Grey & Thomas's Fountain of Knowledge

[Chris Nagel]

Tom's on defense:

i would tend to stand pretty slanted so that i was just but sideways. right hand at the chest level to parry and to draw jabs, left hand low to draw right hands. he either leads on me so i can counter, or i jab him and try to get him to counter. either way im trying to make him throw punches - and more to the point, trying to make him throw specific punches. this is typically how it goes but it gets more complicated in practice. its tricky trying to keep a guy under your thumb because you cant read minds. if you could you would be unbeatable i guess.

the main thing with defense is that you cannot consider it without also considering other variables. like say, what counterpunch corresponds, what is he trying to set up off of this, what can i set up from this later etc. nothing in boxing is isolated - they all interweave with each other to make up the whole.

[Chris Nagel]

The southpaw jab vs the orthodox jab:

The southpaw jab vs the orthodox jab is a very large part of fighting between southpaw/orthodox but I think ultimately southpaw/orthodox is won and lost on the Southpaw left straight and the Orthodox straight right. By that I mean everything revolves around the control of this. Either in the form of stopping/avoiding it or setting up counters off of it. Its kind of at the center of southpaw/orthodox and I think the fight is won and lost on how well a fighter handles it.

For example the natural counter for the southpaw jab is the straight right and vice versa either to the body or head (interestingly the southpaw is the one at a disadvantage because his liver is in front of his body, underneath his right arm, and therefore underneath his jab). But anyway this counter is only viable if your opponent is committing enough into his jab to allow you to counter it. So one part of the "jab war" between orthodox and southpaw is in seeing who can counter who's jab with this punch. If a fighter, in trying to win the jab war, commits too heavily into his jab, he puts himself in danger of walking face first into this counter.

Also the two other most effective counters when fighting with a southpaw (speaking as an orthodox fighter) is the right uppercut after slipping under their straight left and the left hook after blocking the straight left on your right arm. These are deadly counters.

Anyway my point is that in southpaw/orthodox everything ultimately comes back to how the left or straight right is handled and that plans should be developed around how to land them and how counter them. The jab is ultimately a means to that end.

[Chris Nagel]

Advice:

Benny Leonard and Henry Armstrong were both KO'd in their first fights; Billy Conn was 13-6-1 after 20. They all ended up doing pretty well, as did Monzon, and Arguello (2-2, KO'd in debut), because they were learning how to fight. Boxing is a whole bunch more than wading in throwing haymakers and splattering opponents; now and again they'd rather not get splattered and have some ideas about you. Get yourself into the best condition you can be in (i don't mean Mr Universe condition but go ten hard fast rounds and want more condition.) because this you can control; make sure your mind knows that you will not get tired. Since you are staying out of the weight room and in the gym, you'll have lots of tim to work over and over again on your defensive moves and your punches; you are developing 'large muscle memory' so that your body reacts seemingly on its own. When you spar take a moment to analyze what is going on in the ring; what is he trying to do to you and what will you do about it? Suppose that as you move about jabbing a bit, feinting more, that it becomes clear that he wants to land the left hook; well that gives you two (at least) choices, to beat the hook with a short right hand or to get under the hook and hook him to the body.... Do you see my point? Don't be in a hurry to punch for its own sake; drive that fear of getting tired out with the knowledge of your condition, and minimize the times you get hit. Condition your body to fight, then keep your brain busy plotting strategy.

[Chris Nagel]

Using the jab:

Not sure exactly what you mean... See, you may throw a jab not so much to land it but to see how he plans on avoiding it. If you jab with a bit of shoulder and hip in it, while pushing off the back foot its more a straight left hand. Are you looking to draw a counter right, or doubling up to discourage one? Jabbing your way in or backing him up with a jab? Using it to take the initiative or to counter and disrupt? The rising jab of Burley, Moore and others is a very damaging counter against a guy who really steps with his jab. Never jab down or across your body. You don't need to land every one, and even if the jab misses throw the right hand/hook, or whatever anyway. Sometimes not jabbing is best- Arguello v Mancini comes to mind. Mancini hoped to slip the jab get in hit the body get out but Alexis didn't jab much or committ much when he did forcing Ray to advance and retreat under fire. Watch Ricardo Lopez, Toney, all the pros. Try to think what they are thinking as you watch what they do and don't do

[Chris Nagel]

Training tips:

Shadow boxing is entirely about developing technique and the mental aspects of the game. The mirror lets you see and correct your flaws. Then get in the ring and fight three rounds against an imaginary opponent and really work. ALL of the old-time trainers said that, if you could only do one exercise, shadow-box.

