Is blocking punches an underrated defensive maneuver in recent times?

[DuckAdonis]

Yes very much so...it doesnt look as impressive as slipping and dodging punches but often it is way more effective. You dont burn as much energy and you keep a clean sight of what is happening.

Gassievs defense for example was great against Dorticos...i'd say he blocked around 70% of Dorticos shots with his gloves last night.

[j0zef]

This thread makes me laugh. There were some folks in the RBR thread yesterday saying how impressed they were with Gassiev's defense, how subtle and effective it is.. after spending the last 3 yeas flaming Golovkin for doing the same thing but much better.

But yeah, absolutely. Trust in your chin and don't get hit clean is a viable, powerful defensive tactic. It allows you to concentrate mostly on offense and preserves your stamina.

[boliodogs]

I think it is. All the praise seems to go to head movement and slipping punches rather than just blocking them with gloves or shoulders or elbows. Fists move faster than heads.

[GhostofDempsey]

So long as you don't pull a Joshua Clottey and stand their with your earmuffs on for 12 rounds without throwing anything back, the way he did against Pac.

Khan should learn how to block punches with his arms instead of his chin.

[Ray*]

Apart from blocking punches with your face AKA Margarito then yes it is an underrated art of the sport, bob and weave, shoulder roll, parrying etc are part of the art of this sport that I love.

[Robbie Barrett]

Making them miss is more impressive than blocking it's not even an argument. You still take damage blocking punches, making them miss also takes far more out of the oppoonent..

['b']

Voted yes - but I would rather call it 'un-noticed' by the judges rather than being underrated. The fact is many judges reveal themselves to be incompetent, corrupt, lazy (texting on phones during rounds etc.) and so can you really expect them to see where the gloves hit?

The crowd cheers when their fighter 'hits' their opponent, nevermind if it hit 100% glove or the damage was minimised 80% by hitting mostly glove.

[ShoulderRoll]

It's better to see a guy block than to catch punches with his face.

However, Jack Dempsey in his book "Championship Fighting" talked about the hierarchy of defense. And blocking was the least preferable defensive technique. Deflecting/parrying was considered superior. While evasion (slipping, bobbing, footwork, pulling away) was the king and most preferable...because it left both hands free to counterpunch.

There are levels to this boxing game.

[Morrie ATG]

IF
IF
IF

Then if Dorticos had the power of Lara, he would have been koed in 4 rounds.

Dorticos is 95% KO for a reason.

Erislandy Lara has faced many hard hitting 154 punchers. I specifically wrote that Lara is shorter than a lot of his competition and strikes upward, similar to the way Rigo pot shots upward busting through guards. Doritos is tall, that was against him, and he has to throw downward towards the guard. That's where all the glove cushion protects the fighters guard, whereas the shorter guys can sneak their shots between the palms and wrists of the high guard and landing on the nose and mouth. There were times where Doritos landed through Gassiev's guard.

Doritos has a nice KO ratio because there isn't a formidable style against a Cuban at Cruiser. The Doritos bout last night was great. Gassiev looked great

[Larry the boss]

Charlo blocking a 1,2 combo ( same hand)then countering with a Check hook ( same hand)was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

Very beautiful