How can I beat this guy?

[AaronJW]

I've been boxing for 1 year, but don't have much experience with sparring.
On Sunday I'm joining a little competition where I'll go 2 rounds against a guy from another gym. The rounds are only half-rounds of 1 minute 30 secs. 16oz gloves, headgear and cup.

Unfortunately I've had a cold since Monday night- hopefully it'll be OK by Sunday but I'm not sure how much training I can get in before then.

My opponent is a guy who I think is a little older than me (I'm 31), but lighter. I'm about 70kg and I heard he was around 67kg. I didn't realize until I watched the DVD but he won the tournament last year. I remember watching him and being impressed by how easily he dominated the opponent, and I voted for him.

My opponent is this guy in the black headgear:
https://********/eOFDML1gIUk

Looking at this video my first thought was the guy in the white headgear looks pretty bad- but maybe he's being made to look bad because of his opponent. Perhaps the same thing would happen to me if he goes forward as aggressively as he did in the video. I haven't really been in that situation.
In the second round he seems to change the pace- maybe because he was tired, or perhaps he just wanted to let the other guy box more.


I also sparred against him a few weeks back, and kinda got beaten.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKfhCsOr-BA
I'm in the black headgear.
1. You can see how he connects with his punches a lot more than me. In fact I counted about 17 good punches he landed on me (although some when I was trying to adjust my headgear), and I didn't really get him at all. Maybe right at the very end.
2. Usually I move forward and cut off the ring, forcing my opponent onto the ropes but didn't do that this time. Whether it was because I couldn't or I forgot, I can't remember, although I don't recall trying to cut him off and force him back.
3. At around the 1:02 mark I start forcing him back with jabs, which is good, but I fail to capitalize- in fact, he nimbly dodges one of my punches and immediately counteracts with a flurry which flusters me somewhat.


The way I see it, my advantages are:

1. I'm heavier than him.
2. Maybe tougher and stronger.
3. I have a good jab.
4. If I can cut off the ring and keep putting the pressure on him he might not know how to react to that.

My disadvantages are:

1. He's at least twice as experienced as me, plus he's boxed at the tournament at least once before.
2. He's quicker and moves more, whereas I'm quite slow and clumsy.
3. He's more accurate and has a wider repertoire of punches.
4. Psychologically he may have the upper hand because I'm not so confident about facing him, especially after the sparring session.


What do you think? Needless to say I really want to win.
I've already had some advice:

Counter his jab with the right cross. He brings his left back low and he isn't quick enough to parry at least not every right. Keep throwing that right and you are going to break him down and get through.

I just hope I can get over this cold ASAP.

[*TonyMontana*]

Simple things I saw from the you sparring him....impose that jab like you mean it....when you jabbed stepping forward u connected on him...when you jabbed standing still you didn't connect...throw it with intention...I don't think he liked your right hand at the end so set him up with the jab if you connect throw a right hard as you can at his head....you need confidence,even bluff him show him no respect make it your ring not his

[i_am_a_champ]

Hes alot more experienced.

Hes timing you and controlling you with feints and jabs.
Hes the busier fighter. He almost doubled the punches you threw.

You were throwing mainly single jabs upstairs.

It got predictable for him so he was timing those jabs, parrying and countering, ducking under and countering.



Hes alot more experienced in his movements and general balance.

1) double and triple fast jabs. They have to be fast so he cannot parry the first or second onr and come back with his own jab like he does

2) Feint a lot more so hes out of position with hus head movement and attack the bidy tyen come up stairs

3) head body head will really push him back to the ropes. He wont know what to do.

4) let ur hands go and throw a lot more.

5) you need to be on ur toes, in n out like he did at the beggining of the round. More head movement. Dont be a stationary target

[Redd Foxx]

I briefly watched the video of you sparring him and, right off the bat, noticed his footwork issues. He's got a lot of movement, which is great, but he's not solid. He's hopping around and both feet are frequently off the ground at once. Look how wide his stance gets. When I used to do that, my coach would just take one step to my right and nudge me with his shoulder to show me how off-balance I was. If you can step to the left and throw he'll have trouble keeping balance, even if he blocks because his feet are a mile apart. Don't get tangled up yourself though. Rehearse this stuff and use solid footwork and solid shots to throw him off.

He's relying on the fact that you have no movement other than pivoting or following him. That's why he's getting away with that. Cut to the right, right up against him, and throw a straight right over his shoulder, follow w/ a left hook and get out.

The other I'd do is a little more complicated but slide your left foot in front of him (90* to his stance) and make sure your foot is pointing at him because you're going to throw a left hook and use the momentum swing your right foot behind you to regain your stance. Now, you're facing his weak point (because you're squared w/ him and his stance is too wide) so quickly bomb a straight right on him before he corrects his stance. Like I said, it's more advanced because balance is critical but I'm just throwing out ideas.

