Rhythm Boxing

You reach, I teach - Tank Davis vs Mario Barrios

SLIDE 1

This is the artist formerly known as Gervonta "Tank" Davis.  He now goes by Abdul Wahid after a recent conversion to Islam. I learned not to deadname people when a prime and angry Muhammad Ali nearly blinded Ernie Terrel over it. A fighter by any other name is still as savage. And Tank is the newest design of a classic style.

He stands just 5'5". Making him the shorter man in almost every fight. Tank's style is a case study of the two sides of the southpaw. Tank has to close the distance to land on every opponent. He uses a layered  defense to keep himself safe and his outrageous power and speed to make the most of his offensive opportunities when they come.     
He's here to chase a championship in his 3rd weight class. Quickly scaling the pound for pound lists and looking to knockout another bigger man.   

SLIDE 2

 His opponent is Mario Barrios. Ironically playing the role of Luigi in this match up.

At just 140lbs Mario stands 5'10" and he'll also have several inches of reach on Tank. He tends to be a busy fighter using his excellent chin, cardio and combination punching to break opponents down over the distance. For his height Barrios has shown an excellent body attack that has seen him end fights with liver shots before.

As the champion at 140lbs he hopes to hold his against the pound for pound superstar. Cement a legacy for himself as one of the top fighters in the sport. If he wants to make his mark and go from champion to superstar. Tonight is the night to do it.

SLIDE 3

Tanks stocky build almost always means he’s the shorter man. This means the only safe place for Tank to be is way out at range. Past the very end of Barrios' long reach.  Needless to say, while tank is safe at long range, he can’t really reach Barrios either. It becomes a fight centered around patience. By keeping the distance long Barrios has to take the step in to throw anything. The step in becomes its own telegraph of offensive intent. It’s a signal for Tank to go on defense.

This is the trick to tank. He wants you working. He wants opponents throwing from long range. His reflexes and defensive acumen are top notch. The earlier on he can get you to work the more he can take his time and pick his spots to snipe.

Tank’s grasp of rhythm takes no time to make itself known. While conventional wisdom says it’s important for the taller man to establish the jab, this can be nearly impossible against the southpaw for reasons we’ll get into later.

 Against a Lefty it's the lead right hand that often does the damage. While Barrios is working from range, Tank picks up on his pattern. Barrios keeps feinting a jab to the head before dropping his center of gravity down for a body jab. Problem was Tank caught the timing on the jab feint. Threw a hook that comes over the top, catching Barrios as he drops his hand. We'll get into that too. 

SLIDE 4

For a short southpaw his offense relies heavily on the left hand. The straight left hand is far and away his longest and most powerful punch. The straight still requires getting close enough to land on the taller man. Tank steps in with a jab that Barrios ducks under and he comes up chasing Tank out of the pocket with punches. Tank gives enough ground to get to safety then steps out to his left to regain ring center. Tank tries to take Barrios head off with a left hand that falls short.

But the key to this sequence is in the feet. The mirrored nature of the Southpaw vs orthodox stance means that each man has the lead foot forward on the same side. This means in order for Tank to land he must find a way to step around that lead foot to get close enough to follow through on a power punch.

Stepping around to the outside of the ankle ( as tank does here) is called lead foot dominance. Since this step outside lines up the power hand of whichever fighter manages to get this position. When the ankles cross between a southpaw and orthodox fighter is when the damage is done.

Even still Tank’s  left falls short. While Barrios can try to counter back, Tank makes himself an impossible target by leaning hard off over his right leg, keeping out of the path of Barrios return fire.

SLIDE 5

The shorter fighter is almost always going to have to be the more defensively responsible one. The advantage of a taller man is it allows you to throw before your opponent can with the possibility of actually landing.  Maintaining  that distance means free punches and backing up is free real estate until you hit the ropes. Even at his perfect distance the tall fighter is still limited to throwing long, straight punches that can just about reach. His opponent hanging out at the end of his reach can narrow down the type of punch coming at him making it easier to defend.

Tank is largely able to negate the jab by smothering the lead hand. He keeps his hand on the line that Barrios jab will come from. Basically the lead hand being on the same line means the same as the feet. If you want to land as the shorter man it means finding a way around it.  Tank loves playing games with the lead hand constantly adjusting up and down to distract Mario and get him focused on it. When Tank thinks he’s got Mario’s attention on the lead hand he steps in low with a hard left straight. We’ll look at in slow mo.

