Saddoboxing Fight Study Group

Saddoboxing Fight Study Group

Book clubs are a great way for people to get together and talk about the books that they are reading. Usually what happens is that everyone agrees on the book that they will all read, and later they meet to go over all sorts of details from the book. Now in this day and age, internet message boards makes setting up any kind of discussion as simple as click, type and post.

So here’s the idea, we can pick a fight to watch, and later we will talk about our observations and impressions from that fight. This would be intended for those who are interested about the nuances of boxing rather than your casual fight fan.

Getting the fights shouldn’t be difficult provided that you have a computer with a faster than dial-up connection. Anyways here’s some advice from Thomas that’ll save me from having to explain it all:

“First thing you need to do is join a site where you can get all the fights you want! I suggest you go here: http://fights.worldboxingvideoarchive.com/ and sign up. Basically its kind of like file sharing with music but...with fights. I've gotten hundreds of fights from them and even some really rare ones. The site is completely free. Anyway read their FAQ section before you get started.

another thing you need is a good way watch your fights. I go on youtube and watch fights too and they got some good stuff on there. The only problem is the quality is terrible, you cant use slow motion to analyze things, and its hard to rewind to the specific location you want to.

I suggest you get this media player: http://www.free-codecs.com/download/...er_Classic.htm media player classic. Its like any other media player but just real simple and without any extra stuff you don't really need. Whats unique to this player is that you can frame step forward in slow motion with the arrow keys on your keyboard. Or frame step backwards. Its just very easy to control the fight this way because when you see something you want to look closer at you can easily rewind in slow motion and then play it back in slow motion again over and over. Watching the fight in slow motion makes it very easy to see what the opponent's are doing.”
Simple enough, with media player classic you can also take screen shots of any moment in a fight which you can post on the message board for discussion. Just like in Thomas’s posts on how to throw a left hook, and “How did Walcott land this punch?” It’s a good way to emphasize on a point while making things easier for others to see what you’re seeing.

If need be someone can come up with a checklist of some of the things to look for when watching the fight. This might help those who feel lost when there are so many things happening.

Right now this is still in the idea stage. If anyone is interested, or have some ideas to contribute then by all means…

Thats a great idea. Youtube would be the best way to do this because everybody can use it. I think HBO made youtube take down a bunch of fights though. In any event I always like doing things like this its good to have these workshop discussions on fights. The thing to remember is that the same things happen from fight to fight. You watch enough fights you begin to see patterns and boxing is ultimately a game of patterns. Watching fights allows you to practice your ability to see those patterns.

I'll try and make a new thread I hope some other people do to.

Youtube sounds good to me. I have a slow internet connection, and my plan b is to go to an internet cafe to download any fights, so this way saves me a lot of trouble. It's night time here so I'll look for some good fight clips tomorrow. I'm looking forward to hear what other posters think about this.

dude, this is an awesome idea. I've always needed someone to talk me through the fight i just watched. Itd be a benefit for everyone. Only thing is..as i've said, everytime i try to sign up to WBO.com i get this message

Signup failed!
That address is not accepted by this site for new users.

I tried 2 different email addresses and it still doesnt worked. Im stumped. But ireally wanna get on that damn site.

Hmmm, I tested it out and got the same error message. Perhaps they're not letting in any new members. Anyways they have a sister site called tc-boxing.com. It has a good stock of fights as well.

Excellent I dea Chris!

Well You Tube still works
Interestingly I rewatched Cobb-Holmes last night.
Its not nearly the destruction Cosell makes it sound,nor is it a case of what you'd expect Holmes jab(though that certainly helped)
What it really boiled down to was Holmes ability to circle from different angles.Usually a fighter has a tendency to want to circle in the same direction.You can time him and go to where he's going.Against Cobb,Holmes is constantly shifting directions on the outside of the ring,making it impossable for the slower of foot Cobb to cut him off,and close like he needed

This might be your best idea yet CC Chris! :)

I got a few vids of my own boxing (real light sparring) beside me on my camera. Any ideas how to upload?

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Originally Posted by hitmandonny

I got a few vids of my own boxing (real light sparring) beside me on my camera. Any ideas how to upload?

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You can host them on PhotoBucket,then click it,and it will you a message board URL

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Originally Posted by Trainer Monkey

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Originally Posted by hitmandonny

I got a few vids of my own boxing (real light sparring) beside me on my camera. Any ideas how to upload?

