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The old master Joe Gans. One of my personal all-time favourites.
Below is a fine analysis of his fantastic skillset written by Lee Wylie:
Here, Louis’ weight is slightly over on his front leg. With his body turned to the side, his knees are bent and his head is slightly off center and tilted to his right. Louis’ lead hand is carried quite low, but his rear hand is a little higher and in a position to parry. Overall, Louis’ stance was really more of a crouch. This stance allowed Joe to shuffle forward behind his jab where he could catch his opponent’s jab and counter.
By contrast, Gans’ (on the right) more upright stance was more like that of Jack Johnson or Benny Leonard. This was the more traditional on-guard stance that was also used in fencing. Instead of the weight being over on the front leg, the weight is over on the back leg (notice there’s almost a direct line between Gans’ back leg and head). This was more of an elusive stance which gave a fighter (a) a lot more freedom to move around the ring with (especially when evading quickly in a straight line) while still allowing them to maintain excellent balance, and (b) a greater distance between an opponent’s lead hand and their head. Gans’ hands seem to be carried a little low, but remember, fights could surpass forty rounds or more back in those days. Keeping the hands held high for such a prolonged period of time would have been very tiresome. It was all about preserving energy back then -another reason you rarely saw fighters wasting energy by throwing combinations during this period.
Let’s get back to the fight…
Within the opening moments, Gans ties Herman up. Immediately afterwards, we see an example of Gans’ elusiveness. At around 0:40 mark, we see Gans foil two attempted lefts by Herman. On both occasions, Gans diffuses the blows by moving away on his back foot while placing his left glove just below Herman’s left shoulder, killing the blow before it picks up a head of steam. At the 0:43 mark, we see Gans’ mastery in full flow. First, Gans throws a non-committal jab to set up a short right hand. Within as instant, Gans pulls back and moves off at an angle, where he catches Herman as he’s turning with a right uppercut and left hand. Throughout the whole sequence, Gans’ footwork is brilliant –always positioning himself in a way so that his centerline is away from Herman’s but Herman’s is still within punching range. This is a prime example of how to take an angle on an opponent.
For the next few moments, we begin to see a pattern emerge. Gans is on his back foot looking to counter, while Herman is coming forward looking to land his left hook. At 1:45, we see more of Gans’ defensive genius. As Herman is pressing the attack, Gans feints with a right uppercut, before landing a jab and rolling under Herman’s left hook. More genius soon follows. After taking up the center of the ring, Gans takes a small step backwards to draw Herman in. As Herman comes forward, Gans feints a jab and connects with a jolting right uppercut.
Here, Gans feints a jab. As Herman reacts, Gans throws a non-committal jab (feint) followed with a right uppercut as Herman is stepping inside. This is brilliant strategy –shoulder feint, non-committal jab (to open Herman up) then a rear uppercut.
Gans was masterful in tying up his opponent. If you look at the 2:07 mark, you’ll see Gans block yet another attempted left by Herman before tying him up on the inside. Rather than describe every single clinch that takes place in the fight (as I said earlier, clinching occurred more often than not during this time and it happens a lot in this fight) I’ll just go over what can be considered a common occurrence during most of the clinches that take place. Notice the following;
It’s clear that Gans was just as skilled on boxing on the inside as he was boxing at range. Gans wasn’t the biggest lightweight you’ll ever see, but the way he positioned himself in close, using smart clinching tactics as well as leverage to unbalance, allowed him to control Herman in most of the clinches.
Below is a fine analysis of his fantastic skillset written by Lee Wylie:
Just as it behooves politicians to go back and revisit the actions of marvels like Abraham Lincoln, fighters of today would be well served to study the old masters like "The Old Master," Joe Gans. Some of his tricks of the trade could be made use of in the rings of today. Known as the first black American prizefighter to ever capture a world championship, Joe Gans would soon become better known for his exquisite boxing skill. A pioneer in the art of scientific boxing -hitting without being hit in return- Gans could make an opponent fall just short with a subtle turn of the head, before countering with ultra-precision. While facing formidable opposition like Sam Langford, Battling Nelson, Jack Blackburn, Young Griffo, Dave Holly, “Barbados” Joe Walcott, Frank Erne and Terry McGovern, Gans became distinguished for his ability to determine his opponent’s strengths and weaknesses, and then play out the fight to his own strengths and his opponent’s weaknesses. Gans was the ultimate student of the game. Borrowing from the likes of James J. Corbett and Bob Fitzsimmons, Gans would absorb what was useful and integrate his findings into his own style. He even devised some new techniques and strategies of his own. Gans may or may not have invented the jab, but the way Gans used it, employing it both as a defensive weapon to intercept the attack of his opponents and as an offensive weapon to create openings and set up his right hand and his uppercut --another punch Gans has been credited with inventing--was considered revolutionary at the time.
