers Amir Khan would be overdosing on it.

[MMVIII]

I put rowing and cycling in the same bracket - both require phenomenal lung and endurance capacity but relatively little skill.

I'm delighted you said that. Cause you are so wrong you wouldn't believe it. Rowing is one of the most technically demanding sports in the world. Do you row? Obviously not or you'd know this. Physically it puts a strain on nearly every muscle in your body, particulary your thigh muscles, as is the same with cycling.

Stop making assumptions, you clearly haven't a clue :rolleyes:

Sure ya just need to be strong for boxing.:rolleyes:

[sligobhoy67]

I'm delighted you said that. Cause you are so wrong you wouldn't believe it. Rowing is one of the most technically demanding sports in the world. Do you row? Obviously not or you'd know this. Physically it puts a strain on nearly every muscle in your body, particulary your thigh muscles, as is the same with cycling.

Stop making assumptions, you clearly haven't a clue :rolleyes:

Sure ya just need to be strong for boxing.:rolleyes:

I think you need to reread my posts. Granted you need massive lung and endurance capacity but in my opinion there is little in terms of sporting skill required for these sports.

[SkStu]

but as ARooney said - there is a lot of sporting skill and technique involved in rowing. Hugely - from singles to eights, coxed or coxless (ooh er!)

[sligobhoy67]

but as ARooney said - there is a lot of sporting skill and technique involved in rowing. Hugely - from singles to eights, coxed or coxless (ooh er!)

I understand his point and I dont fully disagree with him. Its just I think it takes more skills to get to the top in others sports than it does in sports like rowing, cycling and marathon running.

[MMVIII]

But your wrong. Your just "presuming" again. I'll say it again for you, rowing is one of the most technically demanding and physically demanding sports in the world. Believe me, I know what I am talking about, whereas you don't.

For the record, I'd have it in the top 3 toughest sports in the world, along with cycling.

[sligobhoy67]

But your wrong. Your just "presuming" again. I'll say it again for you, rowing is one of the most technically demanding and physically demanding sports in the world. Believe me, I know what I am talking about, whereas you don't.

For the record, I'd have it in the top 3 toughest sports in the world, along with cycling.

No YOU are presuming that I am presuming but I aint presuming - how Presumptuous!!!

You are also presuming that I dont know what I am talking about with regards the sports but how the fúck, pardon my French, do you know what experience I have in these sports. I have competed in both sports you mention at community games and local level - granted neither is a high level but its given me an indication about what is invloved.

You obviously admire these sports and hold them in high regards and whilst I recognise the level of athleticism I just think a lot of other sports require more strings to the bow. Obviously the panel that ESPN employeed agreed with me!