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10 months ago | [YT] | 179

Rhythm Boxing

A Physical Dialogue: Ward vs Kovalev

Slide 1

A tough closely contested fight between two of the best fighters in the game in 2016. I for one was very excited to see this rematch and finally determine who the best pound for pound boxer in the world is at the time.

Andre "S.O.G" Ward

This former Olympic gold medalist is for many the heir apparent to Floyd Mayweather as best fighter in the sport. Since Floyd retired Andre is hell bent on proving it. Outside the ring he's a quiet, religious, family man and aside from his appearance in the latest Rocky movie he has kept a pretty low profile. But inside the ring he's beaten fighter after fighter with his mauling inside game and slick defense. But like debate, a boxer is only as impressive as his opponents abilities. It's hard to take a guy seriously as a great, if they've only beaten no hoppers and cab drivers. Andre needs a great opponent to show how great he truly is. Enter...

Slide 2

Sergey "Krusher" Kovalev

This unbeaten Russian knockout machine tore through the light heavyweight division. But he has his own tragic story to tell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Okjr5.... He killed fighter Roman Simikov. Most fighters who have killed their opponent are never quite the same after. Even all-time greats Sugar Ray Robinson and Emile Griffith lost that finishing instinct after such a tragedy. But not this guy. After making the tough decision to continue fighting he went on to knock out his next 8 opponents. He goes into every fight carrying Roman's ghost on his shoulders. Kovalev just uses this as fuel for his fire. He said "I will be champion, for me and for him" He's ranked # 3 pound for pound in the sport, and is in the light blue trunks.

Slide 3

Smothering the inside fighter

Ward is well known for his creative inside fighting and excellent ability to free his hands to land punches. But Kovalev is clearly well prepared for that. Ward uses a body jab to duck in low. Kovalev immediately gets an arm around his head and underneath his far side arm. Wrestlers call this a "Stockade". This position allows Kovalev to smother Ward's offense and gives him the ability to force Ward to carry his weight. This is a very taxing position for Ward as he has no offense from there and has to work hard to escape.

Slide 4

Timing creates a collision

Kovalev starts to figure out Ward's timing a bit here. Every fighter has a certain pace they like to work at, once you figure out this pace you can get a good idea as to when they intend to throw next. If you can predict your opponent's timing you can act to disturb it and catch them with clean effective punches as they step in. Kovalev's reach advantage allows him to punch through his target when Ward can just barely touch him. If you can connect with them the moment they step in even a jab can become a power punch. Kovalev has serious power as is and this perfectly timed counter jab is enough to rock Ward. Ward clinches to avoid taking any more follow up punches and once again Kovalev goes to that physically taxing stockade.

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10 months ago | [YT] | 132

Rhythm Boxing

Very Feel - Usyk vs Fury recap

It took decades and Saudi oil money but boxing finally has something it was supposed to have all along. A unified undisputed heavyweight champion. A single fighter we can point to as the best of this era. For now at least that man is a stoic Ukrainian southpaw named Oleksander Usyk.

He took no shortcuts on his unstoppable rise. Coming up through the deeply competitive amateur system in Ukraine which produced the two headed monster that ran the heavyweight division in those lost years between Lennox Lewis and the current era big 4. While it’s hard to blame the brothers Klitschko for an unwillingness to fight with the vicious sincerity a Championship fight requires, their dominance destroyed any hope for a unified champion for nearly a decade.

It was ultimately Tyson Fury that ended the Klitschko era. Came in as a huge underdog (literally) with just the perfect style to make Wladimir look like the “big stiff idiot” Fury was so fond of calling him. It was Anthony Joshua that put the final nail in the coffin of the Klitschko era, getting off the canvas to land the most memorable uppercut in recent history and finish the former champion on his feet. With the iron grip of the Klitschkos released, the division opened up. Tyson Fury lost his mind. Drinking, drugs and a mild suicide attempt plagued Fury as the bipolar lineal champ who lost his mind conditioning and interest in defending his title.

While heavyweight was taking a roundabout way of working itself out the Cruiserweight division took a far more direct path. The World Boxing Super Series put on a tournament putting enough money in front of all the collective champions to incentivize them into whittling it down to one single Cruiserweight Champion. When the cuts closed and the swelling went down Oleksander Usyk was the last man standing.