A thinking fighter if ever there was one, Gans, alongside the likes of Bob Fitzsimmons, Benny Leonard and Archie Moore, is one of the smartest fighters to have ever lived. One example of his vast ring IQ came in 1902, during the rematch with Frank Erne. Having previously lost to Erne, Gans trained for the rematch with the intention of implementing something he had noted in their first fight –just as Erne would initiate his left, he would check his opponent’s reaction. If his opponent brought their rear hand down to parry the left jab, he’d turn it over into a left hook. On the other hand, if the opponent would cover the right side of their head in anticipation of a left hook, he’d shoot a jab straight up the middle. Fueled with this knowledge, Gans waited for Erne to telegraph his left hand. Instead of trying to block the attack, Gans came inside it with a right hand and ended matters with a little over one minute remaining in the very first round.
Although there isn’t a great deal of film available on him, the footage we do have of Gans is extensive enough to a garner a real appreciation of the man’s craft and acumen. Here, using the Joe Gans-Kid Herman fight from 1907, I’d like to highlight some of the time tested techniques that Gans used. Although the footage is lacking in quality and is a little grainy at times, I consider it a real treasure chest of technical gems!
Here’s a little reminder before viewing.
While watching the fight, it’s important to realize that boxing has changed an awful lot between then and now. For instance, fights went on a lot longer and the gloves were a lot smaller. As a result, different circumstances called for different styles and strategies and there was more emphasis placed on in-fighting which included extensive holding and wrestling for position. Also, because those gloves were a lot smaller, it was far more difficult for a fighter to simply apply the ear muffs and shell up when defending. Far more thought had to be placed on hand evasions such as glove blocking, hence, boxing had a different look and feel to it back then.
A thinking fighter if ever there was one, Gans, alongside the likes of Bob Fitzsimmons, Benny Leonard and Archie Moore, is one of the smartest fighters to have ever lived. One example of his vast ring IQ came in 1902, during the rematch with Frank Erne. Having previously lost to Erne, Gans trained for the rematch with the intention of implementing something he had noted in their first fight –just as Erne would initiate his left, he would check his opponent’s reaction. If his opponent brought their rear hand down to parry the left jab, he’d turn it over into a left hook. On the other hand, if the opponent would cover the right side of their head in anticipation of a left hook, he’d shoot a jab straight up the middle. Fueled with this knowledge, Gans waited for Erne to telegraph his left hand. Instead of trying to block the attack, Gans came inside it with a right hand and ended matters with a little over one minute remaining in the very first round.
Although there isn’t a great deal of film available on him, the footage we do have of Gans is extensive enough to a garner a real appreciation of the man’s craft and acumen. Here, using the Joe Gans-Kid Herman fight from 1907, I’d like to highlight some of the time tested techniques that Gans used. Although the footage is lacking in quality and is a little grainy at times, I consider it a real treasure chest of technical gems!
Here’s a little reminder before viewing.
While watching the fight, it’s important to realize that boxing has changed an awful lot between then and now. For instance, fights went on a lot longer and the gloves were a lot smaller. As a result, different circumstances called for different styles and strategies and there was more emphasis placed on in-fighting which included extensive holding and wrestling for position. Also, because those gloves were a lot smaller, it was far more difficult for a fighter to simply apply the ear muffs and shell up when defending. Far more thought had to be placed on hand evasions such as glove blocking, hence, boxing had a different look and feel to it back then.
