When I made the thread I was leaning towards Hitmonlee, but now I feel like people are sleeping on Hitmonchan.
I feel Hitmonchan would have way better hand speed and footwork. Chan’s standup defense is probably better as well because he has those big mitts to cover his head and torso. While Hitmonlee could definitely dig into Chan’s legs with kicks to disrupt Chan’s footwork and movement going into the later rounds. As for the grappling department Lee has a significant advantage because he has fingers so if the fight went there Chan would definitely be in trouble. Hitmonlee also has a lot of head in torso for Chan to pick apart.
My prediction is Hitmonchan by decision.
Hitmonlee puts it on Hitmonchan for the first two rounds, but by fighting a more defensive stick-and-move Chan makes the comeback. Winning the following 3 rounds by out working and jabbing Hitmonlee to oblivion, Hitmonchan wins on the judges score cards. Many will complain that Hitmonlee landed the bigger shots and Hitmonchan ran and danced around the whole fight.
They say boxers stand a punchers chance. Their only chance is for the big hit KO.
Watch kick boxing, it’s brutal the punishment their legs take. Get hit on a straight leg with weight on it and it may snap there.
Anytime you limit part of the body in a fight you are at a disadvantage.
I think we are all forgetting that Hitmonlee can also grapple with Hitmonchan (no hands - just gloves) not to mention blocking punches while still dishing out devastating kicks.