While he has a gold medal and unified Cruiserweight championship few people gave Usyk a shot to
have an impact in the land of the giants that modern heavyweight fighting has become. He was too small. The only heavyweight to come up from Cruiser to really make an impact was the incomparable Evander holyfield. Evander being the exception that seemed to prove the rule.

It wasn’t until usyk took on Anthony Joshua that the heavyweight division was forced to take the
cruiserweight as a serious threat. The height and reach didn’t matter for Usyk against such a tall and static target. While Joshua had the hand speed and power to annihilate a generation of relatively immobile heavyweights. The slippery southpaw kept the big lad turning like a frigate unable to bring its broadside of cannons to bare. It was his pace and defensive acumen that gave the modern monster problems.

While Tyson Fury got his life back together to take on Deontay Wilder. It looked like smooth sailing until
deep into the fight Fury got flatlined by a horrific right hand/left hook that took a full blown resurrection to recover from. While Tyson fought the first fight on the back foot the 2nd and 3rd fights showed the most dangerous version of the Gypsy king as he fought an ugly bullying fight using his massive frame to wear down, smother and beat up the power puncher at short range. Twice.

It was while Usyk was training for his mandatory rematch with Anthony Joshua that Vladimir Putin
launched his invasion of Usyk’s homeland. With that a generation of Ukrainian fighters gave up their professional ambitions to defend their homeland. When the front stabilized, the boxers got back to their preferred form of fighting.

After defeating Anthony Joshua a second time there was little doubt that the smallest man in the division
had earned his shot at the biggest. But not before Tyson Fury took the opportunity to make a fool of himself and his sport. He took on MMA fighter Francis Ngannou. A fight which will go down as one of the darkest days in boxing history. It was the day the lineal heavyweight champion was put on his ass by a man who’d never had a professional boxing match in his life.

On Saturday night it all came to a head. Usyk walked out dressed like he just got back from negotiating an alliance with the Byzantines and didn’t have to warm up for the fight. Fury was his natural goofy self walking out to Barry White before holding out for a hero. The ambassador to the Grand Duchy of Kievan Rus held no fear. It was just one more giant to slay.

The bell rings and Fury is his usual infuriating self. Terminally incapable of taking this as seriously as he
should. Playing to the crowd as Usyk chased down the awkward giant looking to establish his presence. Stoic pressure designed to cut the ring while searching for a lane to establish his southpaw straight. While the giant’s head proved an elusive target his massive torso was not. Usyk stayed fixated on Fury’s center of mass going upstairs just often enough to catch Fury off guard.

Fury adjusts holding his own by giving ground, feinting, doubling and tripling on the jab occasionally peppering in the awkwardest right hand you’ve ever seen. Giant ogre of a body somehow propelled effortlessly by the spindly pair of legs that had no business move that much weight as quickly as they do. With under a minute in the 2nd round Fury digs a body shot downstairs on Usyk and earns a grimace from the smaller man. You don’t need to be a poker player to read the tell. Fury kept his right by his waist relying on the shoulder rolls and head movement for defense. Whipping in uppercuts that Usyk walks onto.

By round 4 it looked like Tyson Fury had him figured out. The body work and ridiculous reach made
getting close enough for Usyk to land a near impossible task. Usyk was doing the least Usyk thing of all. Reacting to it. You could see the change in demeanor when Fury landed. By the mid rounds it looked like Tyson was pulling away and the smaller man was forced to give ground and get on his bike. Tyson was throwing his 1-2 waiting for Usyk, moves his head and then snapping shots down to the body. At the end of 6 Usyk badly needed something to
change.

All the praying to orthodox Jesus seemed to pay off. It was a single looping left. The only punch but it
shattered Tyson Fury’s nose. The blood begins to pour. Fury Can’t leave it alone and his entire demeanor changes. Usyk got what he needed. By the end of the 8th Fury is a bloody mess and it’s a brand new fight. But there was a ton of ground to be made up to reel in the giant who’d pulled ahead on all the cards.

