Philly defense.. efficient?

[greynotsoold]

Boxing-wise, it is a very efficient defense, no wasted motion.

[Sandman1995]

Okay good

[greynotsoold]

That type of defense takes time to learn. If you notice, James Toney didn't fight that way at the start of his career. It took him awhile to perfect it, and he had Bill Miller (the most underrated trainer maybe of all time) working with him. You have to be very, very comfortable in the ring, not getting riled by fists flying around your head. You need to understand that you want the punch to miss you by the slightest possible distance, by making the least possible movement, be it a slip, a duck, or a parry, because that keeps you in postion to punch back. So you have to have engrained in your mind and your body that when you make them miss, you counter, never one without the other. And that means you have to have perfect balance and know how to punch short and hard with both hands. There is a lot to fighting that way.

[Sandman1995]

Okay, 1 thing about it that im wondering is that how do you jab without ur opponent see'ing it coming? or is there really no where other then pure speed (In this position)

[greynotsoold]

You're just bringing the jab up; right from your hip, just pick it up. That is a really effective and punishing way to jab, too, if you time it right. For example, your opponent is jabbing and stepping with it, you let it slide over your left shoulder as you bring up your left and push off the back foot. Simon Brown dropped Terry Norris in their first fight with a similar move, and if you watch Toney in the Holyfield or either Hembrick fight, he uses this a lot.
It is more timing than speed, like anything to do with counter-punching.

[Sandman1995]

since i weigh 143 and people will be punching fast no matter what weight class i go to around my weight, should i bother taking the time to learn this? or just stick with what im doing now

[greynotsoold]

If I recall, you are new, or fairly new, to this? To fight in that fashion, you have to know a bunch of things. Take your time, go about learning those things, and incorporating them into your style. You may find that it suits your style, as it developes, to fight in another way, and to only use that type of defense on occasion.
A few things you want to get in the habit of doing, with an eye to being successful using any defensive style...Keep your elbows in close to your body. Keep your stance angled, giving your opponent your shoulder and hip.(that is the biggest thing to avoid getting hit with right hands)Keep your right glove up by your chin to catch and/or parry jabs, and to block hooks. Get your left hand out of the way- don't use it to block because then you can't counter with it, and it is closest to your opponent. When you block punches, especially left hooks, kind of roll with them: turn your body so that the punch wraps around you instead of taking it flush. You'll see how this helps you counter as you do it.