Fight Analysis: Buddy McGirt vs. Howard Davis

[ThomasTabin]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=yaaJ2obyzww

How did it happen?

[Chris Nagel]

Wow. I believe it was Buddy's continuous throwing of the left hook, and then the left hook feint that set up the KO. Davis continued circling away from Buddy's left, which consequently made it easier for Buddy to land a right hand. Moreover, with all the left hooks coming from Buddy McGirt, Davis was not expecting a right hand. In the final moments, the throwing the left made Davis react, while preparing McGirt to throw a right hand with full power. Davis had no idea what was coming.

By the way, I fixed the video so that it can be viewed from this window.

[Greig]

It happened because McGirt had no respect for Davis whatsoever.

Buddy's left was low and he was telegraphing it - Davis really needed to throw some right hands over the top of Buddy's left to establish himself and make Buddy respect him (the jab was pretty much all he threw all round)

Sometimes boxing is like poker, you have to bluff and make out you have a better hand than you really do. Ali was a master of the bluff. Davis was never a hard puncher, but he should have set down on at least a couple of right hands to make Buddy ease up with the charging. Then he would have found his gameplan (which, strategically to me, seemed like he didn't really have one other than move, move, move) a little easier to execute.

But yes, I agree with Chris - Howard was so worried about the hook he didn't even see the right hand coming. His left hand should have been tighter to his chin and he seriously miscalculated his foot speed while attempting to slide up the ropes.

[Trainer Monkey]

He got the timing of Davis's guard down,Davis all through this fight is raising and lowering his guard,and allways circling to his own left,also he's on his toes so much theres no way he can plant and throw with power.Davis throws nothing but extended jabs,so all McGirt really has to do is keep slicing off the ring until he times him out.He doesnt have to worry about Davis one iota,Davis refuses to commit to a flurry.

[Chris Nagel]

Perhaps when Buddy cuts off the ring, his intention is to keep Davis from circling right. It makes sense seeing how it ended.

[ThomasTabin]

Interesting thoughts from everybody. When you play the fight the first thing you see (as Greig pointed out) was that the jab was all Howard Davis was throwing that round. Grieg yes Howard could have thrown more punches against Buddy - who as you say holds his hands low - but to do so would allow Buddy to possibly counter him. It's evident that Howard did not want Buddy McGirt countering him in any way. You see this type of thinking illustrated in the way Howard throws his jab. He commits only slightly and therefore would be impossible to counter because his body never truly leaves a defensive mode as he jabs. As result Buddy is unable to throw counter punches in this fight. The only thing Howard Davis is leading with is a jab and whats more, a jab that can't be countered. So Buddy must lead. His punching selection has necessarily been reduced to just that and only that.

This is a scenario you will see repeated in many, many fights. Fighters like Ray Robinson, Carlos Monzon, Joey Giardello, Tommy Loughran you will see employing this strategy against their opponents. It is very good at nullifying opponents because you are forced to lead and to be aggressive to be of any effectiveness. If you don't you won't be able to keep up. Since they take away your ability to counter, if they also take away your ability to land your leads, you are simply out of the fight. If you can't counter or lead what is left for you to do.


It would then appear that Buddy doesn't have many options. Howard Davis is trying hard to make sure of that. Buddy McGirt vs Howard Davis is a fight that has been being fought in boxing since the very beginning. Buddy McGirt is the swarmer. Throughout the history of boxing the swarmer's greatest ability has been to pressure his opponent and force reactions. Specifically, if his leads force his opponent into throwing a counter punch, he opens their defense and creates a window of opportunity where he can hit them.

Its hard to see in real time and especially on this youtube video so I made some screens.


Here we see Buddy throwing his left hook



Howard Davis drops his left hand to his hip to prepare what some of you may know as the "check hook" in response. Yes Floyd wasn't the one who invented that punch. Go back to your tapes and see Jimmy McLarnin and Gene Tunny throwing "check hooks"



Buddy begins his right hand as Howard begins to throw his check hook



Buddy lands the right hand inside of the hook





Chris I think you're correct when you point out that all the left hooks Buddy was throwing was leading up to something. It seems very evident that Davis was not expecting a right hand. We can see this illustrated in the final moments of the fight when Davis attempts to counter Buddy's lead left hook. Buddy had only been throwing single lead left hooks. I think if Davis knew there was the risk of a right hand coming behind the left hook he would have never attempted the check hook that ultimately left him open for a right hand.




If this scenario seems familiar its because you just saw this happen a couple months ago in Hatton/Mayweather. Only in that fight there was no right hand to counter the check hook. You can see in these screens that Hatton had triggered Floyd's check hook with his lead left hook. Thus, like Buddy McGirt, he had an open window for his right hand. You can see in the second screen that Ricky had a clear opening for his right hand which he ultimately neglected to take.








Both scenarios in both fights are the same. This is a scenario that you yourself will encounter and more than likely already have whether you were aware of it or not. The more boxing you watch the more patterns and scenarios you will become aware of so that in your next fights you will instantly recognize them as they unfold in front you.

[Trainer Monkey]

Perhaps when Buddy cuts off the ring, his intention is to keep Davis from circling right. It makes sense seeing how it ended.