The 9th looked close, up until the last 30 seconds. Fury drops his left to throw a fairly uncommitted uppercut Usyk sits down on a right hook that straightened him up and follows through with a full force left hook that sends the giant pinballing around the ring. Usyk stays right on top of him since his opportunity had come. Fury was too tall to fall down properly, concussed to consider taking a knee, too unbalanced for his spindly legs to get control of his upper body. Every time he seemed to settle in place Usyk rifles in another left hand until the ref finally calls a knockdown. Tyson answered the ref and gave Fury the minute he needed to stay in the fight.

Fury spent the 10th in his most serious round of recovery since he quit drinking. There’s times in life where the absolute best you can do is to survive another minute. And say what you will of Tyson Fury, he was under 2 lbs and born months premature, survival instinct has always been his greatest asset. While he didn’t win the 10th, Survival alone was a testament to his character.

Round 11 was almost unscareable. Fury worked well with the jab and short shots out of the clinches while
Usyk was having success at mid range cutting off the ring and catching the big man stepping into his wide hooks as he tried to get back out into space. Tyson landed more, usyk landed harder and cleaner. Going into the final round it was almost impossible to call. The final round full of mutual respect proved as excellent and closely contended as all the others. It was a razor thin split decision, one that felt rightly decided by the only knockdown. The hard working stoic beat the gifted showboat but just barely.

The post fight presser was a mess and I don’t care. Fury should have been in front of a doctor rather than a microphone. Concussed men saying dumb things is virtually a meme in combat sports, not that Fury particularly needs a concussion or 10 to put a foot in his big mouth. But the show is far less important than the substance. Both these men are champions and fought like it.

But on this night some champions are more equal than others. On this historic night boxing only has one. For a little while at least our sport can point to one man as the baddest man on the planet. The hardcore fans can shout from the rooftops that Oleksander usyk is the undisputed champion of the world. Like Jack Dempsey and Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali were. Like Foreman and Tyson and Lennox Lewis were. For a rare perfect moment in
time all is right in the sport I love. And that makes me feel.

It makes me very feel.

11 months ago | [YT] | 186

Rhythm Boxing

A Teachable Moment: Benny Paret vs Emile Griffith 3

There are stories that need to be told intact and this is one of them. There is no pretty way to tell it. To do the justice that it deserves, to speak the truth of what happened, requires me to warn you. It's about to get dark.

The man with the Cheshire Cat grin, Cuban champion Benny "Kid" Paret, was in a joking mood. But these were not jokes. His opponent, Emile Griffith, was not laughing. In 1962 Emile Griffith's homosexuality was something of an open secret in the boxing community. Those who cared didn't know, and those who knew didn't care. But as Griffith ascended the scale Paret let the slur fly.

"Maricón"

In that moment Paret had not only outed Emile to the world, he'd grabbed his ass for effect.

Emile had to be yanked away from punching Paret on the spot. In 1962 accusations of homosexuality could be fatal not only to Griffith's career and public persona, but also his relationship, as he was dating a woman at the time who didn't know. The only thing that kept his secret was the newspaper industry's fear of translating the term in print. In 1962, It was unspeakable. As Paret and his camp cracked up and let more slurs fly, Emile seethed.

So for the meek of heart, or lighter of disposition, I suggest you move along. Because the best stories aren't the ones you read to put yourself to a sound sleep. The best stories are the ones that people are too afraid or ashamed to tell.

The best stories keep you up at night.

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11 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 146

Rhythm Boxing

Counter Intelligence- The Garcia vs Haney recap

Was this a trick, a ploy, a bizarre psy-op? The aftermath of some insane stimulant binge? Or perhaps a highly manic kid with a thrill seeking personality and lightning left hook just found his goddamn groove. Ryan Garcia by decision was probably the least likely of all results last night. For weeks he’d been on a social media and substances binge, His coach in the corner hand on a shaking bald head. Somehow from the manic depths of his mental illness he summoned genius. He took on the most studious and professional technician in his class and sat him down.

In the ring, Ryan reminds me of Felix Trinidad. long and lanky, offensively minded. Speed and snap on everything but a left hook so fast it gets blurry somewhere even in 60 frames per second. The first brilliant left that landed was actually the result of Ryan jamming Devin’s right hand. Ryan extends his lead out pushing Devin’s glove out of place on defense. Basically smothering any possible offense Devin had with his right, daring Devin to jab him. Because Devin Haney loves to jab. Because with the right hand at home it’s low risk. But Ryan eats the jab and snaps his entire body into a nearly straight armed swing of a hook. His left hook is as long as your jab, just as fast and with more impact. It also lands in a less conspicuous and thus more damaging location. This is a bad trade for a studious fighter. From then on out Devin looked a little less than sure of himself.

