Who can I learn from?

[kamran]

Hey guys,

I'm a 21 year old guy, 5"10 and 72kg (roughly 158lbs).

I'm a fit guy, I throw a fast jab (i stand regular stance), I can hit pretty hard with my right, but that is all based on hitting the bag. I stepped into "the ring" (it wasnt actually a ring.lol, more of an open space in a gym) for a sparring session, and altho I held my own pretty well, I found a few things pretty strange and hence difficult.

My jab was quick and hard, but it was mostly blocked. and even if it wasnt blocked, im not sure if it would always have reached. is this cos im standing too far back?

Hooks. how the bloody hell do you do them effectively? I see mayweather and co land them on the button every time! and even after training on the bag for so long, i barely landed a decent hook. any advice?

Finally, I panic a bit when I'm on the back foot. When he's coming at me pretty fast, is it best to step into him and hold (Hatton-esque) or should I backpedal and try to get out of the way (though bear in mind he tended just to follow me so it didnt always work).

Finally finally, I really wanna learn by watching great fighters fight. Can you guys reccommend fighters and possibly certain individual fights that I could study and learn something from? (also bear in mind I'm 158lbs, which is pretty much a middleweight, so watching a lightweight or someone like Manny Pacquiao wouldnt really be a fair reflection!)

At the moment, I do enjoy watching Mayweather, Hatton and Calzaghe, but are there any other fights or fighter you'd reccommend I study?

thanks a lot guys, really appreciate it

[Chris46]

Ok, i had the same problem with the hooks, keep sparring and it'll come to you, throw your jab out and if he blocks throw a hook and it should connect, it wont every time obviously but it will come to you eventualy. its up to you what you do wen hes coming at you, everyone has there different ways with dealing with it. i like to side step away from there right hook and try and jab or hook them. it's whatever works for you. after youve sparred a bit more everything will fall in place.

[me2007]

personally to land a jab i`ll jab when my opponent has jabbed and i`ve moved. Try double jabbing also to set up a back hand or hook.

the most difficutl thing to master in boxing imo is timing and range...learning to throw a hook or jab is quite easy, learning to make them hit their target against an oppo is hard at first.

Try wroking on drawing and feignting(sp?) Draw your opponent into throwing a punch by purposefully leaving a gap for him to go for, then you can move and counter when he's open.

ANother technique is to set yourself up as if your going to throw a certain punch and throw something totally different.

Of course these two things will eventuall happen split seconds, but you might want to practice in sparring more slowly.

If your oppo is coming at you you can either tie him up if he's an inside fighter, thus nullifying his main form of attack, or you can simply cover up if he's an outside slick type fighter...and counter his shots if you can... he will leave openings

Personally i think you should just tie him up and break.

[kamran]

thanks a lot guys that was really useful.

I'm certainly an outside fighter. and this guy was inside. I really enjoyed stiff jabbing which kept him at bay, but that got pretty tired and I felt like that I wouldnt really gain aything by simply jabbing all night long, so i did vary it up, but as you guys rightly said, accuracy will come with ring experience.

In the future I think I would certainly tie him up when he comes, OR try and side step it, but again, it'l come with practice. I did that successfully once and it felt pretty sweet. but on other occasions I cocked it up and took a body shot. lol.

one last thing, should I be moving (ie foot movement) as soon as ive thrown a set of punches? lets say I jab, straight right, left hook, should i then skip around to the other side? obviously it depends on the circumstance, but is that common practice really? I thought it'd be useful cos it'd present a moving target right?

Cheers

[leff]

punchshyness well probabaly heal overt time, it easy to say but still get a good trainer and hell teach you the stuff

[Stromprophet]

Look around town for a good trainer.

A lot of older guys are getting into boxing these days, watching Friday Night Fights and some of these guys didn't start till they were 26 or 27.

Look for a good rate too, don't pay too much.

I like to hook off of a double jab. Or a hook feint and then hook with your other fist upstairs or downstairs.

I've been integrating a lot of interesting feints recently.

You're about the same build as me. I'm 5'10 1/2 157. I'm targeting 147, I throw really long jabs and straights but I'm also a brawler, I would fight close range.

[me2007]

one last thing, should I be moving (ie foot movement) as soon as ive thrown a set of punches? lets say I jab, straight right, left hook, should i then skip around to the other side? obviously it depends on the circumstance, but is that common practice really? I thought it'd be useful cos it'd present a moving target right?
Cheers

always stay on the balls of your feet, after you`ve throw the punches, side step, move back or circle...

i tend to always tip tap the balls of my feet on the ground...if you do this you can always stay outside of your oppo's punching range by half a step, but rapidly closing in to punish him with a counter when it falls short.

unless your a catcher, you`ll want to always be moving...make sure you are in tip top condition though, one round of correct technique will kill you...well it did to me anyway when i started.