Sean is 6’ 1” 205, looks like an action hero. He is stuck in heavyweight as a boxer with kickboxer hand power—he’s not got one shot power in that division. Sean has trouble finding sparring partners that can hang with his high level of condition. It is my goal to turn his conditioning into his KO weapon, by applying pressure.
Paul is 5’ 10” 185, what used to be a small heavyweight. These days that’s the cruiser weight division. Paul spars twice a week at a gym where he is thrown in the ring with teenagers much taller than him, of races with notoriously low empathy scores.
Neither man is tall for his weight class. Last week they both asked me for a style assessment to increase their effectiveness with fists. I have arrived at the same opinion for both of them, that they have gotten as good as they are going to get on the outside and that they need to start mugging their training partners and opponents.
Paul is going to fight, taller, younger men. Sean will either be fighting shorter, heavier, bum rush heavyweights or giants. The former he can handle now. The latter would put him in trouble. He began with me at 160 pounds as a kicker. Then, it was about him jabbing and controlling range. He can do that now. As a blue corner coach, I’m a ninny and mostly worried about them getting hurt. The answer for both is the same—don’t stay on the outside. That is obvious for Paul.
For Sean, staying on the outside against a 6’ 6” monster is no good. It is not the odds on event. The more likely guy, the six foot fatty, is, however dangerous when you force him to bum rush. After the first round proves how thick his head is and his blubber prevents winding him with body shots, and we find that he probably hits harder, and his condition is an issue, he will be told to rush. I suggest letting him in and taking side control. This has you working the same thing that will be your only option against the occasional giant.
Paul, likewise needs to do this. Sean’s partners can’t get in on him unless he lets them. Paul can now get in to punching range but does not stay in and lets his man restore range. We come down to the same issue. You fellows need to work on baiting your man forward, and entering to his side as he takes the bait—then staying there, mugging him, working him over, hitting the solar plexus with one hand and the spine with the other. [1]
Some technical tips on muggings in the ring.
You both get good results with the high blind jab.
Now start doing a high blind rear hand. Sean, the southpaw, work from both sides, as there are more of you evil lefties than their used to be.
Bag Combo Drill
Step back and side to side with a blind jab, one, two or three punches at his eyes, to bait him in. Use this as the non contact overture to hitting the bag, varying which jab makes him take the bait and move in.
When he takes the bait, throw a high rear straight with ¾ fist, not thumb up and not palm down, but a hybrid. This is ideal for hitting the forehead and brows without jamming or stretching you wrist. This punch is thrown with a pass step, as if you were stepping in with the lead foot behind a jab. Since you have missed the bag from out of range and it is just hanging their, you need to take this step to barely hit the bag. Be careful turning this into a lunge unless you are a southpaw. You are jabbing with the rear hand.
Making the rear hand jab work from out of range is a neat trap. You cannot spring this trap if you keep your feet too far apart. Practice boxing on the outside with your feet under your hips, not your shoulders. The closer the feet are the more unstable you are, the weaker you look, but the more coiled range and power you have. If you mess up the timing you eat it. So you must drill this a lot. We will work on live drills in October.
Once you have stepped and dragged in with a rear hand straight to the eyes:
-shovel hook to his body
-drop a sneaky right on his chin
-step behind him [this is were the feet separate]
-and work hooks form both hands up the spine and center line.
Now, stay on this bag for two more combinations and kill it.
Use wing blocks to trap the bag with both hands and step around it, always getting behind it—make him turn.
For both of you men, once you have gotten inside against your toughest adversary, the taller man who is younger, quicker and might hit harder, you must not let him out of the wheel house. Think like a hunter. Once you spring a trap against a hunter you have to keep on the pressure.
Sequence
1st, 2nd, or 3rd feinted #1 behind evasive foot work
#2 Step and drag in behind a high ¾ fist
#3 shovel
#2 sneaky [or a philly hook from rear hand, depending on space and angle]
#3 philly
#2 sneaky
Once you throw and land a rear hand while mugging him, get deeper behind him with a pivot or step or check and dig another combination.
wing block while stepping behind
repeat
wing block while pivoting
repeat
Do a round of this feint and mug sequence.
Then do a pressure round, where you do this sequence and never let up, just keep mugging that bag, pivoting, wing blocking, stepping behind, vertical [not extended] palm checking to shoulder, stepping around, hip checking, pivoting around, checking the bag with your forehead and shoulder as well.
Get some women or children to hit you with gloves while you practice the mugging aspect of the hip, shoulder check and elbow check with the wing block.
Practice corning drills, in and out.
Ideally, you men should be able to use pressure tactics like this to wear down harder hitting and less conditioned men. Getting inside on a power hitter and staying their really stresses them, as most of them have their power on the end of their punches.
If need be use a shuffle step backwards to set this up. If you are a southpaw with a kicking background, you can effect the pass entry like this also—Paul, don’t even think about it!
Paul, you should practice shifting to southpaw to keep on top of your man. Look at Haggler hunting down Hearnes for the foot work.
Sean, use the U-hustle out front for bait as well, especially when boxing orthodox.
Notes
-1. Max Schmelling beat Joe Lewis with a hook to the spine, which broke a bone.