But it’s okay. Devin was a student of the game. He would do the text book thing to do. Which is feinting at long range, draw the counter then use the miss as an opportunity. Not like Ryan wasn’t giving away the opportunity to open by retreating into one of the ugliest versions of the Philly shell in modern boxing. I think the idea he’s going for is to put the left hook beneath his opponent’s field of vision while trying to draw punches to the head. Anytime Devin tried to throw his right, the left hook came sweeping through on the back end. As far as actual defense, Ryan mostly used the Philly shell to let Devin hit him in the kidney when he didn’t feel like getting hit anywhere else.

This might have been a problem if Devin Haney was any kind of a puncher. It might have been a problem. If the ref hadn’t told Haney off for taking these free shots Ryan has offered. Devin Haney did everything you’d advise a boxer to do. Except pin his power hand to his temple and keep it there to block the left hook. Ryan invited the trades because he would see Devin’s punch coming, but the counter hook landed on the blindspot. On the front foot Ryan was hooking off the jab. When Haney started reacting with head movement, Ryan starting going fishing, trying to catch Haney as he went down. Soon he realized he’d do better chasing Haney’s head with the floor with a right hand.

It took 7 rounds and emerging threat in Ryan's right hand to make Devin Haney forget what his A game was. Ryan steps out to his left and wings in another hook off the jab that caught Haney clean enough to drop him. Devin gets dragged across the ring trying to clinch Ryan who finally gets a clean look at Haney’s chin and he throws. After the ref spent 5 full seconds trying to break them. It cost him a point. It was dumb. But it didn’t matter. The damage was done, Devin Haney’s legs became boneless and all he could do was hold. Multiple slips that bordered on knockdowns. Clinches into falls. Brilliant time buying but terrible to watch.

Devin was bleeding from the mouth and seemed to pack it in a bit. He is a wily fighter, apparently with impeccable survival skills, but this was without question Ryan's fight in the 2nd half. One of the most fluid and snappy combination punchers in the game. For a lanky fighter he can shorten his punches well inside and seems to have mastered the art of snapping his power and throwing at just the right second for maximum impact. His left hook is as long as your jab, just as fast and with more impact in a less conspicuous and thus more damaging location.

He fought the 2nd half of this fight out of skin. Ugly Philly shell aside, he’s got undeniable rare natural talent something you only see in greats. Maybe a great fighter would have gotten Haney out of there. Maybe if he’d made weight the first time and laid off Instagram he could have forced Papa Haney to throw the towel. But we don’t have an idea of all the universes of Ryan Garcia. We have the pedophile ring and drunken clubbing Ryan Garcia. Or at least the appearance of it. Hard to say where the line between manic episodes and mind games might lay. They called Ali crazy for ranting at Sonny Liston. They called Mike Tyson crazy for lots of reasons, which in hindsight they were probably right about.

But for a championship fighter, a bit of grandiose self belief never hurt anybody but opponents. The hyper focus in physical activity as a form of grounding makes it easy to practice long hours. Ricky Hatton once described his boxing as being along for the rollercoaster ride his instinct put him on. When all the wild thoughts stop and he can just do, is what seems to make Ryan Garcia thrive. If he can keep his nose clean he can deliver exciting and consequential fights for years to come. But sadly some people are here for a good time, not a long time. But given Ryan’s seemingly impeccable cardio. Boxing fans might be here for both.


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1 year ago (edited) | [YT] | 213

Rhythm Boxing

Defense and pressure
(Slide 1)

These two things go hand in hand. If you are trying to walk a guy to the ropes and trap him it's only a winning strategy if you can land more than your opponent. Defense is just as important to a great pressure fighter as it is to a slick boxer. Khan flashes those quick hands with an awkward 7 punch combo but Canelo just stays calm and weathers the storm. The first 2 he parries away with his palms before giving ground and covering up behind a tight high guard as Khan flurries. The moment Khan stops throwing Canelo starts coming forward. When you are facing a guy known for his speed (or questionable chin) cutting off the ring is essential to wearing him out and slowing him down. The ability to cut off the ring is a product of 3 things. 1. footwork-stepping to where he steps before he steps there. 2. A threat from both hands to punish his lateral movement and 3. Body punching to slow that speed and get him to drop his hands. This is pressure fighting 101