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You can host them on PhotoBucket,then click it,and it will you a message board URL

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OK I'll give it a go Thanks TM!

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Originally Posted by hitmandonny

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Originally Posted by Trainer Monkey

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Originally Posted by hitmandonny

I got a few vids of my own boxing (real light sparring) beside me on my camera. Any ideas how to upload?

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You can host them on PhotoBucket,then click it,and it will you a message board URL

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OK I'll give it a go Thanks TM!

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Heads up,it wont host dirty stuff
What can I say,I got curious to see if it would
Nope,it was nuked within 24 hours

I couldn't work out how to upload vids onto photobucket so I used U-Tube. Having said that I'm not particularly talented with these things! Sparring vids that is! ;)

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Originally Posted by Sharla

I couldn't work out how to upload vids onto photobucket so I used U-Tube. Having said that I'm not particularly talented with these things! Sparring vids that is! ;)

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If you look to the top of your Photobucket page,right next to the tab it defaults to,"images from my pc" for what your browsing through,youll see "video",hit that one,and go for it

Quite a nice idea Chris, wrong forum though, hardly anyone ever comes in this forum see if one of the mods can move it either to the main boxingtalk forum or lets get in on else hardly anyone will see it.

I can sort of see Chris's logic with having it in the Ask the Trainer board. I guess it depends on what you really want to assess/ discuss from the vids.

If you want to talk strictly technique only and how we might use it to learn to adapt to or counter what other fighters do then I think this is the board.

If you want to discuss who has a good chin, who should be training harder than they are, what that fighter's future is etc then the other boards are fine.

I guess as a selfish Ask the Trainer fan I'd worry that we wouldn't get the most we can out of it as a tool for our own boxing improvement if it was in another board since people might be more tempted to go off topic a bit.

Nope totally saw the logic
Is it just me,or does Griffith and Benvenuti look sloppy as hell in their title match
Benvinuti can never get off on time,and Emile is holding and lunging like crazy

Yeah true TM, Both looked nervous before hand, like they were aware that they could both be hurt by the other.

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Originally Posted by Sharla

I can sort of see Chris's logic with having it in the Ask the Trainer board. I guess it depends on what you really want to assess/ discuss from the vids.

If you want to talk strictly technique only and how we might use it to learn to adapt to or counter what other fighters do then I think this is the board.

If you want to discuss who has a good chin, who should be training harder than they are, what that fighter's future is etc then the other boards are fine.

I guess as a selfish Ask the Trainer fan I'd worry that we wouldn't get the most we can out of it as a tool for our own boxing improvement if it was in another board since people might be more tempted to go off topic a bit.

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It's not misplaced, or selfishness at all, it's pure intention that this is where it's going to be at. There's nothing wrong with being a fight fan and talking boxing, but the idea with having a "fight study group" is to give fighters and students of boxing a place to talk shop and in a sense be a boxer's workshop.

As I see it, this should be a tremendous benefit for boxers. Instead of just watching a fight through the fight fan's lense of what fighter is doing what, start breaking down what each fighter is doing, what are they trying to do, what similarities/patterns can be observed that is relevant to other fights. Then you can go a step further and look into the particulars of each fighter, what they are trying to accomplish with the jab? How are they dealing with their opponent's punches? What are their tendencies and preferences, strengths and weaknesses?

Once you're capable of observing each fight in it's entirity then you can start to enjoy a new change of perspective. You can begin to ask yourself, "What would I have done differently if I had been in their position?", and when you have a good understanding of the fighter you'll ask yourself, "How would I fight them?"

The point that I want to make here is that it's much more than simply watching fights closely, it's about familiarizing yourself with the different recurring patterns that exists in all fights so that when the time comes you'll be ready for it. It's really good mental and observational exercise, as well as an ongoing process.

This is going off of Thomas's ideas on how to watch a fight, as well as what Andre and Joe have alluded to before. Even the concept of introducing a fighter, fight or an aspect of such is not new. Thomas Tabin has made some good posts on this vein, but generally the feedback is shallow and even many of the regular posters on this board ignore it.

Anyways as I said before it's an ongoing process, and I'll admit I'm practically on square one myself. Having a group to discuss with will make things easier rather than a baptism of fire of being overwhelmed of what's going on in a fight and not knowing what to look for. As you read comments by other members in the group, you'll start learning what kind of things to look for in a fight, and more importantly being able to recognize the patterns.

