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I think just about any skill or activity that can be turned competitive, and is interesting enough for people to want to regularly pay to see, can be considered a sport. I imagine that's probably pretty close to the official definition of the word anyway. This is especially true when training or practice is required to be good at it whatever it may be.
As for boxing > mma, or vice-versa, In my opinion mma will ultimately prove to be the more difficult sport to excell at. Fighters in mma have to constantly worry about defending a takedown as well as being punched, kicked, etc., plus if they do get taken to the ground, they need to know how to defend against punches or submissions from there too. There's a lot more variables to consider in mma, which is why you rarely see just one guy dominate a weight division for a real long time like you do in boxing. Hughes, Liddell, Fedor, and Wandy were the only guys so far that come to mind as truly being dominant for a prolonged time in their weight classes.
I can't wait to see if Mayweather decides to actually participate in mma as a competitor, or if he's just looking at it from a promotional or coaching perspective. He'd be by far the best stand-up striker mma has seen to date, but would never dominate like he has in boxing, unless he learns to defend takedowns and block or avoid kicks.
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