You know, so many guys train so much that they neglect the most important part of the body: the brain. I know what you are talking about- guys that hit the bag, do the same combination over and over again, then stand and wait after they punch. They don't realize that you build habits that way. You always have to envision an opponent throwing punches back at you.

I saw this guy in Phoenix back in 04 that really caught my attention. He probably weighed 112 or 115 and he was kind of tall, working the heavy bag. He was watching himself real close in the mirror and working on a series of moves. He'd do them one at a time dissecting them until he was satisfied. Then he spent a couple rounds stringing these moves together, with head feints to get in, stepping around the bag, the whole shot. He really knew how to get the most out of a bag.

Well, you can't be thinking that you'll land all three and he'll stand there and take it Just for fun let's run through a couple of scenarios you might work through.

You jab, jab again. At some point he'll try a right over your left- pretty likely, yes? When he does you stiffen your left arm to "leverage" his right up and away from your head while you drop your weight to your right leg- tucking your head behind your left shoulder- then throw a right upper cut to his solar plexus and a left hook to his liver. To get out, get your right glove behind his left elbow and turn him to your left while you step out to your right.

Or, you jab then feint the jab to draw his jab. When he jabs you slip inside it with a short straight right to the heart, then weave to the outside while hooking his body with your left. From the outside you straighten and cross your right to his head and follow with a left hook.

See the idea? You always work your way in and out, always imagining a response from a guy trying to win. Don't just stand there and punch.

We use the double end bag to get a similar mental excercise,every time you hit it its moving,now if you force yourself to move and circle it...........

That's a good way to use the double end bag. Control its movement with your movement and jab and always hit it while its coming towards you.

[Chris Nagel]

The low left hand:

Many- I would venture to say most- of boxing's great defensive fighters fought with a low left hand and in terms of "proper" technical boxing using the shoulder to defend against the right hand is the superior technique as it provides better counter-punchingopportunities and it leaves both hands free to counter. Also there is less damage done tan there is when putting one's left glove against one's head and blocking the right. The idea is to avoid or to deflect as much impact as is possible.
If you watch tpe of Charley Burley, Archie Moore, Walcott, Charles, even James Toney they jab from the hip and it is anything but a light flicking punch. Eddie Futch was discussing the great Holman Williams in an interview and made reference to his rising jab, which hedescribed as a sort of "back handed uppercut." Tape of the fighters that utilized this punch will show that while the left was low they carried their chins well behind the left houlder, fought out of a semi-crouch and had their left hip and shoulder so far forward- towards their opponent- as to be almost sideways.
This makes one very hard to hit with right hands, and makes an opponent walk around and into your right hand if he tries to land his hook. The 'rising jab' comes into play as the opponent jabs; either slip or parry so that his jab goes over your left shoulder, stepping in with the left foot by slightly pushing off the right. The left glove, the left arm straight, comes straight u7p from the hip, timed to meet the foe's cin as he steps in behind the jab you made him miss. This is a very jolting blow, and over time causes considerable damage.
I would also argue that , if done in the manner described above it makes one less vulnerable to right hands, due to the stance and the crouch. In fact it lends itself to drawing and countering the right with a return right to head or body.

[Chris Nagel]

More Advice:

When you take up boxing its very easy to get worked up and anxious, picture yourself knocking opponents around like Popeye did Bluto. But flexibility trumps big muscles more often than not; today we are infested with a bunch of bodybuilders trained for show not go, but if look at film/pictures of the truly great ones they look like strong wellconditioned athletes but you rarely see a muscle defined until that instant before contact. Also keep in mind that the ultimate objective is to not get hit and to hit. Some people reverse that saying but trust me don't get hit then hit. Keep this in minsd; as you develope as a boxer your strengths and weaknesses and your mindset will come to define your style. Whether you end up swarming forward madly, scurrying and floating jabs, whatever, ALWAYS BE A COUNTERPUNCHER. The best were all counter punchers, even the pressure fighters. You come forward in such a way as to draw a particular response- a jab, a right- that you can slip to get close or land a blow to the opening it provides. I tend to be longwinded and in a hurry and lose my train of thought , but I really hope that that last bit made sense to you? If not feel free to get at me and I'll try again.

An oldie, to be sure, but an interesting one to drunks on Friday nights To do this combo properly you need to begin in a proper stance; feet under your shoulders , left leg rotated inward , left foot flat, right heel up @ 2" As you jab push off of your right foot, drive the jab arm into complete extension, remembering to bring your right foot up with you, throwing the right as it arrives. Your weight should be over your left leg. Take this opportunity to slide your right foot @ 11/2" to the right, drpping it flat as your weight shifts back and you torque your body back to the right, throwing the hook. Changing the weight on your feet will really help your balance.