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guys who can't (or won't) fight on the inside
The only guys that I really don't like are the ones who can't (or won't) fight on the inside. The 2 world class fighters that qualify in that regard are Wladimir Klitschko and Jermain Taylor. Another successful fighter that nobody gives a rat's ass about is Henry Akinwande, whose inside fighting ability was so bad that he got disqualified for holding against Lennox Lewis.
Inside fighting and "pocket" fighting (as James Toney calls it) takes more overall skill than outside boxing because you need to learn how to defend yourself when your opponent is always within striking distance. You need to learn how to block and slip punches, use angles, use your arms and shoulders to block punches and also roll with punches that you can't stop. All the fighters that I regard as complete are inside fighters. Anybody who can fight inside or in the pocket can also fight on the outside but the converse is false. I've never seen Jermain Taylor fight worth a plug nickel on the inside. It hasn't cost him yet because of his height, reach, overall speed and strength but it will cost him some day. It's already cost Wladimir Klitschko 3 losses, and to my disgust, instead of taking the time and making the effort to learn the inside fight game he has resorted to holding, always a strong indicator of gross incompetence in inside fighting.
The only guys that I really don't like are the ones who can't (or won't) fight on the inside. The 2 world class fighters that qualify in that regard are Wladimir Klitschko and Jermain Taylor. Another successful fighter that nobody gives a rat's ass about is Henry Akinwande, whose inside fighting ability was so bad that he got disqualified for holding against Lennox Lewis.
Inside fighting and "pocket" fighting (as James Toney calls it) takes more overall skill than outside boxing because you need to learn how to defend yourself when your opponent is always within striking distance. You need to learn how to block and slip punches, use angles, use your arms and shoulders to block punches and also roll with punches that you can't stop. All the fighters that I regard as complete are inside fighters. Anybody who can fight inside or in the pocket can also fight on the outside but the converse is false. I've never seen Jermain Taylor fight worth a plug nickel on the inside. It hasn't cost him yet because of his height, reach, overall speed and strength but it will cost him some day. It's already cost Wladimir Klitschko 3 losses, and to my disgust, instead of taking the time and making the effort to learn the inside fight game he has resorted to holding, always a strong indicator of gross incompetence in inside fighting.
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