Degree of Difficulty



The debate occurs frequently: which sport is the most difficult? ESPN's analysis comes up with a clear winner.



We sized them up. We measured them, top to bottom. We've done our own Tale of the Tape, and we've come to a surprising conclusion. Pound for pound, the toughest sport in the world is: Boxing. The Sweet Science...



...But don't take our word for it. Take the word of our panel of experts, a group made up of sports scientists from the United States Olympic Committee, of academicians who study the science of muscles and movement, of a star two-sport athlete, and of journalists who spend their professional lives watching athletes succeed and fail...



Their chart is pretty interesting. They were very quantitative about the selection process, taking ten athletic variables: endurance, strength, power, speed, agility, flexibility, nerve, durability, hand-eye coordination and analytic aptitude. The top ten were:



1) Boxing

2) Ice hockey

3) Football

4) Basketball

5) Wrestling

6) Martial Arts

7) Tennis

8) Gymnastics

9) Baseball/softball

10) Soccer



Interested in the bottom five? Hint: Golf didn't make it, it was #51.



56) Curling

57) Bowling

58) Shooting

59) Billiards

60) Fishing



ESPN.com: Sport Skills Difficulty Rankings