There's other things you can do but the fundamental thing that's screaming at me is taking advantage of his footwork mistakes. EDIT; I just watched the other video of him in the amateur fight and holy shyt, that's horrendous footwork. He's hopping on one leg, squaring up, leaning with his head far past his knees. This guy is going to get clowned if you can stay composed and focus on using your balance and feet overcome. He'll get desperate like in that fight vid, and all you have to do is footwork to get out of his way and pop him when he's flailing and regaining his balance.

Let us know how it goes.

[*TonyMontana*]

If all else fails..,go Tyson on his ears

[Zaroku]

I've been boxing for 1 year, but don't have much experience with sparring.
On Sunday I'm joining a little competition where I'll go 2 rounds against a guy from another gym. The rounds are only half-rounds of 1 minute 30 secs. 16oz gloves, headgear and cup.

Unfortunately I've had a cold since Monday night- hopefully it'll be OK by Sunday but I'm not sure how much training I can get in before then.

My opponent is a guy who I think is a little older than me (I'm 31), but lighter. I'm about 70kg and I heard he was around 67kg. I didn't realize until I watched the DVD but he won the tournament last year. I remember watching him and being impressed by how easily he dominated the opponent, and I voted for him.

My opponent is this guy in the black headgear:
https://********/eOFDML1gIUk

Looking at this video my first thought was the guy in the white headgear looks pretty bad- but maybe he's being made to look bad because of his opponent. Perhaps the same thing would happen to me if he goes forward as aggressively as he did in the video. I haven't really been in that situation.
In the second round he seems to change the pace- maybe because he was tired, or perhaps he just wanted to let the other guy box more.


I also sparred against him a few weeks back, and kinda got beaten.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKfhCsOr-BA
I'm in the black headgear.
1. You can see how he connects with his punches a lot more than me. In fact I counted about 17 good punches he landed on me (although some when I was trying to adjust my headgear), and I didn't really get him at all. Maybe right at the very end.
2. Usually I move forward and cut off the ring, forcing my opponent onto the ropes but didn't do that this time. Whether it was because I couldn't or I forgot, I can't remember, although I don't recall trying to cut him off and force him back.
3. At around the 1:02 mark I start forcing him back with jabs, which is good, but I fail to capitalize- in fact, he nimbly dodges one of my punches and immediately counteracts with a flurry which flusters me somewhat.


The way I see it, my advantages are:

1. I'm heavier than him.
2. Maybe tougher and stronger.
3. I have a good jab.
4. If I can cut off the ring and keep putting the pressure on him he might not know how to react to that.

My disadvantages are:

1. He's at least twice as experienced as me, plus he's boxed at the tournament at least once before.
2. He's quicker and moves more, whereas I'm quite slow and clumsy.
3. He's more accurate and has a wider repertoire of punches.
4. Psychologically he may have the upper hand because I'm not so confident about facing him, especially after the sparring session.


What do you think? Needless to say I really want to win.
I've already had some advice:



I just hope I can get over this cold ASAP.

Where in Japan do you live? I can give you pointers in person if you are in Tokyo.

[AaronJW]

Simple things I saw from the you sparring him....impose that jab like you mean it....when you jabbed stepping forward u connected on him...when you jabbed standing still you didn't connect...throw it with intention...I don't think he liked your right hand at the end so set him up with the jab if you connect throw a right hard as you can at his head....you need confidence,even bluff him show him no respect make it your ring not his

Thanks for the advice! I'll try that

[AaronJW]

Hes alot more experienced.

Hes timing you and controlling you with feints and jabs.
Hes the busier fighter. He almost doubled the punches you threw.

You were throwing mainly single jabs upstairs.

It got predictable for him so he was timing those jabs, parrying and countering, ducking under and countering.

Thanks.
What can I do in case the fight on Sunday turns out to be a re-run of the sparring session? i.e. the exact same thing happens and he starts timing my jabs, parrying etc? Should I aim to be unpredictable by mixing it up with head and body shots, multiple jabs, and feints and changes in speed and rhythm?

[AaronJW]

I briefly watched the video of you sparring him and, right off the bat, noticed his footwork issues. He's got a lot of movement, which is great, but he's not solid. He's hopping around and both feet are frequently off the ground at once. Look how wide his stance gets. When I used to do that, my coach would just take one step to my right and nudge me with his shoulder to show me how off-balance I was. If you can step to the left and throw he'll have trouble keeping balance, even if he blocks because his feet are a mile apart. Don't get tangled up yourself though. Rehearse this stuff and use solid footwork and solid shots to throw him off.

Thanks for all the advice. I'll keep it in mind, about footwork out-positioning him, but unfortunately I don't think I'll have any time to practice it because of my condition right now. I was hoping to go to the gym today but still feel sick, so the way it's going I'll be lucky if I can go to the gym tomorrow.

As for the video of him from last year, I noticed the same thing about his poor footwork, but that was last year! I think he's improved a lot since then.

[AaronJW]

Where in Japan do you live? I can give you pointers in person if you are in Tokyo.

Thanks a lot. I'm in Tokyo too, but unfortunately I won't have any time until after the match.