Is cutting the ring off easier said than done?

[tomhawq]

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

Or the Chihuahua vs Romero fight.

[al-Xander]

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.

[crimsonfalcon07]

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.

[The D3vil]

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.

[real raw]

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.

[real raw]

Chavez was excellent at cutting of the ring.

[Feroz]

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.

[al-Xander]

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.

[El_Mero]

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.

[Mr Giggles]

It looks easy to me watching, but I’ve never been in the ring so who knows, must be harder than it looks