BOXING APPRECIATION I [RECYCLED]

[My guess is most of you have read this]

When watching matches here are some things to look for (not in order) to determine just how impressive, or not, a fighter's technique or craft is. All references are to orthodox stances:

1. Head positioning-A fighter should have his head tilted towards his chest and canted slightly to the right. WHY- A fighter who has his head centered between his shoulders and erect is far more vulnerable to shots to the chin. In addition, the fighter has further to turn his head to avoid clashing faces or taking shots to the face, or when closing distance. Often today we see clashes of heads leading to severe cuts. That isn't simply bad luck. It is the result of poor technique. Fighters are positioning their heads incorrectly in the first place and not turning their heads when punches or the opponents head is coming.

2. Basic Footwork-When moving right, a fighter properly pushes off his left foot and steps no more than six or so inches with his right. When moving backwards he pushes off his front and steps no more than six or so inches with his rear foot. The other then follows. And so onWHY-Any choice other that this one results in impaired balance, squaring up or difficulty in making the next movement. Any other choice makes one easier to hit, easier to anticipate and easier to evade. A wonderful example of this is watching the first Roy Jones-Montell Griffin fight and watching Griffin watch Jones' feet and taking advantage of Roy's technical flaws. An extremely basic skill one should look for is the ability to pivot off the front foot when changing direction. I watch entire 12 round championship level fights these days where neither fighter executes a single pivot. I used to watch Buddy McGirt train at Gleasons and he would spar entire rounds never lifting his front foot off the canvas or moving from that spot. He'd just pivot back and forth and back and forth and was still extremely difficult to hit.

3. Foot action-At least one foot should move every time a punch is thrown. I don't mean step necessarily, I mean move. The trainer I work with refers to "pigeon feet." What he means by that is in reality BOTH feet are on their toes and the toes are grabbing and driving into the mat when punching and then taking tiny steps to optimize the next punch in the combination. A fighter's feet must be aggressive in their movements. WHY- A fighter whose feet don't move when he punches is not maximizing his power. Nor is he optimizing either distance or position relative to the foe. Watch Roberto Duran as a lightweight for a clear visual example of this.

4. Moving in Arcs-A technically sound fighter is constantly changing the position of his body relative to that of the opponent trying to create the optimal distance and angle for what he wants to execute. What I mean by fighting in arcs is that fighter A's head changes its position relative to the head and body of the foe. Sometimes head-to-head, sometimes off the left shoulder, sometimes off the right shoulder and in a perfect world sometimes pointed at the other guy's shoulder and ear from the side. WHY-Fighters who move in straight lines are easier to anticipate, easier to cut off the ring on, easier to evade and simply not nearly as threatening. Fighters who move in straight lines are always punching from the same predictable angles, always retreat along the same, easily pursuable, path and cannot confuse the other guy. Watch Danny Lopez footage for a guy who was slow of foot, slow of hand and still a devastating offensive force. Why? Because he rarely fell into a predictable pattern of positioning. Watch Pernell Whittaker for a defense oriented fighter who rarely moved straight backwards.

5. Head Elevation-A fighter's head, unless he is exceptionally tall for his division, should change it's elevation frequently by either total upper body movement or a move of the head itself. Heads shouldn't only move in response to an assault, they should already be moving. WHY-A head that stays on the same plane for extended periods is simply more predictable and easier to hit.

6. Less is More-In just about every boxing situation, less is more. What I mean by that is making a guy miss by an inch is better than making a guy miss by a foot. Moving one's feet the minimum to punch or evade a punch or establish effective position is superior to flamboyant, eye-catching movements that do the same. Everyone talks about the value of short punches compared to wide ones, right? That notion applies to everything in the sport. WHY-Minimal movements conserve energy compared to flamboyant ones. Minimal movments enable a fighter to be in position to ACT, not merely respond. For example if Fighter A throws a left hook to my head and dodge it by leaning my upper body waaay back or ai dance away from the action to avoid it what have I done? I've looked good, made him look bad, but I am in no position to make him pay. If instead I roll my weight to my back foot, duck six inches and then shift my weight to my front foot I am in position to begin a combination with a right hand. Finally, minimal movements can be VERY deceptive. If fighter A makes fighter B look really bad, what are the chances Fighter B will try that left hook again? But a skilled fighter A WANTS fighter B to be confident enough to throw it again so he can figure out and launch a counter. Watch carefully Benny Leonard footage to see this.

7. The Cascade of Defense-There is a specific order to optimal avoiding of punches. WHY-The better the method the more both hands are free to counter, keeps the fighter's vision unimpaired, puts his feet in position for a counter, minimizes use of energy and minimizes damage taken. So staying in the pocket and just using head movement is better than staying in the pocket and blocking with one hand is better than moving away dramatically is better than just covering up is better than absorbing substantial damage. And the technical differences between one and the next of that cascade are large. Those are not small gradations in technical excellence. For example Sweet Pea's standing in front of Azumah Nelson and making him miss is a category better than JMM catching Juan Diaz's punches like he was holding focus mitts in their first fight is a category better than Devon Alexander dancing away from Kotelnik is a category better than Arthur Abraham cocooning up is a category better than Libro Andrade just taking punches.

8. Is it a Dance or a Scrum?- Technically proficient fighters battle over inches of distance and angle. It is complex dance of movement and countermovement as they fight. But not often are they more than inches from punching position and not often are they so entangled they can't act. Medioce technical fights go over and over again from being out of punching range to lunging into clinches to being out of punching range and then crashing into clinches. It is ugly to watch and a display of inadequate craft. It's funny. I don't know how many would think of Joe Frazier as a great technician. But when he saw the Thrilla for the first time in 30 years he made a comment after about fifteen seconds. It was "Too far away Smoke."

9. Punch and Combination Variety-There are at least, depending on how one counts, a dozen punches in the boxing arsenal and a nearly infinite number of combinations that can theoretically be thrown. What tend to be the limiting factors are the fighter's balance, footwork, handspeed and ability to think. A technically sound fighter should be able to throw most, if not all of those punches, in a variety of orders. WHY-Fighters who offer variety are harder to anticipate, harder to counter, harder to prepare for and are generally more adaptable. A fighter with three favorite combinations will have a harder time finding weaknesses in the foe than a guy with four that a guy with six. A guy who doesn't have a left to the body, left to the head combination can never find out if that is the other guy's Achilles' heal. Now this does NOT mean a technically sound fighter must show all this off in every fight. He must also be a good enough thinker to anticipate what is most likely to work and if he finds something that does? To stay with it until it no longer works in that fight. Manny P. is getting progressively better in this area.

10. Post Punch Shoulder Angle-This can be a real shortcut for determining if a fighter is getting leverage. After a left hook or a jab the fighter throwing the punch's shoulders should momentarily be perpendicular to the foe's chest. After a right cross or a right uppercut the shoulders should be momentarily parallel to the foe's chest. WHY-Because optimal punching isn't done with the arms or hands. It is really done with the legs, hips and back. Those are muscle groups large enough to generate great power. If the fighters shoulders are not rotating when he punches he is arm punching. Ike Williams is a terrific example.

What else ya got that shows you a fighter's technical quality?