As the footage starts at the beginning of the round two, notice the stance and posture of Joe
Gans. Although many have claimed that the famous Jack Blackburn/Joe Louis’ stance was
based around Gans’, there are some notable differences which I’ve highlighted below.Here, Louis’ weight is slightly over on his front leg. With his body turned to the side, his knees are bent and his head is slightly off center and tilted to his right. Louis’ lead hand is carried quite low, but his rear hand is a little higher and in a position to parry. Overall, Louis’ stance was really more of a crouch. This stance allowed Joe to shuffle forward behind his jab where he could catch his opponent’s jab and counter.
By contrast, Gans’ (on the right) more upright stance was more like that of Jack Johnson or Benny Leonard. This was the more traditional on-guard stance that was also used in fencing. Instead of the weight being over on the front leg, the weight is over on the back leg (notice there’s almost a direct line between Gans’ back leg and head). This was more of an elusive stance which gave a fighter (a) a lot more freedom to move around the ring with (especially when evading quickly in a straight line) while still allowing them to maintain excellent balance, and (b) a greater distance between an opponent’s lead hand and their head. Gans’ hands seem to be carried a little low, but remember, fights could surpass forty rounds or more back in those days. Keeping the hands held high for such a prolonged period of time would have been very tiresome. It was all about preserving energy back then -another reason you rarely saw fighters wasting energy by throwing combinations during this period.
Let’s get back to the fight…
Within the opening moments, Gans ties Herman up. Immediately afterwards, we see an example of Gans’ elusiveness. At around 0:40 mark, we see Gans foil two attempted lefts by Herman. On both occasions, Gans diffuses the blows by moving away on his back foot while placing his left glove just below Herman’s left shoulder, killing the blow before it picks up a head of steam. At the 0:43 mark, we see Gans’ mastery in full flow. First, Gans throws a non-committal jab to set up a short right hand. Within as instant, Gans pulls back and moves off at an angle, where he catches Herman as he’s turning with a right uppercut and left hand. Throughout the whole sequence, Gans’ footwork is brilliant –always positioning himself in a way so that his centerline is away from Herman’s but Herman’s is still within punching range. This is a prime example of how to take an angle on an opponent.
For the next few moments, we begin to see a pattern emerge. Gans is on his back foot looking to counter, while Herman is coming forward looking to land his left hook. At 1:45, we see more of Gans’ defensive genius. As Herman is pressing the attack, Gans feints with a right uppercut, before landing a jab and rolling under Herman’s left hook. More genius soon follows. After taking up the center of the ring, Gans takes a small step backwards to draw Herman in. As Herman comes forward, Gans feints a jab and connects with a jolting right uppercut.
Here, Gans feints a jab. As Herman reacts, Gans throws a non-committal jab (feint) followed with a right uppercut as Herman is stepping inside. This is brilliant strategy –shoulder feint, non-committal jab (to open Herman up) then a rear uppercut.
Gans was masterful in tying up his opponent. If you look at the 2:07 mark, you’ll see Gans block yet another attempted left by Herman before tying him up on the inside. Rather than describe every single clinch that takes place in the fight (as I said earlier, clinching occurred more often than not during this time and it happens a lot in this fight) I’ll just go over what can be considered a common occurrence during most of the clinches that take place. Notice the following;
- Gans nearly always secures bicep control over Herman. By clamping down on Herman’s biceps with open gloves, Gans is able to manipulate and maneuver Herman around while also preventing him from throwing anything noteworthy on the inside. Jack Johnson was another great exponent of this technique and not too long ago, Floyd Mayweather had great success over Miguel Cotto on the inside using bicep control also.
- Whenever Gans secures over-hooks, notice that Gans’ head is nearly always placed on Herman’s shoulders. It’s impossible for him to be hit with anything while his head is in this position.
- On the over-under tie up, Gans nearly always has his free hand clamped down on Herman’s left arm. Again, Gans must have been very conscious of Herman’s left hand threat.
It’s clear that Gans was just as skilled on boxing on the inside as he was boxing at range. Gans wasn’t the biggest lightweight you’ll ever see, but the way he positioned himself in close, using smart clinching tactics as well as leverage to unbalance, allowed him to control Herman in most of the clinches.
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