(Slide 2)

Remember

Fighters are not just highly skilled, highly motivated borderline super humans. They are people. Fathers, sons, husbands and uncles. Each with a family of people they love. Those two men have a life as deep and intricate as yours. That crying little girl doesn't realize that, this is how much he loves you. A raw physical display of it. He does this so you can have all the things you could ever want. So you won't have to go through anything this bad in your life. That and he really, deeply enjoys it.

(Slide 3)

Back to technique

Khan is doing very well keeping Canelo off of him. He's popping the jab but Canelo shows another wrinkle of slickness to his game he ducks his head as Khan jabs making them miss. Khan breaks his tempo waiting to throw the third but Canelo just keeps his head moving and it sails over his head as well. Canelo starts pressuring again and the second Khan feels the ropes on his back he starts changing direction. Canelo throws a jab and Khan gets away Scot free. Changing direction makes it difficult for your opponent to pick a punch as you want to hit them with the same side they are stepping to, adding force to the punch and trapping them on the ropes. By stepping one way then going to the other you increase the chances that punch comes from the wrong direction.

(Slide 4)

Feinting

By faking an attack you can force your opponent to make defensive adjustments and Canelo does it here to try and land a wild left hook. As Khan circles the ropes you see Canelo dip his left hand and drop his weight. This is a feint for the body jab and Khan bites on it, dropping his guard and sinking his head forward. That is why Canelo is so sure that Khan is open to that left hook and why he throws it with everything he's got. The downside of feinting is if you commit too hard on a feint you leave all the defensive holes of actually throwing a punch. Canelo over commits and Khan takes advantage with a blistering 1-2. Like I said earlier Khan's speed allows him to land 2 punches where most guys would only land 1.

(Slide 5)

Feinting off the body jab

Canelo connects on a stiff jab to the midsection, still working Khan's body even at long distance. He then feints another, dipping the left hand and dropping his weight, which draws a right hand to the body from Khan. Canelo steps away and the punch falls short as he tries to counter with the 1-2. Khan re adjusts his own distance and pulls the same defensive trick as Canelo letting the punches miss by just a few inches. But Khan is able to connect on a loopy left hook because he stayed just close enough to land. Even though it just got him caught Canelo is smart enough to know a sound strategy when he sees one. He is a big puncher and even if he's landing less than Khan, his punches are more damaging. He has no intention of going to the scorecards tonight.

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1 year ago (edited) | [YT] | 275

Rhythm Boxing

Troubles With God
(Slide 1)

It was a firefight. A down in the trenches battle defined by close, personal violence. It was blood, bone and muscle. It was a transfixed crowd with craned necks and sweat speckled faces. The technique of it all is the 800lb gorilla in the room. It defined the night, but never gets spoken of with such desperate intentions in the air.

When fighters get lost in thoughtlessness is when the muscle memory makes the difference. The endless hours of work, away from the lights and the crowd. The dedication required to even go this deep would break most people. You don't get to this level of the fight game by being most people.

This is pugilistic Darwinism. Champions share many traits and these men were naturally selected.

(slide 2)

As Mathew's white trunks slowly stain with Yaqui's blood, he continues to just tank his way through everything he can throw. He's taking every bit as good as he gives. Mathew Saad Muhammad was gifted with endurance and worked endlessly on it. The reason he is here is that his childhood couldn't crush him. He spent his whole life wearing a weight vest of pain that only seemed to come off deep in a war.

Yaqui was right there with him. Chin down hands up, or in constant motion as a reckless blur of violence. As Yaqui rains punch after vicious punch on the champion. They knew each other well enough to know it could only come to this. A marathon of pain, heart and who wants it more. Bring the best out of the champion. They stood as men, from places with little to lose and all the world to gain. You wonder what compels them to put themselves through this.

(Slide 3)

Yaqui is here to prove himself, once and for all, a champion. Down the stretch of his 4th title shot he knows that this may well be his last opportunity. He goes to the well of fortitude and keeps coming up with full buckets. He's up on the cards, 8 minutes separate him and history. 8 Minutes and Mathew Saad Muhammad.

