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Reports of Bob Bremer's passing...   

The Cardinal Sins of Boxing

by Doug Ward on October 9, 2012


There are some very specific things you have to do inside the ring to be a good boxer, but there are also some very specific things you should NEVER do in the ring in order to be a good boxer. Of course, there are the basic rules, like…don’t drop your jab when you bring it back, don’t step with the wrong foot first, be sure to keep your hands up and so on. Aside from some of these types of common, basic mistakes, there are a few more advanced ones that should be taken very seriously. Consider them the Cardinal Sins of Boxing.

Sin #1. Never, ever drop your hands when you are coming out of an exchange. If you step back with your hands down, you are almost always guaranteed to get clipped. Instances where this has come back to bite a fighter are endless, but for a perfect example, type Mike McCallum versus Donald Curry into YouTube and, at least, watch the fifth round to see the last, biggest mistake a once-promising fighter ever made.

Sin #2. Never step straight back when you go on the defensive. Step side to side, give your opponent angles and force them to adjust their attack to find you. When you move straight back, you are staying right in the line of fire and right on the end of your opponents punches…the last place you want to be.

Sin #3. When you have just ducked and slipped a combination and are coming up from a crouched position, come up throwing. Don’t just expect your opponent to stop throwing and let you stand up to engage again. Transform it into an offensive move by immediately retaliating from your defensive position and turning the tide back in your favor.

Sin #4. Never reach out to block punches. Make your opponent come to you. Make him commit to the punch, commit his weight and then counter. When you meet the punch half way, you make your opponent’s job too easy. Again, if you want a perfect example, look at the fourth round of Lennox Lewis versus Hasim Rahman on YouTube. The third round says it all.

Sin #5. Don’t lead from the outside with an inside punch. The uppercut is an inside punch. The hook is an inside punch. Floyd Mayweather has a slick and effective left hook lead, but only because he uses it correctly. He uses it sparingly, he uses it selectively, but he is also Floyd Mayweather and there’s only one of those. As a general rule…don’t do it. Don’t lead with a hook or with an uppercut. They are outside punches and take too long to reach their mark. Instead, properly set them up with lead punches and sprinkle them into your combinations to make them most effective.

Once you’re inside the ring, there are a myriad of mistakes you can make. Any one of them may be minor and have little or no effect on the outcome of the fight. Then, there is the other kind. It is major. It can be dramatic and it can work against you, sometimes spelling your defeat. No mistakes are good, but breaking any one of the Cardinal Sins of Boxing and you’re opening yourself up to making a major faux pas. It is usually unforgiving with bad consequences and you won’t get away with it very often. Confess to yourself or to your coach that you will never be tempted to do any of these. There is no good in them. Now go and sin no more.

ttt

We are well over 60 fighters; barring a last minute epidemic of vaginitis, this will be the biggest Open Gathering ever.

• With hands held reasonably high either bob, weave and shuffle towards the taller foe or take deliberate steps towards him while moving the head from side to side. (Think Joe Frazier for the former and Marvin Hagler for the latter)
• When the tall fighter leads, make him miss and then close until you are close to his stomach and let go short punches. (Making him miss is only half the task at hand. Turning it into an advantage is a must)
• "When you get inside, stay there!" (A mistake too many fighters make. They get inside, throw a few punches and then voluntarily retreat. Though not a short guy, Brandon Rios is a good example of a guy who when he gets inside stays there).
• "When you are close to [the taller foe] keep moving almost rushing forward at the same time shooting short chopping punches to the body. Your opponent will try to back away or hold on if he can. Don't let him. Keep ripping your arms away from his clinches and chopping those punches to his midriff. Also when in close push your opponent's arms away from the front of his body and outward." (I found the two bolded sections the most illuminating. I noted that 13 hadn't stepped inside, but completely missed that even if he had he had to rush forward to counter Wlad's retreat. The second bold we've seen how many times? Wlad grabs and the shorter foe goes completely passive. He doesn't battle for position or punching room at all. Now some of that is surely Wlad's strength, but nobody even tries to make him fight inside!)
  

• Long arms are a handicap in infighting. (Mr Paul Williams, calling Mr. Paul Williams!)
• If you (the tall man) are fighting a strong, shorter man who keeps rushing you? Grab his right arm in the crook of his elbow, underneath his bicep with your left glove. (Yup, ole Charley recommends the clinch! Why fight at a disadvantage?). The force the forearm between your right bicep and side.
• Keep your left foot between the shorter man's two feet and your right foot outside. Keep your body pivoted to the right. Now make your right arm do double duty and pound at the ribs with short shots. Now push the shorter man backwards and push his arms back as you do so. (Wlad does about half of this. He doesn't punch. He just clamps down until a break is called for).

