your observations are accurate. these are all right, but first you must notice how and where those kong fu fighters have acquired that kong fu. for example, i read in one of your posts that those so-called kong fu fighters sometimes put you under a rain of slaps like a machine gun, and i became amazed at how those stupid's palms attacks could not disable your joints at least then?!! because, in traditional kong fu when one works a system based on palm techniques, they must condition the palms, because natural palms have no fatal power, add to this that most kong fu practitioners have middle or even small bodies. but understandable, of all the kong fu practitioners only a small portion stuck to the traditions and practice such stuff, and i'm sure this has always been the case through kong fu's long history. yet, you don't please think i mean to imply i'm so strong like this man: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyrDRqEuoi4 but at least, i mean it's stupid if one's palms are weak and they try to subdue to an experienced boxer, who is, at least, sure enough of his punches, at least, more than you are of your weak palms.
so, this is the case, whether monk or not, inside China or outside of it, while as the kong fu sayings go, if one doesn't practice so and so, he hasn't done anything of use.
at least, one thing with boxing and Muai Thai, etc, i like is their practitioners learn anything they need in their system; what most of us don't, in kong fu.
ah, i don't like to talk of personal experiences and make the threads lengthy by them. but since you asked it, i live almost nowhere! i live in Iran. my internet speed is extremely low and so cannot have regular access to video sites, and worse, i haven't filmed that myself. but, however, if you want to see that, i think i can find some YouTube clips of such exercises by searching it in google. it's called pai da (排打) skill and i do it combined with 6 other exercises. i'm not good yet, but at least, now if somebody goes to hit my (front or top or sides of) head, or kick my arms, i can welcome it, because it's not me, but the attacker who takes the pain of it. i've checked my head with 90+ kg, and my arms (after a time of practicing arm exercises) with many many even 120+ kg fighters in the actual game, and they work. but other parts of body have a slower progress, and much training is still needed. i spar very carefully with others myself, but one of my friends had got a bad habit of teasing heavier fighters who laughed at us and believed they could crash us on the ring! however, the pain they had after hitting or being hit by my friend's forearms or head made him laugh out loud at those poor guys!
since you mentioned that, i've myself sparred numerous fighters of various styles, from boxing and Thai boxing, etc, to the more 'theoretical' styles. many of them were province, country, or Asian champions, but there were no trouble defending their action and putting them into troubles. though i couldn't attack their vital points, or lock any joint, or even grasp their body before the attacks, as the things Shaolin fighting recommends; though it was easy to do if one knew and wanted to do. anyway, the trouble was when once i sparred with a provincal champion of an acrobatic style from a traditional wushu (kong fu) school, who could attack with his kicks while his body was spinning like a turbine in the air, and a few other such surprising skills. though he said he did it lightly, one of his turbine kicks came out of nowhere and showed me the face of death. and that has a dynamical reason, though he himself was for sure less than 65 kg! i once saw him crashing a dozen of 70+, 90+, and 100+ kg strong fighters in a kickboxing gym. and he's still my dear friend, though doesn't practice anymore.