Is cutting the ring off easier said than done?

You have a taller opponent, by 4 inches difference and longer reach, who dislikes fighting inside and hell-bent on maintaining his distance. You're literally forced to become a pressure fighter even if you've never been one. Of course it's easier said than done. Even top pros have issues doing it..... Reminds me of a Championship hs soccer game I was at for my nephews school. One of the kids missed a penalty and a few parents were upset and arguing about it. I told em how many missed penalties do you see in the world cup...they shut up real quick.

I dont think its all that difficult, move to the spot before your opponent does, an over simplification of course, but that's the gist of it. I think the issue is that many fighters dont even attempt to cut off the ring, they just follow behind their opponent. Could be easy if the opponent is just an unskilled robot and not throwing any punches. A skilled opponent would pepper you with punches before you even get there, or look for opportunities to counter.

I dont think its all that difficult, move to the spot before your opponent does, an over simplification of course, but that's the gist of it. I think the issue is that many fighters dont even attempt to cut off the ring, they just follow behind their opponent. Well it's not complicated, but it's easier said than done. It's not easy to shut down two escape routes against an athletic top fighter with slippery footwork who can retaliate with counters while trying to close in. {"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","height":"387","width":"400","src":"https:\/\/expertboxing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/cut-off-the-ring.png"} {"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","height":"387","width":"400","src":"https:\/\/expertboxing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/dont-jump-on-your-opponent.png"} {"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","height":"387","width":"400","src":"https:\/\/expertboxing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/corner-your-opponent.png"}

Chavez was excellent at cutting of the ring.

I dont think its all that difficult, move to the spot before your opponent does, an over simplification of course, but that's the gist of it. I think the issue is that many fighters dont even attempt to cut off the ring, they just follow behind their opponent.

There are some tricks you can do. Look at fight analysis videos of Maidana vs floyd, he did some smart things to trap floyd in position on the ropes. Right, he would step with Floyd and hit him in the arms and tie him up to keep him from maneuvering around the ring.

It's a very particular skillset, especially against an opponent with good timing and reach. Part of it is the footwork: walking the diagonals. But there's too many fighters (looking at you, Teo) who ONLY do that part. Then there's meeting them with something as they try to move out. That's the part that gets left out most often. In the Teo v Ortiz fight, Ortiz was consistently exiting out Teo's left ALL NIGHT, and Teo only tried to meet him with a hook twice in 12 rounds. And they're going to duck out under, so a liver hook would have shut that door nicely and kept him in the pocket longer. They will try to exit when you throw, so you set up your position so that you can predict which direction they'll try to exit, and then meet them with a strike. In kickboxing or MMA, round kicks work great for that too. Another key point to it is that your foot tempo needs to change. Nick Ball was able to stay all over Vargas despite the massive size difference because his feet were moving much faster. The biggest issue he had IMO was lunging head shots left him out of position when he missed. But he did way better than Teo did, or Casimero v Rigondeaux. So you get them used to a particular pace when you walk them down, then speed up when you get in the pocket. There's plenty of fighters who are very good at cutting the ring, from Chocolatito, Inoue, to Canelo, Benavidez, Beterbiev, etc. That's because cutting the ring is essential to their styles and they've got thousands of hours into imposing their style on others. The issue comes up mostly for people who are counter fighters who aren't really used to being pressure fighters who come up against movers, because they try to be a pressure fighter but haven't put in the time learning to cut. I personally think it's an essential skill and any fighter who aspires to the highest levels needs to put in time on both sides. Learning to cut, and learning how to avoid the cut gives you a better understanding and a way better ring IQ.

There's a possibility we will see it demonstrated again in the Lara vs Zerafa fight. I doubt it. Both fighters are not exactly in their primes. But we'll see. We might see it in the Romero vs Cruz fight, though.

There's a possibility we will see it demonstrated again in the Lara vs Zerafa fight. Or the Chihuahua vs Romero fight.

Seems to be a dying art. It appears trainers, or coaches, or whatever you want to call them, have increasingly focused on a few offensive techniques over the years and let others go. First guy I think of when I hear “cutting off the ring” is Roberto Duran, especially in his first fight with Leonard.

The only difference between cutting the ring off and following is 1/2 a step.

Ring cutting is getting more difficult to find on current top professional boxers, likely because trainers are more focused on their athletic performance while the fighters will have to learn for themselves. Can't really think of many exemplary pressure fighters that have educated aggression like Beterviev. I mean Loma and Inoue are boxer punchers that excels in just about every aspect of the game. They know how to apply ring cutting but they are't specialized in infighting. Haven't seen Crawford fight an out-boxer. It is specially difficult for non pressure fighters like counter punchers to apply it, Lopez, De Los Santos and Rivera who clearly struggled knowing what to do with Sandor Martin, Shakur Stevenson and Frank Martin who aren't necessarily the biggest punchers. Pure boxers fighting each other would be a entertaining chess match unless there is a big disparity in athleticism or power.

There's a possibility we will see it demonstrated again in the Lara vs Zerafa fight. I doubt Zerafa can get Lara on his bike, I reckon Lara will appear a big puncher in this.

Yep. Its actually very hard to cut off the ring against someone with quick feet and strong movement and is dedicated to not getting hit. Its not some magic counter move that casuals seem to think it is unless its a small ring. A great example was Shakur v Santos. I don't think anyone could have cornered Shakur in that fight, when he was jumping back 3 feet anytime Santos moved forward. Depends on the ref too though. If you're the A side the ref will allow you to get away with some shoulder bumps, shove offs, etc. when cutting the ring off. Other guys will get warned immediately for that.

Of course it is. That's why it pisses me off when judges and fans don't give the aggressor more credit. It's hard to hit a moving target. Meanwhile for the other guy the target is coming at you so it's much easier to hit. Yep. Its actually very hard to cut off the ring against someone with quick feet and strong movement and is dedicated to not getting hit. Its not some magic counter move that casuals seem to think it is unless its a small ring. A great example was Shakur v Santos. I don't think anyone could have cornered Shakur in that fight, when he was jumping back 3 feet anytime Santos moved forward.

It's difficult, but I more think that most of these newer trainers just aren't really good at training guys. They watch a few youtube videos, put a towel around their neck and like to hold pads. But as far as strategy goes? Actual teaching? I used to think it was weird that Derrick James website calls him a coach and not a trainer. Then I listened to him in the corner his last handful of fights and realized why. These guys can "Coach" you like a life coach. But actual BOXING TRAINERS seem to be a dying breed.

Duh lol..

Yes, very much so. You have to find away to NOT let your opponent dictate how he wants you to fight.

Is cutting the ring off easier said than done? I don't know what Nick Ball could have done any differently. So no, that fight demonstrated it ain't easy. People who say it is are fooling themselves. It's as if the running opponent is just running and not also thinking and fighting and not able to sneak in punches that most times are more devastating.

Of course it is. It's mind numbing when people say he should just cut off the ring as if the other fighter isn't actively trying To prevent you from cutting the ring off on them.