• Do not keep your chin on the other guy's shoulder or above his head. Too big a chance of injury.
• When the referee calls break, take your right hand and push the other man away and then move to your right and fast with your hands up. (It's pretty obvious you don't want to stand in front of a guy, but how often do you see this?). As Goldman notes at the end of this section "Protect yourself at all times."
  

• The transition from defense to offense is where fights are won. Surprise is a major weapon.
• All punches should land with a corkscrew motion to maximize power
• Ross disagrees with Wilde in that he believes the uppercut can be a valuable punch but that it is dangerous if not thrown correctly
• Jumping or hopping is poor technique as one cannot counter, sidestepping is far better as is the pivot.
• In footwork, less is more. Move the minimal distance necessary to accomplish the goal. Save the legs.
• Unorthodox fighters like Tony Canzoneri (the 1930's Roy Jones) should not be imitated
• A weary fighter is more easily KO'd and KO's are a matter of timing and accuracy more than simple power.

• Often the best way to begin countering is to take a single short step backward (See Salvador Sanchez or Joe Louis)
• "A good defensive fighters learns to judge instinctively how hard his foe can punch and where he punches most effectively" (Floyd Mayweather anyone?)
• Clinching is a skill that must be acquired to be a good defensive fighter
• The "sliding roll" is taking a short step backward to avoid a punch while at the same time dropping the head underneath the coming punch. Now one is in perfect position to counter (as Mr. Miyagi taught "Best block is no be there.")
• Parrying blows to the inside is preferable to taking punches on the gloves or forearms
• Like Wilde, Ross emphasizes the importance of "swaying at the hips." (Think Sweet Pea)
• Methods of avoiding the jab/hook are slipping, swaying, ducking ( a dangerous method) parrying (four possible directions), sidestepping and the simplest, catching it. (How many guys know these?)
• The left to the body is best blocked rather than jumped back or sidestepped.
• A straight right can be parried by the right hand or blocked by hunching the left shoulder (BHOP or James Toney) though a sidestep or a slip can leave one in a better position to counter.
• No rules for stopping the uppercut. Various blocks or the sway are possible

• "With a counter you accumulate the power of your own body and the power of the opponent...as he comes to you."
• Sidestepping is generally preferable to ducking as a set up.
• The trick is to catch the foe off balance and coming to you
• To counter a straight right, side step and throw a very short left hook. If it misses throw up your arms to block the next right hand.
• Each counter should be a lesson learned. If the foe blocked the hook to the head? Next time counter to the ribcage.
• The exact counterpunch chosen depends upon the method of defense used to avoid the initial punch. In other words a sway will lead to a different counter than a slip or a duck etc.
• Quickness is critical in countering
• Perhaps the most effective countering situation is stepping inside a left hook and delivering a short right to the jaw (Joe Louis anyone?)
• When a fighter tires the right cross often disappears.

• "Greatest offensive weapon is a keen mind."
• One must learn to feint to camouflage one's punches
• Feints employ every part of the body, the eys, half punches, false steps, rolling a shoulder etc.
• "Drawing an opponent's lead" is critical. This means showing phony openings so he'll throw the punch you want him to throw (Juan Manuel Marquez wrecked The Baby Bull this way)
• Of course clever fighters know you are doing this, so be careful
• Keep on the move, but stay balanced and prepared to hit.

• Particularly effective against tall fighters
• The liver, kidney's (then a legal punch) and solar plexus are best spots
• To get inside foes punches, crouch, try to draw a jab, step inside and crowd him and try to get your head to the opponents left shoulder and let go with short, snappy punches and keep him there until you are done. (That's the way Henry Armstrong retired Barney)
• When on offensive keep elbows close to hips to stop counters.
• If on defense, sidestep and jab, if that doesn't work, close guard and throw uppercuts or clinch

• Three goals-Bring vitality to highest pitch, increase skill and perfect knowledge of strategy (what I call craft)
• A training schedule must be kept with clocklike perfection.
• As a general rule a fighter should spend approximately five minutes with the medicine ball and light weights, an hour on calisthenics and 30 minutes each on the heavy bag/speed bag/double end bag, jumping rope, sparring and shadow boxing (that's 3+ hours daily in addition to running)
• Keep mouth closed while breathing
• Sparring should be full speed. Anything less is too far away from an actual fight to be of use.
• Sparring should be done with specific goals regarding specific situations
• Eat sparingly, Ross typically ate twice a day with proteins, whole grains and vegetables

http://www.wimsblog.com/2012/09/renzo-gracie-twitter-and-self-defense-a-case-study-of-what-not-to-do/comment-page-1/#comment-18722