Getting hit in boxing is equivalent to a fumble or getting sacked or a turnover

[firstborn]

Analogy makes no sense at all, sounds like something a person with no actual boxing experience would say......

[MartinC]

Maybe getting knocked down is like a fumble or turnover but getting hit is a part of the game.

[lefthook2daliva]

No.

Love the intro to his broadcast.

But no.

[billeau2]

I think that in focusing on the analogy as a literal statement much of what the man says has been overlooked. First of all while, as Natas says, there is a tendency to think of offensive minded fighters as beneath defensive minded fighters with respect to technical proficiency, I don't think that is what the commentators point is. One of the first points before the OP's point of reference at the 3 minute mark is the comment that "Mike Tyson had a better defense than Muhammed Ali." This hyperbole was stated simply to make the point that you don't have to get hit unnecessarily to be an offensive fighter.

I agree with the commentator in so far as, good fighters minimize risk, including getting hit when possible. His football analogy just serves to highlight this and therefore is apt.

If people would listen carefully they would see that he is not comparing the actual physical contact of a football hit, rather he is saying that getting hit flush on an offensive charge is not supposed to happen in boxing, in much the same way as an obvious sack, or hit in football is not a good thing for the offense. Many people seem to think he is saying the physical contact is similar.

here is why he is correct. When one watches, for example, hank Armstrong, Jake Lamotta, Roberto Duran, they do not see how skillfully they deflect punches that come their way. It looks like they are getting hit flush but watch the film! Skills like nullifying the force of punches are subtle so they are often unseen. The commentator is correct that no fighter wants to get hit. Nor is it a style of fighting to get hit flush in order to punch back, this is an illusion!

Good offensive fighters know kinestetically that for a punch to land hard, a few things in a chain have to happen and their job being aggressive is to prevent those things from happening. So, they may make sure the guy is off balance when he shoots a punch, or they may move the head and shoulder just off line so the punch lands at an angle, or they may suddenly change the distance so the punch cannot extend....

With respect to Ward, his point is very apt! In professional prize fighting when one has an obvious defect, called getting exposed, the general level of confidance is such that suddenly most guys want to take a fight with the exposed guy. Even with Floyd lately, after he was touched up a bit with Cotto, suddenly he became beatable and madianna touched him up a bit as well...

Andre Ward has not been exposed in any way what so ever...there simply is no blueprint avialable to show a weakness. he has never really even been challenged as a pro. This means that there will be excuses made rather than face him. That point should be obvious to anyone who can see how damn good Ward is as a fighter.

Thats my take

[bojangles1987]

That's a really bad analogy.

Getting hit in boxing is like a tackle. It's going to happen no matter who you are. Getting knocked down would be more like a turnover.

[Juof]

No I disagree. I would say maybe getting knocked down would be equivalent to a fumble or an interception. It can be game changing but not necessarily mean the game/fight is over. Getting hit is expected, even if a fighter is defensive minded. In football, teams try and can reasonably expect to not commit a fumble or interception but a boxer can't reasonable believe he's not going to get hit through the course of a full fight. Terrible analogy.

If anything I would equate getting hit to an incomplete pass on offense or a completed pass allowed on defense. Even though you practice against it, it's still reasonably expected to happen. Just have to minimize how often it happens.

Lol at your sig when Bernard throws the flag down.