For most of his life, and a lot of his career Saad was known as Mathew Franklin. But even that was a stand in for his real name. Found wandering by the Benjamin Franklin parkway, he was picked up by police and dropped off at a Catholic parish in North Philly. Too young to remember his own name, the nuns named him Mathew Franklin. After the Saint and the road where his brother's keeper left him.

He grew up in the orphanage, serious beyond his years, sad until he smiles. The walk to school everyday was a mini Warriors remake set in Philadelphia. He was beaten and robbed daily. Until he figured if you can't beat 'em...

(Slide 4)

Soon Matt was running a gang of his own and developing a reputation. Suffice to say this wasn't the man you wanted to go heads up with over a watch or wallet outside a bar. Boxing saved him from street life. If he couldn't beat them back then, he sure as hell could now. Mathew would no longer toy with his blessing. Because when you get beat up 5 times a week, what's 6? You can get some horrifying things done when you are willing to accept horrifying consequences.

Yaqui keeps pulling up bucket after bucket. He fights with pride and skill and machismo. A champion Zacatecas could be proud to call a native son. Another fan favorite fighting out of Stockton.

As the 12th round ticks by, the micro fractures are turning macro. The inhaled blood coats the interior of their lungs, mouths and sinus cavities. It turns Saad's white trunks into a butcher's apron. You become numb to the pain of it all.

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1 year ago (edited) | [YT] | 215

Rhythm Boxing

A Man's Got A Right

(Slide 1 Round 1)

Larry Holmes did most things well. He could move, he could fight, but if Larry Holmes did one thing better than anyone it was jab. Larry's entire style is built around it for very good reason. The jab is a lead left hand, the longest straightest weapon pointed at the closest target. It will almost always beat another punch to it's target which helps the jabber dictate the timing and distance, since you can't really step through getting punched in the face. The jab is often responsible for the lumps and cuts that obscure an opponent's vision over a long fight.

That is the "why" of Larry's jab. The "how" is even more important. Larry Holmes fights with his hands low as a stylistic choice. On the bright side it means the jab comes from underneath an opponent's field of vision. As a boxer you generally fight by looking at the shoulder or eye level of your opponent. Larry's low lead hand means Gerry can't see the jab until it's an inch deep in his nose bone. Note the half step in as he stomps his foot to get maximum power on it. Getting every ounce of his explosive weight behind it.

Larry likes to use lots of lateral movement to keep disguising the distance and cutting to angles where he can throw the jab, and circle away from the lead hand of his taller opponent.

(Slide 2)

Gerry Cooney has the physical tools to play the jabbing game with Larry, at least in spurts. First is the height advantage which helps lengthen his reach. His shoulder is lined up on the same plane as Larry's jaw allowing him to throw straighter. Plus Gerry Cooney uses a somewhat rare style. He's a "Converted Southpaw". That is a left handed fighter who fights from an orthodox stance. Power hand in front. He's matching it up with Larry's offhand. This style is an interesting trade off in strategic terms.

Bruce Lee actually fought out of the converted stance himself, mostly for that powerful, straight counter jab. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPAoN...

Combine that with his reach and Cooney is at least in the game with Larry jabbing. Which is important, to let Larry know he will be challenged for distance. But the converted stance also means a fighter's most devastating weapons are now closer to the target. Gerry Cooney turned that into knockout after knockout with his mean left hook.

(Slide 3 Round 2)

Larry Holmes however was not left handed. Not only did Larry use his jab as a weapon, it is also a tool. A bridge built to disguise whatever comes behind it. It bashes you into worrying about it. Because even to world class professional fighters, getting punched in the face hurts. Larry forced Gerry to worry about it and never saw the follow up. Gerry Cooney goes down near the end of round 2.

Let's take a closer look in slow-mo

(Slide 4 Round 2)

The set up for the right hand is a jab down to the body. The body jab is a natural pair for a jabber like Larry. By dropping the jab down to the body, not only does Holmes change up the timing on the jab, Cooney also drops his hand to parry, which leaves him defenseless to Larry's right hand. It is one of the simplest set-ups there is, but time after time it works.

