“Move. Punch. Move.”
Those are the three words I heard over and over during my time studying the art of boxing at the famous Salisbury Amateur Boxing Club in Liverpool, England. I can still hear them echoing through my head today when I think back to my time at the special gym.
They are three words I never quite mastered, which is why I’m sitting here writing this article. However, they are also three words that now seem to be strangely frowned upon in terms of how boxers are expected to fight.
After Turki Alalshikh’s recent comments about how he does not want to see any “Tom and Jerry” fights on his Riyadh Season and Ring Magazine cards, there seems to be a stigma around boxers who practice the art of not getting hit. The recent sparring footage of a boxer being knocked out at a recent Ring fight week event also raised eyebrows.
The recent comments have led to one of the most technical sound fighters in the sport, Shakur Stevenson, admitting in a recent interview with Ariel Helwani that he felt pressured to stand and trade in his win over William Zepeda on Saturday.
"I could have started off the fight using a lot of lateral movement, and moved all around the ring, but then 'Tom and Jerry' would have been the situation,” Stevenson told Helwani. “I'm gonna be honest, it was on my mind [Alalshikh’s comments]. It kind of got to me. I'm a competitor. I'm so competitive to where I do hear stuff and I wanna shut the critics up. I wanna shut people up and give them something real to talk about. I want people to know I can fight too. I'm not just a boxer. I've been boxing my whole life. I'm a fighter, boxer. I can do it all like whatever I choose to do that night is what I'm gonna do."
As a former amateur boxer myself, Stevenson’s comments do not sit well.
It has got to the point where certain boxing fans have been brainwashed into thinking every fight has to be a barnburner, that, so much so, the very best are now changing their styles. There is a reason why I was taught: “Move, punch, move” and I’m almost certain Stevenson and many others were taught the same.
It’s because punches leave a lasting effect on you – for life.
Ahead of Filip Hrogic’s battle with Joe Joyce earlier this year, he told me something that stuck with me back then, and it means all the more now. He said ahead of the fight: “Punches are not vitamins. You have a life after boxing. Don't stay too long.”
His comments were aimed towards Joyce, who I’m sure is a fighter Alalshikh and many others enjoy watching because he completely neglects the art of defense.
We strangely celebrate these kinds of fighters, but I – probably because my education of boxing has been significantly different from others – feel physically sick watching the likes of Joyce take repeated punishment.
The reality is people die in the ring, and it’s normally not from one singular punch, it’s from repeated blows to the head.
Andre Ward, another fighter who practiced the art of hitting and not getting hit, has correctly stated in the past that it is the job of boxing journalists and commentators to educate fans on how difficult defensive boxing is.
Now, a genuine, qualified boxing journalist is someone who has studied the sport intensively, not someone who has watched a few fight highlights, picks up a camera, and heads down to a press conference. It is our job to educate fans how difficult boxing is, and explain what fighters are doing in the ring – hopefully this article is me doing my bit in that regard.
A man who has been on the blunt end of criticism for his fighting style over the years in Jack Catterall.
The southpaw from Chorley recently defeated Harlem Eubank in a fight that was referenced by Alalshikh as “Jerry vs. Jerry”. This is nothing new to Catterall, he like many others has been criticized across his career for choosing the sweet science over standing and trading.
“You’re always going to get the people who are not interested in that, who just want the knockouts, etc,” Catterall told Dixon. “And that’s fine, but if we can educate them more and get them to appreciate the craft and the dedication… Look, I’m 32 next week and I feel fresh. I feel healthy. I feel intact.
“I see a lot of fighters that turn professional around the same time I did, like 13, 14 years deep now; they’ve been in so many wars, they’ve had to retire early. They’ve overtrained. They’ve not looked after their body. I believe fighters like Andre Ward, who are more about the sweet science and the IQ, can look after themselves and have a long career. And a good life after boxing.”
Many forget that there is a life after boxing, a career that is incredibly short, and how you fight in the ring determines how you will live out of it.
Many fighters aren’t blessed with wealth across their career and will more than likely have to pick up work when they retire. Ricky Hatton recently revealed to Boxing Now that his son Campbell had retired at the age of 24 and has now taken up work installing solar panels. The reality is you do not know when your career is going to end, young Campbell would have never thought he’d call it a day at 24, but he has.
His father Ricky said in the interview that he had told his son: “You should be very proud of yourself, you’ve given it a go, but if you’ve lost your mojo you need to get out of this game. You can’t play boxing. You can play any other sport, you can’t play boxing.”
Hatton, like many of his generation who have hung up the gloves, know more than most the dangers of the sport. Chris Eubank Snr recently implored his son Chris Eubank Jnr not to rematch Conor Benn, the son of his fierce rival Nigel Benn, after watching the punches his son took in their first battle whilst suffering the effects of a 10-pound rehydration restriction.
I’m sure every hardcore and casual fan enjoyed watching the recent 12-round slug fest between Eubank Jnr and Benn. Two men who were given the biggest of stages, not because of their talents in the ring, but because of the talents of their famous fathers.
I am not criticizing the fight between Chris Jnr and Conor – I thoroughly enjoyed watching it, as did my dad – but it baffles me that fans appreciate two men swinging for the hills like novices over a technically superb fighter such a Stevenson.
Ironically, Stevenson and Benn both recently appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show and talked up a future fight with each other. There were again some very interesting comments made by both men, comments that showed me who had the superior boxing education.
“The majority of people don’t like watching you fight,” Benn told Stevenson.
“People that study boxing love watching me fight,” Stevenson replied.
“I hate watching you fight,” said Benn, who only started learning his craft at 17 years old compared to Stevenson as a 5 year old.
“I hate watching you fight, I don't learn shit. I don’t learn nothing. There is nothing that I can learn from watching Conor Benn,” Stevenson responded.
People that know boxing enjoy watching fighters that show them something new. A slip. A pivot. A slick counter. My amateur coaches would not tell me to go and watch videos of Conor Benn swinging for the hills. It takes years to learn to do what Stevenson does.
There is a reason why most who come into the sport late choose to fight on the front foot – it’s the easiest form of fighting to learn. They simply do not have the time to master the art of defense.
I remember walking in the gym wearing an Arturo Gatti t-shirt [my idol at the time] and I was quickly told by one of my coaches to take it off. That style of fighting is not appreciated by many in boxing, and while there is a place for it, we should actively be encouraging fighters to fight in a style that benefits their health.
I was recently at one of the UK’s finest coach’s gyms watching sparring – I won’t say who because I was taught sparring stays in the gym. The trainer paused a sparring war between two young boxers because his fighter was taking too much punishment. “You’re taking too many punches,” he shouted. “It is my job as your coach to protect you. I cannot let you take too many punches.”
It was a refreshing moment for me.
Hopefully the art of not getting hit will continue to be taught, boxers like Stevenson will keep practicing it, and journalists like myself will continue to educate fans about how incredibly talented these fighters are.
Tom Ivers is an amateur boxer who has a masters degree in sports journalism. He had his first bout in 2013, joined BoxingScene in 2024 and is now a key part of the UK and social media teams.
