The Boxing Art of Defense

someone enlighten me, what's harder to pull off when putting more emphasis on defence or offense? if floyd frustrates/shuts down pac if they ever do fight... that would be impressive

defense and offense are equally important. defense is exciting when the guy is super slick and counters. but most of the time, the general public likes offensive minded fighters.

A poster mentioned that the best defensive fighters prolong their career and take less punishment. I don't think this is quite true. Look at Sweet Pea, look at Toney, look at Wright. All punch drunk or getting that way. The best defensive guys seem to get that way through enormous amounts of hard sparring, not through any inherent god given ability to avoid punches.

I appreciate and have always appreciated the art of offensive defence, not the hoary old cliche of "offense is the best defence" but a defence geared toward the fighter being able to land his own shots with as little return fire as possible. Pirog would be a good recent example. Here was a fighter who used excellent head movement and footwork to negate Jacobs work whilst getting in and landing his own shots. Result? Fifth round KO. It's when a fighter fights solely to avoid getting hit without making any attempt to actually hurt his opponent that I start turn off. Sure, I can appreciate an excellent defence but I find it difficult to get excited about the fighter unless their style is totally extraordinary (Sweet Pea and Locche spring to mind). The idea that only "true fans" appreciate defence is insulting and pompous, but an attitude worryingly prevalent among certain low class individuals of this sport who happen to think they're better than they are. Get over yourself guys. Boxing's a hurt sport. If I want to watch a chess match I'll, guess what?, watch a chess match.

One of my favorite HLs Great Video...

One of my favorite HLs

Hit without getting hit.

well boxing is about hitting without getting hit, so obviously defense is atleast 50% of boxing. but good defense also opens up for u to land your offense, so its really more than half of boxing. u know yourself a fighter who has great offense and decent defense will win a few fights impressively but ultimately lose a couple along the way and not last long in teh sport. meanwhile great defensive fighters are usually the ones who go down in history as great fighters even if their offense isnt always that great. because when u have great defense, again the openings are much bigger. even if u think of someone generally thought of as an offensive machine like roberto duran, he had amazing defense. tyson is another example, then look at him when he abandoned his headmovement and angles in the 90's. a shell of himself..

Klitschkos are good. I just wish Haye had the balls to fight them because they need better opposition in their division.

People on here seem to love it from the right guys (Mayweather,Hopkins) but for some reason hate the Klitschkos. lol

From gathering everyone's perspective on this topic, It seems most everyone agrees that defense is extremely important in Boxing. What it comes down to from reading everyone's post, is how the fighter chooses to utilize their defense in correspondence to their other attributes. How a fighter integrates defense in their skill-set makes them unique and I can agree with that.

People say Mayweather fights are boring, i actually find them very entertaining to watch. He defines the sweet science True. Couldn't agree more. Hopkins and Toney is what I call "art" in this specific sport.

So what is your opinion on defense, and how important is it to you? there are only 2 facets in a fighter's arsenal...offense and defense which are of equal importance imo. too much defense favors the fighter because it prolongs his career and protects his body but it bores the fans. too much offense is riskier to the fighter but brings excitement to the fans. I'm a fan not a fighter so i prefer fighters who bring exciting fights. it's a man's sport, and if you look at history this sport was invented purely to entertain people. of course it has evolved to what it is in modern times but the aspect of entertainment is still the main focus. it's no secret why people in fight venues suddenly erupt in wild cheers the moment somebody gets knockout or the fighters engage in toe to toe exchanges. whereas if they decide to be defensive, they get booed on a lot of occassions. it is what it is...if i want to see good poise, good balance, agility or the science of good movement i'd rather watch ballet or dancesport maybe.

In boxing the guy who is hit less over the course of 12 rounds usually wins. Defensive IMO is the most important part of boxing. If i were a boxer I would be a defensive minded fighter. You prolong your career and make things easier on yourself in the ring. This exactly.

Bernard Hopkins He didnt spend most his career as a defensive minded fighter. although hes a fair exception.

In boxing the guy who is hit less over the course of 12 rounds usually wins. Defensive IMO is the most important part of boxing. If i were a boxer I would be a defensive minded fighter. You prolong your career and make things easier on yourself in the ring. not necessarily. A few of the greatest defensive fighters of all time have ended up in bad shape at the end of their career. Benitez in particular had a VERY short career(although you could also argue that was because of lifestyle). There are two things you need to consider: 1. When you are a defensive fighter, you almost never expect yourself to get hit, so you dont tense up to brace for the shot, so your head gets popped around and jiggles around your brain-thats more lasting damage. You dont get hit often, but when you do, it hurts. 2. Sometime it can be really beneficial to just knock someone out early. its better to get hit a lot for 4 or 5 rounds than to get hit a moderate amount for 12 rounds. If you actually look at the guys with the longest careers, most of them werent really defensive masters. well, sure they had their fair sure of defensive skill, but I dont think you could say their entire style was centered around fighting defensively. ...that being said, even the most offensive of fighters rely heavily on defense. its not just about protecting yourself, defensive skills help supplement your offense and in general define your entire style.

well the first rule in boxing is defend yourself at all times. i like the art of defence, although pac is my favourite, i enjoy his exciting fighting style. i enjoy watchin old fights of pernell whittaker who was exciting in his own right. floyd is good to watch for his technical skills. he was even more exciting as a lightweight when his attacking skills were also supreme

Personally I think the same arguement could apply for nearly every sport. I think causal fans like to see Goals, KO's, Touchdowns whatever (and obviously so do the die hard fans) But true fans of the sport will appreciate the skill, tactics and discipline that go in to closing down a team/oppontent. I've always been a fan of good tactics and turing someones strengths against them regardless of the sport. But at the end of the day its each to their own.

People say Mayweather fights are boring, i actually find them very entertaining to watch. He defines the sweet science

defense can be shown in many different ways. it doesnt have to be textbook defense. as long as one fighter benefits from his own kind of defense, either be headmovement, shoulder roll, slipping, fast footwork, who's to say he's not good on defense? but pure defense is boring and wont win you fights alone. i like the tyson and ali defense. both w/ diff kind of defense but both willing to take risks also of getting hit to put on a solid offense.