Olympic boxing medalist Tony Jeffries decided to put Joe Rogan’s boxing commentary under the microscope in a YouTube video, weighing in on whether the UFC commentator’s opinions hold up and whether his own hands can back up his talk.
Jeffries started with Rogan’s take on Floyd Mayweather, who claimed Mayweather had “been hit hard maybe four times his whole career.” Jeffries pushed back, noting Mayweather took more hard punches than that over his career, pointing to Sugar Shane Mosley’s clean connect as one example.
Still, he agreed with Rogan’s point that Mayweather fought a stacked list of opponents, including Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto, Canelo Alvarez and Ricky Hatton, and that his defense let him absorb less punishment than most.
On Muhammad Ali, Jeffries had little to argue with. Rogan called Ali’s footage against an outmatched opponent “sensational,” noting he “barely got hit with anything clean.” Jeffries agreed, and also backed Rogan’s point that eras shape boxerd , meaning a head to head between Ali and Mike Tyson is impossible to settle since boxers keep leveling up with better training and nutrition.
Rogan’s exchange with Andre Ward on toughness also earned Jeffries’ approval. Ward argued that “the guy who takes two to give one” isn’t necessarily tougher than a boxer who hits without getting hit back, calling it a false narrative. Jeffries agreed, adding that absorbing extra punches to land one just makes an athlete easier to catch, even if it also makes them tough.
The conversation about weight cutting drew out one of the more striking exchanges. Rogan noted that heavyweights have the fewest tragic outcomes in the sport because they aren’t cutting large amounts of weight.
Jeffries backed it up by pulling fatality figures by weight class, which showed featherweight and flyweight boxers with far higher totals than heavyweights. He pointed to pay gaps and lack of support for lower weight boxers as possible reasons behind the difference.
Jeffries also agreed with Rogan and Bryan Callen’s discussion on bare knuckle combat, noting that old school boxers avoided head punches without gloves to protect their hands, aiming for the cheeks instead of the skull. He also sided with Rogan on the idea that boxing’s standing eight count, while dramatic, can give a concussed athlete a false sense of recovery before they get punched again, something MMA’s referee stoppages don’t allow.
After going through the clips, Jeffries turned the camera on Rogan himself, watching him work the pads. He praised Rogan’s jab and power in both hands but flagged a telegraphed wind up and a cross that lost power because Rogan leaned into it instead of throwing it straight.
