The Classic Stance

[The Old LefHook]

Let's talk about the classic stance. I think of its opposite as the squared up stance.

[The Old LefHook]

Let's talk about the classic stance. I think of its opposite as the squared up stance.

No one even has an idea what it might be?

Chin tucked behind left shoulder.

Foot positions, anyone?

[Tom Cruise]

Joe Louis



Side on to protect centre line.

Head dipped towards back foot at the waist, creates false line of attack and false distance. Also head behind lead shoulder to protect against hooks.

Rear hand in front of chin ready to parry jab

Lead hand out in front close to opponent, always threatening and only a short snap away from full extension.

Weight on rear leg 'spring loads' the right hand.

Pros: easy to generate power. Built in defense. Great position to counter from

Cons: less manouvarable around the ring than if you were to stand straight up. Relys more on reactions than if you were to just plaster your gloves to your temples (which wasnt really an option with little gloves)

Probably loads more, but thats all my limited knowledge can offer

[JAB5239]

I think Alexis Arguello is a great example of a classic stance.

[The Old LefHook]

I think Alexis Arguello is a great example of a classic stance.

I think so too. A very good one, because Arguello kept his left relatively high, which one could argue was the more classic of the two classic stances.

One could argue the other way, too. The left held lower, with the right open to parry punches, as you see even in Robinson, was institutionalized by the Gibbons brothers by at least as early as the late 1920's into a complete boxing system published and taught at their gym in Minnesota. It is probable this variation predates the Gibbons. Langford and others probably employed it, since holding the left lower is not only a natural liberty of circling from the outside, but a natural necessity. Even prior to that, one can see on film Corbett knew it was senseless to have his left high when he was far out of range.

For all his innovative impact, I do not believe Corbett yet had all the details of the model down.

[The Old LefHook]

Joe Louis



Head dipped towards back foot at the waist, creates false line of attack and false distance.

This element is intriguing. It does increase the distance slightly. Those ideas do not seem like afterthoughts, or like they could have come from fencing either, but I do not know that for sure.

[JAB5239]

Charley Burley may be an interesting choice to throw into this conversation. While he fights from a classic stance, his hands weren't kept up as high as Argullo or Louis. There was a video I saw some time ago that broke all this down using Hopkins as his modern contemporary. It's probably still on YouTube.

[Tom Cruise]

This element is intriguing. It does increase the distance slightly. Those ideas do not seem like afterthoughts, or like they could have come from fencing either, but I do not know that for sure.

Louis vs Carnera is the first fight that came to my head when I was thinking about the benefits of this posture. Carnera was obviously not the most skilled but he tried to use a lot of straight punches and box behind the jab using his size, but Joe was able to nullify those tactics using very little energy



The extra distance created by having his head slightly towards the back foot means all of Carnera's jabs in this sequence fall short. The right hand sails harmlessly over the shoulder due to Joe keeping his head off line. He has barely even had to move and he's managed to not only make Carnera waste a load of punches, but also leave himself off balance. Louis didnt capitalize this time, but later on...



A slight shift back, a slight dip of the knees and Carnera is woefully off balance and open to the counter.

Louis was all about efficiency of movement, and this stance was perfect for that, allowing him to defend himself with the smallest movements possible, while also keeping himself in position to counter.

[Trebuh]

Charley Burley may be an interesting choice to throw into this conversation. While he fights from a classic stance, his hands weren't kept up as high as Argullo or Louis. There was a video I saw some time ago that broke all this down using Hopkins as his modern contemporary. It's probably still on YouTube.

https://********/81non05aKX4
Thats the video you are talking about. really great stuff

[The Old LefHook]

Louis vs Carnera is the first fight that came to my head when I was thinking about the benefits of this posture. Carnera was obviously not the most skilled but he tried to use a lot of straight punches and box behind the jab using his size, but Joe was able to nullify those tactics using very little energy



The extra distance created by having his head slightly towards the back foot means all of Carnera's jabs in this sequence fall short. The right hand sails harmlessly over the shoulder due to Joe keeping his head off line. He has barely even had to move and he's managed to not only make Carnera waste a load of punches, but also leave himself off balance. Louis didnt capitalize this time, but later on...



A slight shift back, a slight dip of the knees and Carnera is woefully off balance and open to the counter.

Louis was all about efficiency of movement, and this stance was perfect for that, allowing him to defend himself with the smallest movements possible, while also keeping himself in position to counter.

All valid points, sir. I believe guys like Jones and many others would even switch offline or online back and forth like a faint or a draw.