defence

[heady69]

hi im 6"3 i have a long reach and improvin my jab and combos more but i wanna try and adapt a winky wright style defence keepin my gloves stuck to my face but i been watchin vids of winky and do you think this could work with a boxer who likes to stay on the outside and jab alot ?
thanks

[donnydarkoIRL]

Hello heady and welcome to saddoboxing.

It's my opinion that through the adoption of a Winky Wright type defence, you would compromise your own advantages in terms of reach.
By throwing on the ear muffs like Winky you would sacrifice your reach, allowing a fighter to close the distance - an easy avenue past your jab and cross.


I won't tell you not to do it, but sometimes the best defence is a jab and at 6'3" you're bound to be blessed with an above average reach.

[heady69]

cheers for the reply and the welcome
i been trying on the bags cause the season is over is to open hand just place my gloves over my face with enough view and just snap my jab out and back cause i tend to jab but leave my hand out rather than pulling it back so tryin to have a good point to place my gloves cheers for the reply mate

[Chris Nagel]

Ronald's gloves aren't simply "stuck to" his head, he brings them up when he needs to. Here's a good post worth reading:

Southpaws are interesting I've been digging in my library and watching a lot of southpaw fights lately. What southpaws do you like? When talking about defense for southpaws the first two guys that spring to mind would have to be Whitaker and Wright. You should try and get some of their fights and see what they do to prevent themselves from getting tagged with jabs as both men are almost never hit with jabs - let alone anything else for that matter. People talk about things like handspeed, or chin, or power but how often do you ever hear them talking about how aware a fighter is? Whitaker and Wright are two of the most aware fighters I have ever seen. There is rarely anything their opponent can do that they aren't aware of. This may seem like its not very significant but this in itself is actually the basis of all defense. You can know all the moves and techniques any so and so in the gym can sell you but without that heightened awareness none of it will actually work. Awareness is actually the most important trait to have in boxing.

I remember Wright saying in an interview once that he can sense when his opponent is getting ready to attack and when he isn't. When you watch his fights you can see him clearly doing this. When his opponent is in what he would classify as attack-mode he will stop coming forward with his jab and inch back slightly and bring in his guard. He doesn't keep his right glove glued to his temple at all times. He doesn't need to. He only brings it in back to block only when he knows his opponent is getting ready to attack him. Winky has both of his hands at about chin level. This is so that 1. it makes it easier for him to punch as the hands aren't being committed to blocking all the time (even when there are no punches to block) and 2. it allows him to see his opponent clearly. With your right glove at your temple how much of your vision do you cut out? You're literally blocking all of your peripheral vision out if not more. How are you going to see what your opponent is doing? How are you going to know when he is in "attack-mode"? How are you supposed to avoid punches that you can barely see?

What you should practice in order to stop getting hit with jabs and sneaky right hands (which you just can't allow yourself get hit with since the great southpaws never let themselves get hit with lead rights and you want to be one of them) is to number one pick up as many southpaw fights to watch as you can. In particular I would recommend Winky Wright since he seems most in keeping to the style you describe yourself as having. Study how he reacts to his opponent. I am telling you will see an instant pattern in the way Winky Wright defends punches its very methodical and simple. And most importantly get your trainer or someone else in the gym get in the ring and throw jabs at you. Let it be known that he is only allowed to throw jabs but he can't tell you when he is going to throw them. You have to figure that out for yourself. This will help you develop and sharpen your awareness of when an opponent is getting ready to attack and when he isn't. Just work purely on blocking the jabs. Further on you can have your partner throw his jabs and right hands at you. This kind of training will make you very aware of opponent's leads. In time I promise that you will be able to block every single lead in the same way Winky does. Its not magic its just simple boxing.

little tip is to inch back just slightly as your opponent jabs which will take off much of the force on his jabs as jabs tend only to strike into their target by a few inches. If you take away a couple inches the jab will graze you and be unable to sink into the target. Winky does this. He will also lean slightly back with his body to further take away some force from punches like jabs.

Just remember that you have to see the punches coming. And if you're gloves are blocking your eyes: you won't.

Still, I agree with Donny in that you don't want to sacrifice your reach. I find people who fight out a "peek-a-boo" guard, tend to square up in their shoulders. What this often leads to is shorter punches, or telegraphed/slower punches. It's better to have them by near your chin and see the punches coming so that you can counter punch. Winky's earlier fights show that he was flexible counterpuncher.

[heady69]

true cheers mate im gonna try adjust it around usin my reach aswell hmm lol might try it when there on the inside while tryin to move away or sumin thanks for the help anyway

[AdamGB]

Donny's hit it on the head, learn to work your jab against come forward fighters... you might not always be scoring with it but if you're giving them something to walk through then they're not going to be able to throw at you as much.

[heady69]

ok cheers guys great help
just cant wait for the season to start back up wanna get my record up

[Singularity]

I'm the same kind of fighter, and moving around alot is so helpful. You have to move from corner to corner, getting around them and keeping on moving just out of their range and striking again. You need to make sure you are moving in circles though or youll be caught against the ropes and thats not a good thing. Movement is probly the biggest part of my defence

[Howlin Mad Missy]

Welome heady.

A stiff jab and good footwork can win you a fight. There have been plenty of fights won like this. You can shut a guy down with a jab, keep 'em honest.

I often work just the jab on the bags. Because I have a tendancy to be lazy without. That was my last project -improve my jab.

Single jabs and move round the bag (in range) move in and out with the jab and moving.

Up-jab, straight jab, step in etc.

I only practice pawing with the jab to set up another punch, so it a distraction.

The mighty jab is your friend. Good luck.

[heady69]

yea i been doin alot of that mate tryin to make my jab just more faster and so i can start doing triple jabs to shut up other punches especaily for the amatuers aswell