Is blocking punches an underrated defensive maneuver in recent times?

[kingstip9]

A very valid point. Definitely under appreciated.

[Rubber Ducky]

It depends, there's a big difference from a bog standard high guard which someone like Artur Abraham utilises and someone like Winky Wright or Gassiev does. Gassiev doesn't just stand there with his hand up, he also blocks with elbows and shoulder, parries shots off his gloves, deflects blows to create opportunities to counter and also uses some head and upper body movement. Joshua does the same it's basically catching and countering.

High guard works very well against guys who throw straight punches as the defensive fighters gloves are in the way, which is why Dorticos struggled to land vs Gassiev. But Gassiev threw uppercuts and hooks to get around Dorticous' high guard, that fight was a great example of what shots work against a high guard and also the difference between a basic high guard and the catch and counter high guard.

So yes it can be underrated if you don't know the difference. But having said that the best defensive fighters use more head and upper body movement to slip shots and the use their guard to block, deflect and parry shots. Watch the Hopkins/Wright fight to see how the high guard fails against the slip and slide style of Hopkins.

[Mr Objecitivity]

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..

Yes, but there is a time and a place for everything though and trying to TOTALLY evade every punch with head or body movement is extremely disadvantageous. It can drain one's stamina, it can make their movements predictable, it can force one to be out of position and be vulnerable to getting countered and so forth so on.

Sometimes, it's much better to block than to make opponent miss every punch.

Evading punches as a counter puncher to counter punch an opponent can be viable. However, an aggressive minded boxer who focuses more on offense and more on hurting / damaging his opponents doesn't need to evade too many punches because their objective isn't to totally not get hit. But rather, to minimize the damage they take whilst maximizing damage they inflict upon their opponent.

[Mr Objecitivity]

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.

Not always true! Evasion can lead to a boxer sometimes being off balance and out of position. leaving them vulnerable to getting countered. Even boxers that have good evasive movements can easily be forced out of position from a feint or probes.

For me, it's best to evade punches when I've perfectly timed my opponent's punches and figured out their rhythm. Until then, I prefer blocking and using distance control.

[Evil_Meat]

All too often, fans in recent times over value flashy moves over effective moves. Thus, they overrate defensive boxers who rely on using extra unnecessary movements to evade punches. And the boxer performing all these extra unnecessary movement can often be at a disadvantage and not be as effective as someone who is using simpler means to defend themselves.

Meanwhile, a boxer who is blocking punches effectively and successfully, like Murat Gassiev did against Yunier Dorticos or how Gennady Golovkin does very frequently, aren't often viewed as defensive specialists and their defense gets underrated / under-valued. Even though they get hit just as less as another boxer who uses flashier, exaggerated movements to accomplish the same result (Billie Joe Saunders against David Lemieux).

As soon as I saw the title of the thread, I knew this had to be about GGG's EXTREMELY slick defense. He never gets any credit for blocking with his forehead. The Ouma fight is a perfect example. PERFECT defensive performance from GGG.

[Boxfan83]

Parrying truly is a lost art in this day & age but at the elite level I can understand y. For 1 unless it's a complete mismatch parrying isn't easy. As for blocking of course Logically it's better to take 1 on the arm than the chin but getting punched in the arms hurt. Lots of fighters have broken their hands getting punched in their hands. Also incompetent judges may see or count it as landed punches.

[Mr Objecitivity]

As soon as I saw the title of the thread, I knew this had to be about GGG's EXTREMELY slick defense. He never gets any credit for blocking with his forehead. The Ouma fight is a perfect example. PERFECT defensive performance from GGG.

I had Murat Gassiev more in my mind than Golovkin due to his recent performance against Yunier Dorticos where he showed tremendous defense through blocking and deflecting punches.

[////]

Yeah the guys who go gaga over excessive bobbing and weaving when it isn't necessary seem to consider themselves the opposite of guys who like brawlers who throw looping hooks, but it's basically the same thing. If someone doesn't really know what's going on they'll figure the guy who did the most exaggerated movements must've won.

[////]

If Doritos had the physique of Lara or Sullivan Barrera they would have broken through Gassiev’s guard. Doritos height played against him. When Doritos throws his right his arm is going downward. Lara, being shorter and more athletic, pops his right upward that sneaks between the palms of the gloves, so breaking high guards is easier.

A full sized big Middleweight Erislandy Lara would retire Arthur Abraham even in his prime.

I had to read this a few times to understand that you're actually saying Lara would have an easy time breaking through Gassiev's defense.

Not a Dorticos who fights like Lara, but an actual fighter with Lara's height and physique?... lol...

[BillyBoxing]

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

Dorticos height and lenght help him to have power.

His power come from that leverage, he has the same reach as AJ.