Inside fighting...is it a dying art?

[Elroy1]

This question props up very often.

And the answer is obvious!

So many throw around the idea that infighting is a forgotten art in boxing these days, that trainers don't know how to teach it anymore and blah blah blah...

The reality is, is that the sport has simply evolved, as all sports do.

Infighting is a sign of a LACK of boxing skills.

It is a talent in it's own right to be sure, of course, but at top level it is a sign of either not being able to keep your opponent at distance or get in and out effectively. Basically it's synonymous with brawling.

Past fights were somewhat like a continuous back and forth war, very scrappy by comparison to today.

Look at every contact sport, efforts have been made across the board to "clean it up" and in every case, old timers like to make statements such as "They've made the game too soft" etc. Whilst this may be true, it has also "professionalised" all the contact sports, emphasising the skill aspects more so than the "rough-housing". I see it at home in AFL football. And I see it in boxing too.

Whilst boxing has been "cleaned up" I don't think anybody can consider boxing to ever be a "soft" sport, your still getting punched in the face and body! The game has just changed, these days a lot of the infighting has been TAKEN OUT of boxing for the sole purpose of making it a cleaner, more professional sport.

[Killer_of_Sheep]

This question props up very often.

And the answer is obvious!

So many throw around the idea that infighting is a forgotten art in boxing these days, that trainers don't know how to teach it anymore and blah blah blah...

The reality is, is that the sport has simply evolved, as all sports do.

Infighting is a sign of a LACK of boxing skills.

It is a talent in it's own right to be sure, of course, but at top level it is a sign of either not being able to keep your opponent at distance or get in and out effectively. Basically it's synonymous with brawling.

Past fights were somewhat like a continuous back and forth war, very scrappy by comparison to today.

Look at every contact sport, efforts have been made across the board to "clean it up" and in every case, old timers like to make statements such as "They've made the game too soft" etc. Whilst this may be true, it has also "professionalised" all the contact sports, emphasising the skill aspects more so than the "rough-housing". I see it at home in AFL football. And I see it in boxing too.

Whilst boxing has been "cleaned up" I don't think anybody can consider boxing to ever be a "soft" sport, your still getting punched in the face and body! The game has just changed, these days a lot of the infighting has been TAKEN OUT of boxing for the sole purpose of making it a cleaner, more professional sport.

[LA_2_Vegas]

Like other said, hopefully we see a revival of this with the AM rule changes.

All I could think of right now:

Lamont Peterson is still pretty good at it...

Nicholas Walters, I was late on him... he's damn good. Lanky and looks a little sloppy sometimes but he's got some great inside ability. Rough, throwback sort of fighter. Him v Loma=classic

Floyd, even though he was cuffing Maidana

I put Bradley here because he at the very least can hold his own against someone with a better inside presence than him. Hold his own and then outwork.

I also put Tyson Fury on this list (I hear u laughing)

Cotto isn't inside fighter per se, but he can get under you and cause hell. Similar to Povetkin in a way, someone who deserves a mention now that I think about it.

[SterlingStained]

It seems we see it less and less these days and when we do, we rarely see a great amount of skill in it..I love to see a nice phone book fight where skills are involved..List some great phone book bouts with a video if possible

its dying because of fighters like floyd, andre ward, kell brook, amir khan's new style, klitsckho brothers who hold excessively and of referees who dont do their job and break up fighters early and dont give penalties so it happens the whole fight.

[LoadedWraps]

Of course not, still very much a part of boxing. a phonebooth fight with slips and counters is where it's at, my favorite aspect of boxing. People make the mistake and think that if it's inside it isn't boxing, true tacticians can put it together and defend well inside and outside, the elite boxers can get hit the same or less on the inside as on the outside, and fighting in the inside you actually conserve energy since you aren't using your legs to stay away from punches and you can use your opponents weight against them.

[Elroy1]

Yes, we should trust boxing's almost religious sect on the issue and ignore common sense.

[Vasyl’s dad]

It's considered Illegal in floyds fights.