How Terence Crawford Stole Postol's Jab

**The Fight Geek** · 07-25-2016, 10:09 PM

The Merry Go Round Can Be An Unforgiving Ride

Shutting down the jab is the most obvious route to victory against Postol, but it is easier said than done. The man is a volume puncher and throws no shortage of his favorite weapon � and after he has established the range via the 1, he will begin to follow it up with any number of punches. But what happens when Postol is unable to establish his principle weapon? That is the question that Crawford hypothesized, and we found out the answer this Saturday night. As it turns out, Postol�s inability to utilize the jab resulted in his offense stagnating completely. Everything was built off this fundamental. The ability to touch the opponent. To feel the range. To break their rhythm. Without that, Postol was reduced to some strange shell of a fighter that we hadn�t seen prior. But how exactly was Crawford able to accomplish this?

First and foremost it was his movement. Viktor Postol has excellent footwork and generally uses this to stay on the outside where he likes to pick his opponents apart at range, as he usually enjoys a considerable reach advantage. However, despite having the usual luxury in terms of reach, he did not win the battle of footwork on this particular night. Not by a long shot. In fact, if any one component of the fight could be said to be the difference maker, it very well might be the obvious disparity between the quality of movement among the two. Crawford spent much of the fight circling left and then right, never committing to any one side, keeping his opponent guessing, achieving superior angles, and firing off counter shots when appropriate. This did a few things.

Firstly, it drew Viktor Postol out and forced him to chase. As noted before, Postol often likes to counter. Crawford�s refusal to lead, when combined with the subsequent footwork, forced Postol�s hand and put him in a situation where he had to chase him. This is a classic situation of a fighter being extremely proficient in one area of the fight only to be forced into an area of fighting that falls outside of his comfort zone. Just like a boxer can be a master of long range fighting but fail miserably on the inside, so too can a counter puncher be befuddled when dropped into circumstances that see him chasing, pursuing, and leading the dance all while on the front foot. Meanwhile Crawford is extremely comfortable fighting off of the back foot and often thrives in doing so. It is also important to note that when you are constantly moving forward your feet are never set. And if your feet aren�t set, that means you aren�t throwing punches. You could see the result of this as Postol attempted to walk his opponent down only to push his jabbing hand forward with no real gusto, often extending it but rarely firing it. This was the first step in taking away the jab.

Secondly, Crawford never committed to circling to any one side. He explored a variety of angles, often bumping to the outside to hit the 1-2 or the straight left down the pipe via the dominant angle after slipping the jab, only to circle back to the inside after a period of time. This made him extremely unpredictable and kept Postol guessing, further disallowing him to set his feet in order to jab. More so, Crawford�s refusal to stay off the center-line made it incredibly difficult to substantiate any sort of linear-based attack, which makes up the bulk of Postol�s offensive arsenal. Not only was Crawford forcing his opponent's hand in putting him in a leading situation which had him initially uncomfortable, but he was also stacking the odds in his own favor by creating circumstances that would make it very difficult for his opponent to lead effectively to begin with.

**The Fight Geek** · 07-25-2016, 10:10 PM

Now as we very well know, fighting is a two-way street. Just as there was a remedy to shut down the jab, so too is there a solution for the movement of Crawford. Movement counters movement. However, it takes the right kind of movement to address the problems that were being presented by the elusive, quick-footed Omaha native. Crawford spent most of his time well on the outside away from punching range until he decided he wanted to engage. This meant that Postol could only mount an offensive on Crawford�s terms. As a result, he found himself stepping forward, trying to close the distance to long or mid-range where he could start being effective. The problem with a linear route of pursuit, however, lies in the fact that it allows your opponent to circle out and re-establish the distance. Postol did this over and over again all night, following his opponent around the ring, failing to corner him for any significant period of time. As tempting as it is when an opponent is dancing away and evading you, pushing directly into them is actually the worst thing you can do. Employing lateral movement by stepping to the same side as them is by far the easiest and most effective method of cutting the ring off. This was the tactic that could have turned the fight around for Postol, and it was the in-ring adjustment that was con****uously absent.

Here the brilliant boxing analyst Lee Wylie shows some wonderful examples of boxers cutting off the ring:

Boxing: Short Studies (Cutting off the Ring)

Another interesting fact to note is that Crawford is a switch hitter. One of the most fascinating things about his style is his noted ability to fight extremely well in either the orthodox or southpaw stance. In this fight we saw him fight almost exclusively southpaw, and that is for good reason. It is well noted that jabbing tends to be much less effective against southpaws due to the lead hands being lined up in this position, thus decreasing the amount of distance for what is inherently a long-range attack and placing it in a position where it is more easily blocked or parried by the opposing lead hand. When you couple this with Crawford�s movement and Postol�s inability to cut off the ring, then it becomes obvious why this contest got out of hand quickly.

**The Fight Geek** · 07-25-2016, 10:11 PM

Terence Crawford Has Arrived

All in all, Crawford was just too varied in his attack for his opponent to deal with. Postol has a few extremely effective tools in his arsenal, however, when those tools were negated by way of an utterly brilliant strategy executed to a tee, it was shown that the game as a whole suffered tremendously. Without the jab through which his entire offense is predicated on, no combos shall follow. Take away that jab, and that vaunted straight right will cease to exist. This left one man with little options, and the other with more than plenty. One boxer proved to be a master of the adjustment, modifying nuances in his style to gain incremental advantages until they all piled up. The other boxer remained unable to adjust in his approach and paid the consequences.

If you had only seen Viktor Postol fight this past Saturday, you might call him overrated. You might have worse things to say about him, even. But the fact remains that he is without a doubt the second best boxer in the world at 140 lbs. The only problem? The best boxer in that weight class is the best by a mile. Postol is a good fighter, but Terence Crawford made the argument for greatness. Can he solidify that argument with a shot against Manny Pacquiao potentially looming in September? Only time will tell. But I sure am excited to find out.

**buge** · 07-25-2016, 11:25 PM

the fight was too boring to care about your article, sorry

**The Fight Geek** · 07-25-2016, 11:31 PM

Originally posted by buge

the fight was too boring to care about your article, sorry

hahaha No worries, I know a lot of people didn't care for the fight.

How Terence Crawford Stole Postol's Jab