The all things technical thread.

You know me well.

Man, i swear Chavez tortured Rosario. It was painful and beautiful to watch at the same time. You have to be in love with Chavez if you're a fan of pressure fighters. Unbelievable the way he stays patient but urgent simultaneously. Incredible.

What made it so much better was that. Rosario is perhaps the biggest puncher of the 80's and Chavez was the underdog.

 

I don't even wanna contemplate that. Could be on it's arse big time! :-(

I don't really know what could be done though. We need a massive renaissance mission.

 

Anybody up for breaking down a particular fighter? Might do Timmy Bradley.

 

Breaking down the Desert Storm.

Bradley is a fighter with many strengths. He is one of the more rounded fighters today, even though he seems to lack a lot of physicality he is strong deceptively and has very little obvious weaknessess. He's technically and fundamentally sound. Good jab, precise accurate well thrown punches, although he does tend to go wide and loop them from time to time, especially when he's pressing the fight and gets a little reckless, which is not often and it's something he's improved in the last couple of years as he's grown as a a fighter.

Tim Bradley's biggest strength for me is his will. He reminds me of Evander Holyfield in the sense that he can and has the ability to fight alike man possessed even with physical disadvantages and overcome faster and stronger foes.

He has good variety and workrate. He can set traps playing the counter puncher, which imo is his primary game but he can also press the fight and take the lead. His footwork is really good and he can box really well in tight circles.

Bradley throws a nice jab to the solar plexus especially against taller opponents when he wants too. He bounces on his feet and takes a long step, bending his knees and getting full extention. He can also throw a very good up jab and disrupt his opponents rhythm so he has the jab almost down packed. He varies it and he can throw different types of it.

Perhaps Bradley best punch is the right hand counter over the top as a short or long punch, he's hurt or dropped few opponents with this punch. Very good at staying compact and hiding his back hand then releasing it accurately. What he does so well and the reason he catches so many people with this shot is, he jabs with his opponents and because the left side of his body is closer it allows him to hide the right hand and then as he's jabbing at the same time as his opponent he can measure and time the right hand, either when his opponent comes in or he can do it on the outside. he can also follow up with a left hook very well.

Something have also noticed in Timmy over the years and what i think makes him so effective is he doesn't lose form as the fight goes on. I look at him from the first round of his fights then i take a look at him in the last round and he doesn't lose one bit of posture and form from the first to the last. Which is so impressive because most fighters under featigue mentally and physically start to lose to lose form.

Weaknesses:

Not many but there are a couple. Although he has a good set up and can change distance well. He can't always avoid getting hit when closing distance as he can sometimes become ragged in his work when on the front foot. Crossing that danger zone can sometimes lead him into trouble particularly against fighters with advantages such as speed or height and reach. Although he uses his opponents lead to creat offensive opportunities like you should, he doesn't always slip effectively and avoid the incoming as he steps forward. The good thing is that he's very competant on the inside once he gets there. But he needs to be patient when he's storming and not reckless.

The other thing of course is that he's not the biggest of punchers. He's not featherfisted and can get his respect but it's not a lot of power behind his punches. There's also not a lot of reflexes and dymanism there which isn't a severe weakness because he has the solid foundations and well rounded game to make up for it.

 

Thanks for sharing that, Mand.:thumbsup

You can see the respect that Bradley has for Tommy there, starstruck almost. Tommy was trying to get him to follow through the target and generate power from the ground. Making Bradley look a little novice at times. You can see Tommy wouldn't have had the patience to be a trainer if his pupil couldn't instantly do what he asked of him.

You're right about Joel Diaz. Fantastic trainer and very polite and honest guy which comes across from his interviews. One of the best up and coming trainers. You can tell that by his corner work, which is concise and pretty much spot on most of the time.