It worked on Roberto Duran: i.imgur.com/ODANsNe.mp4

It worked on Floyd Mayweather: i.imgur.com/CrZHqMv.mp4

The real unsung hero in this knockdown is Larry's accuracy and footwork. His placement on the punch has to be perfect since Cooney has his head behind his left hand. Larry Throws straight as a needle and connects with the itty bitty space Gerry left open over his temple. His feet slid forward just enough to land the right hand that jelled Gerry's legs.

(Slide 5 Round 3)

Gerry got up on good legs, so the experienced champion showed his patience. Larry didn't hop on him and look to finish. He took a breath and his time believing that the knockdown wasn't a fluke. It was a matter of time before he'd land another. While Gerry was caught off guard, he'd been forced to respect the silky power of the champion. But that is a long way off fearing it.

Gerry trudges forward with his gigantic jab, learning the lesson Holmes just taught him. Gerry sends it down to the body before coming upstairs with a crisp 1-2 that sneaks it's way between Larry's palms. immediately Gerry tries to go back to his bread and butter with that vicious left hook to the body. Larry is putting all of his skills toward shutting down and discouraging it.

There's several layers to Larry's plan. First off, circling away from the hook with foot work. Stepping along the path of the left hook to take some of the sting out of it. Second, notice how often Larry is checking Cooney's lead hand. Just touching, touching, touching away at it. This makes sure that any attempt to jab is going end up stuck in Larry's palm rather than his face or body. Finally when Gerry tries to go around Larry's hand with a hook, Larry is waiting with that straight right to come over the top of it.

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(Slide 1 Round 4)

Oscar more and more seems to have Sweet Pea figured out. The time to attack him is when he settles down on that straight line, his straight right hand is a long enough weapon that he can get out of the range of Sweet Pea's ability to counter it. Oscar keeps him stuck at a distance and is taking advantage of the tall fighter's most effective range. But this is the hardest thing for an offensive fighter to have to deal with. It's hard to land more than a single punch at a time on a defensive fighter who has decided not to be hit at this level.

But Pernell Whittaker isn't the only one able to do it with his hands down. But he might be the only one who could do it to an offensive technician like Oscar. Whatever happens in Pernell Whitaker's brain and body in these moments is a miracle of neuroscience. Oscar throws a 7 punch combination where every punch is thrown from all the correct angles for all the right reasons to take advantage of every reaction Sweet Pea shows him. Still Oscar De La Hoya can't hit a goddamned thing.

It doesn't make sense and I don't like it. And it's far from the first time Pernell made somebody miss with such insulting casual ease.

Because for the most part it is incredible reflexes built around a physical art. Pernell holds his hands low, for a few very good reasons. First off it tends to encourage head hunting. A skilled fighter is going to try to punch what is undefended. With the hands down it is the head. But sheer physics plays a role. By drawing your arms low and towards your center of gravity it cuts down on the amount of inertia in your upper body. This means less mass required by your back muscles to move and an increased range of motion. He's not just fast. His technique makes him faster. media3.giphy.com/media/10939qpyILchvG/giphy.gif

So the head becomes the target. It's a risky strategy. But when your brain can process information and order adjustments this fast, You can do whatever you want. He has found zen. It sits at the bleeding edge of the moment to moment ability of the human brain and nervous system. When the brain and body work in perfect harmony without the meddling interference of conscious thought. This is a man just being purely in the present moment. In slide 2 you will see a slow mo with an alternate angle.

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(Slide 1 Round 2)

While Oscar with his longer reach is choosing to do his damage by leading with his right hand. You notice that Pernell Whittaker is constantly trying to step off the straight line with Oscar. Using the jab to disguise the foot work. It is like trying to fence with somebody who has a longer foil. Attacking on the straight line with a shorter weapon means they have the chance to get to you, before you can get to them. So how do you get to them?

You make them miss. You stay beyond their range until they initiate an attack. Every punch creates a fault in your own defense, Pernell found faults like an editor. Pernell attacks using his longest weapon in the jab. He uses it as a distraction to take focus off his foot work to close the distance.

This combined with ducking in behind his right shoulder makes him a very small, quick moving target. Oscar has a very limited window to land a clean shot on Pernell as he closes the gap. When he gets inside he stuffs another pair of short left hands down to De la Hoya's body again. He's trying to slow down the bigger fighter by knocking the wind from his lungs. But in the rare moments he did stand still Oscar is finding success with his lead right hand.

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