Davis is making himself predictable,this is a common problem in a fight.Mcgirt knows where he's going.
Remember when I was discussing Holmes-Cobb the other day?
Thats what Holmes is doing masterfully,he's shifting his directions.Cobb is constantly stuck,he thinks he knows where Holmes is going,so he covers up and goes to that spot where Holmes should be by now.Except Holmes is never there
Davis allways is

[ThomasTabin]

Just being near your opponent doesn't mean you'll land your punches. You still need to find opening in his defense and that requires more than just walking to where he is.

[Trainer Monkey]

Just being near your opponent doesn't mean you'll land your punches. You still need to find opening in his defense and that requires more than just walking to where he is.

Dancing away throwing one jab at a time ensures you wont land anything,doing it constantly from your toes ensures you certainly wont land anything with any power
To elucidate,a 3 shot combination is supposed to start with point a),and open up either point b) or point c)
Davis never does anything but throw point a),and then skips away
He doesnt have any confidence in his own game plan,and just dances hoping McGirt will screw up rather then imposing his own will on to the fight

[Chris Nagel]

Nice follow up Thomas. It seems like a mistake that a lot of fighters can make when things their opponent is pressuring them. What are some things that we can do to avoid that happening to us?

[Trainer Monkey]

Nice follow up Thomas. It seems like a mistake that a lot of fighters can make when things their opponent is pressuring them. What are some things that we can do to avoid that happening to us?

Watch the Cobb-Holmes fight,its all there,or Hopkins-Tarver
If you want to dance on the edge you have to have a planned counter eventually,Davis is afraid to unleash it ever,you can see it,he's afraid
Dancing on the edge is like what the Mongols did to the Russians,your trying to draw the guy out and making him reach for it.But if you never take advantage of what your setting up,its more or less your trying to survive out there,not win

[ThomasTabin]

Countering the left hand (the jab and in this case the left hook) is one of the most dangerous things to do in boxing. You are very vulnerable to the right hand during these counters and this is because the right hand can come instantly behind the jab/left hook and strike you as your body is committed to the process of countering.

Counter punching is inherently dangerous. This is something that is never brought up when people talk about countering but you have to be sure when you try to counter that your opponent isn't going to hit you during your counter. This is not something you can ever truly know for sure. You have to guess what he might do based on his his behavior and punch selection.

For example Howard Davis saw many lead left hooks thrown at him and concluded it would be safe to try and counter the left hook. The information Howard was working from caused him to think he would be safe from a right hand as he had no reason to believe he would get hit with one. This of course turned out to be very misleading. Courtesy of a one Buddy McGirt. If notice what Buddy did is very similar to the conversation I had with you a while back when I was talking about throwing my jab at you in hopes that I could trigger you into countering and catching you with my right hand.

Well ultimately countering (and boxing in general) has to do with being able to accurately predict your opponent's actions. I only like to counter when I can pull leads from my opponent and know with a good degree of certainty that he is just trying to knock me out with the lead and not set me up with the lead. I don't counter often and only if I believe I have a good feel for what my opponent is thinking.

[Trainer Monkey]

Countering the left hand (the jab and in this case the left hook) is one of the most dangerous things to do in boxing. You are very vulnerable to the right hand during these counters and this is because the right hand can come instantly behind the jab/left hook and strike you as your body is committed to the process of countering.

Counter punching is inherently dangerous. This is something that is never brought up when people talk about countering but you have to be sure when you try to counter that your opponent isn't going to hit you during your counter. This is not something you can ever truly know for sure. You have to guess what he might do based on his his behavior and punch selection.

For example Howard Davis saw many lead left hooks thrown at him and concluded it would be safe to try and counter the left hook. The information Howard was working from caused him to think he would be safe from a right hand as he had no reason to believe he would get hit with one. This of course turned out to be very misleading. Courtesy of a one Buddy McGirt. If notice what Buddy did is very similar to the conversation I had with you a while back when I was talking about throwing my jab at you in hopes that I could trigger you into countering and catching you with my right hand.

Well ultimately countering (and boxing in general) has to do with being able to accurately predict your opponent's actions. I only like to counter when I can pull leads from my opponent and know with a good degree of certainty that he is just trying to knock me out with the lead and not set me up with the lead. I don't counter often and only if I believe I have a good feel for what my opponent is thinking.

So he cant counter,and he cant engage,that leaves a ton of options,being hit,being hit again,standing there and being hit

[ThomasTabin]

Being hit with what? Davis prevented McGirt from being able to throw counter punches and avoided all of his leads. That is what makes this type of style (dancers, I guess) so effective. You get many options taken away from you when you fight them and are forced to lead aggressively or else you won't be able to keep up. They put you in a position where the only way you can be in the fight is if you lead aggressively and therefore make yourself vulnerable to counter punches.

This strategy is ingenious. The twist of course is that they expose themselves to being struck when they are in the act of countering. Anyway circling and being defensive is not what causes them to be hit its engaging (either through committed leading or countering) their opponent that does that. Its ultimately what got Howard Davis knocked out. I feel that he was winning the round up until the end.

[Chris Nagel]

Trainer Monkey, don't you see the similarities between Howard Davis and your favorite fighter Bernard Hopkins?