I think that it would be best not to restrict this to one thread, but to give more freedom to the members by letting them make their own threads. This way we can get more perspectives while covering more ground.

This is still in the idea stage. I think that before this can really materialize, there needs to be a post covering 'How to Watch a Fight.' This will help level the playing field for those who are still in the dark, which should also help by getting straight to the point for any discussions to come.

Uh I've been looking around and I've found two places where people post up fights.

http://ringsidereport.com/rsrboard/v...6e949f5215e4c0 This place is good lots of fights but I believe you must register.

AUTO MESSAGE: SORRY THIS SITE NAME AND ANY CONTENT FROM IT IS BANNED FROM THIS FORUM PLEASE DELETE[/b].com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=148]http://www.AUTO MESSAGE: SORRY THIS SITE NAME AND ANY CONTENT FROM IT IS BANNED FROM THIS FORUM PLEASE DELETE.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=148 This one you don't you need to register for


There is another site like the WBVA but I don't have any invites anymore.

Chris good post. Fights are hard to understand thats surely true. I notice its easier for me to understand a fight when it involves a fighter who fights similarly to me. Like Joey Giardello fights I have an easier time understanding because his movements are more or less the same as my own. It makes it easier for me to put myself in his shoes that way. It almost feels as though I were watching a tape of me and reviewing my own movements and mistakes. Fights that include a fighter who has a similar style as you do also allows you to put yourself in your opponent's shoes and see what its like trying to get past your own defense. In this way you get to experience a greater appreciation of yourself and your style because you're looking with honesty for weaknesses and mistakes from the perspective of an opponent. You're trying hard to figure a out a way to knock yourself out. Its rare that you get to exercise your brain in that way and its also the only way for you to do this apart from shadowboxing yourself from the perspective of an opponent.


So pick a fighter that fights like you or one who you would like to fight like. Get as many fights of him as you can and study all of them. Very soon you will begin to notice the same patterns and scenarios repeating over and over. I've been watching a lot of Tommy Hearns lately (both as him and as his opponent) and I have a very good idea of his strengths and weaknesses that way. It was said that as a young fighter the great Joe Gans followed around Bob Fitzsimmons from city to city to watch his fights and see him train. He soaked up everything he could. Imagine if young Joe Gans had thousands of fights at his disposal to watch whenever he wanted. he would read them like books and learn so many things. Joe would have leaped at the opportunity. I think young fighters should try and be like Joe.

edit: Okay the second site is banned from here so PM and I can give you the link

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Originally Posted by ThomasTabin

Uh I've been looking around and I've found two places where people post up fights.

Chris good post. Fights are hard to understand thats surely true. I notice its easier for me to understand a fight when it involves a fighter who fights similarly to me.

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man tabin, in another fighting forum a couple months ago, i made this whole long thread about "How to watch a fight", I pretty much said what you said. Like how in the beginning, Boxing to me was nothing more than limbs flying and flash knockouts happening. But as i began to grow and get learned in the sport, All of a sudden, my eyes were a little better on spotting the subtle slips and angle shifts, things of that sort. And i went on about how commentators had eagle eyes, and that i wanted to have that ability to process and analyze a fight and a fighter just by a glance. Somewhat like Scraps magical ability to gauge posture just by looking. I dont know, it was a pretty in depth lengthy post. Ill try and find it and repost it here. Anyways, my whole point is again, It would be nothing but beneficial to anyone who participated.

Chis, like the idea a lot! With regard to the site you posted, I think Ive figured out why it wont let you register.... I checked the other site out last night (tc-boxing) and it wouldnt allow free email addresses (hotmail, gmail, etc.) for new users to sign up. Tried my school/work email address and no problem. Went to the first link you posted (fights.worldboxingvideoarchive) and tried the same thing. Worked as well and now Im signed up. Then, I went in to the profile settings and just changed from the school email to a gmail address.

Now, to get some more research materials...

Good work hydroman.

Cool idea Chris.
Out there they are more into the history of who did and who didnt,what ifs ,etc
I dont think they are into the nuances as you put it ,or they would be in here already putting up posts that are thoughtful in regards to in ring experiences.
Real techniques arn't talked about as much out there as in here,but wortha try I suppose.
Maybe start it in here first and then move the post out there so the pattern is already set?