are short boxers wasting time with this sport? (long read)

[Larry the boss]

when i think about Margarito, Paul Williams or Kelly Pavlik i think the opposite man.

what you mean 3 former champs??

[kiDynamite92]

No offense dude but you're wrong, believe me when you've sparred and boxed your self you'll learn at the end of the day that skills pays the bills, especially things like timing. It's a funny era we live in nowadays where skills, footwork and experience is so heavily ignored and people focuss in on size, speed and power. Try sparring and then you'll know just how important things like timing are.

[SupaMexican]

what you mean 3 former champs??

For some reason they are way too tall for their respective divisions, they seem slower, and more predictible than shorter opponents.

Margarito vs Cotto 1 he won still, he took too much punishment.

Pavlik vs Martinez, Speed made the difference.


The only Tall guy for his division is Donaire, and Hopkins they were slick, fast, why this guys can't be as fast some other fighters in their divisions?

[Heru]

Short fighters are not wasting their time, but they could be fighting at a disadvantage (depending on the opponent).

That question can be asked about several aspects that can be disadvantages in boxing:

Are slow boxers wasting time with this sport?

Are feather-fisted boxers wasting time with this sport?

Are weak chinned boxers wasting time with this sport?

A short fighter can be at a height disadvantage, but if he has better, faster footwork than his taller opponent that disadvantage can become negligible.

[shadeyfizzle]

you're talking as though training will solve everything and make all men equal sorta thing. yeah, of course you can improve most attributes but some people are just better at some things than others, and worse at some too.
a jab isn't the only thing that a taller fighter uses to his advantage so just jab parrying is not the key to beating a taller fighter.
technique and tactics are key- that is why the klitschko's are so good, not just because they're big. i bet if they were both 5 inches shorter each of them, they would still be damn good boxers but that they would box in a different way.
but i still think that what you are good at and what you aren't plays an important role in deciding what weight you should box at.

But all men are equal though. Im well aware that jabbing isnt the only thing the klits do well but here's the thing everyone that boxes or ever plans to box should have scorched into their brain:

ANYTHING A FIGHTERS WORKS TO DO WELL MAKES THEM VULNERABLE IN ANOTHER AREA!!!

the klitchkos for example since thats the example we've already been working with....do alot of things well. They have excellent jabs, they use their height, good power, wlad has an underrated left hook.

Buuuuttttt.....

They're very methodical and not very good at mixing it up.
They dont have particularly quick feet because of their wide stance
They're very stationary targets with very little head movement
Once you get past the reach they're vulnerable to the body.


This one is more personal speculation but I dont think their cardio is great and someone could push the pace on them.

So they're not invincible or have any unfair genetic size advantages. Their flaws are very plain to see. Noone has been able to take advantage of their flaws in a long time though. But that has more to do with what their opponents do well just isnt made to take advantage of the klits flaws than any size advantage.

[..David..]

I did read most of the thread and as many

I disagree ... I fight and i am short and i have done pretty well against taller opponents than me.

If you really are a midget against a huge guy then well maybe yeah you are wasting your time.

But if you are average kind of short u have a shot against anyone... disadvantage well maybe yeah on the outside, but on the inside the advantage goes to the short one so... as everything else in life there are pros and cons.

[Verstyle]

I personally think smaller fighters as my self have an advantage...it's hard to hit what you can't see under you... bend knees and explode up.

[chiguy91]

Short fighters are not wasting their time, but they could be fighting at a disadvantage (depending on the opponent).

That question can be asked about several aspects that can be disadvantages in boxing:

Are slow boxers wasting time with this sport?

Are feather-fisted boxers wasting time with this sport?

Are weak chinned boxers wasting time with this sport?

A short fighter can be at a height disadvantage, but if he has better, faster footwork than his taller opponent that disadvantage can become negligible.

yeah, i pretty much agree with this. fighters come in all shapes and sizes, depending on what weight you're fighting at, you just gotta be prepared to fight any kind of opponent that can be put in front of you.

I personally think smaller fighters as my self have an advantage...it's hard to hit what you can't see under you... bend knees and explode up.

can't green you right now, but i like how you said it man. nice, i agree with this as well.

[Steven Adams]

I disagree. Size and length isnt the problem here. Its speed and technique.

So what if taller fighter has reach?? A simple parry oughtta fix his jab happiness.

The lankier a fighter is the more dangerous it becomes for them to throw looping hooks and uppercuts and overhands.

So if a shorter fighter doesnt have the speed to take advantage of openings angles and parries provide then its a training issue as opposed to some inherent genetic issue.

this...

i think height is a perceived advantage and not necessarily the be all in the heavyweight division.

Like fizzle says here, its technique and know how. id also say general fitness.. these sloppy 5'11 - 6'1 HWs aint training like their peers of yesteryear

[bdawg56kg]

I boxed for about a year and a half and was shorter than most guys I sparred with. I wouldn't say it is wasting time, but at least starting out, fighting small is definitely harder to learn. It is much easier to learn how to stick and move and throw the occasional right hand left hook, rather than cut off the ring, slip, close distance, then counter. Punching is the easy part. The hard part is moving your head and closing distance with your feet before your opponent gets away.