My fear for Bradley is that he may try and 'out man' Pacquiao which i think would be the wrong tactic. I know he knows how to fight Pacquiao, he said it perfectly in that vid you posted before. i .e the foot positioning and getting him off balance. But i wonder if he'll stick to that? :think

 

Look forward to it, D. Hurry up though because you might get beaten to the punch. :good

 

He'll obviously have to mix it up. I would also try and get dirty on the inside and upset Pacquiao's rhythm. But mainly try and set traps and get him off balance. I don't think he should follow Pacquiao around that would play into his hands. Anybody who has followed Pacquiao around has been put in their place. He's gotta, as you say stay with the pivots and small circles.

What makes really me confident that Bradley can do really well against Pacquiao. Is not only can he adjust and change things up and fight different ways with a lot of tools in his tool kit. It's the fact that for me he's found a way to fight at about 70/75 percent exertion and still win fights. What's so important about that it means a fighter who can get the job done with less exertion without losing poise, posture and form can step on the gears and change it up when he wants. He can dig deeper into his reserves.

The best fighters who fight at minimum exertion with maximum effect are Mayweather and Hopkins. They don't have high workrates but always look like they're doing more than their opponents and they most of the time have stamina and release of energy at the right moment. The reason is because they have found a way to stay ahead of their opponents with minimum exertion. When you lose form all your flaws get magnified, this doesn't happen to Bradley.

Most guys have to put maximum effort to just stay even with Pacquaio every second of every round.

Thinking back to that Witter fight, Bradley was having slight problems with Juniors lead at times. He'll have to adjust to Pacquaio's lead and watch out for the checking right hook maybe even more so then the straight left i think.

It's ganna be an interesting roller-coaster build up. I don't wanna even get into looking at it too deeply at the minute.

 

The Jab.

The jab being the most important punch in the game needs to mastered. Different types of jabs can be thrown and it can have an effect on a fighters performance. Even being the difference between the winner and the loser. The best example probabily being the Leonard vs. Benitez. In which Leonard switched it up and started throwing an up jab which immedietly brought him success and he then started to find it easier to time Benitez. Another example of course is the Ali vs. Norton fights. Norton would jab WITH Ali with an up jab too and he gave him all sorts of problems.

So the jab can do all sorts for you. From defense to creating space to setting up punches and traps. A good varying jab is so crucial.

The different types of jabs.

Normal jab. This is the basic jab that everyone learns and everyone should be able to throw with some effect. From the novice to the multi world champ. The main purpose of this jab is to set up punches and to creat space. It's the main type of jab because there is less risk in throwing it compared to all the other types of jabs. In fact it's the most risk free punch in the sport. Straight, fast and accurate without most of the time if you know what you're doing opening you up and making your defense vulnerable.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMIJBsSFBjw[/ame]


The up jab. This is probabily my favourite type of jab and it's the most complex. You're basically stepping in and throwing the jab from a lower position going upwards. This jab is effective because it comes from underneath and sometimes get's you more success as your opponent doesn't see it coming as much as they might do with a normal straight jab.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl2UesZTMoo&feature=related[/ame]



Double jab. We're all familiar with this jab. Pretty self explanatory. This jab is mostly used after a combination or when stepping in or out. It can also be very effective when you're jabbing with someone and they don't get their lead hand back quick enough, you throw another jab inbetween and catch him very quickly. The second jab is the one were more power is put into it.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b2fG8uZtxY[/ame]


Jab to the solar plexus. This jab is sometimes neglected but it's very impotant as well. People like Floyd Mayweather and Andre Ward use it very effectively today. This jab can sometimes wind your opponent and hurt them to the body. But the main purpose of it is to keep your opponent guessing and occupied. That's why you'll see a right hand landed after a jab to the body as been attempted very often. The best high profile example is Shane's right hand on Floyd in that second round where he went and feinted to the body with a jab and then came over with his right cross. So we see how effective it can be even against the very best even though it sounds simple.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhnRO9NeXFI[/ame]


The power jab. This jab is the one that can really do some damage and sometimes even hurt or knock someone down. More effort and power is put into it and it sometimes becomes close to a left hook or cross. It's the jab that fighters normally use when countering an opponent who's missed coming forward. The difference between this jab and the rest is you throw this power jab from your back foot thus generating more power.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HswyIKfRgUg[/ame]


That's about all i can think of right now. If i've missed something out please enlighten. :good