Let's talk about inside fighting

See Chavez Sr. for more of an aggressive approach, or James Toney for more of a finesse approach. . .

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He's done because the ref broke them up everytime BHOP got close, he didnt even get a chance to maul and in fight

 

Andre Ward can stand in the pocket, not get hit flush, and deliver clean shots. His performance against Froch was great and shows that he seems to be getting better with each fight.

 

You look at the fighters who keep coming up - Bradley, Mayweather, Ward and Hopkins - and they're all physically very, very strong men, despite having very average punching power. They all have a high ring IQ and are tremendously accurate with their shots.

Personally, i think ring IQ is a big factor in terms of inside fighting. You can be as fast, as strong, as powerful as you like, but if you don't know what to do inside then you're ****ed. Look at fighters like Amir Khan and Mikkel Kessler. Khan's hands are as fast as anyone in the game and he can punch, but his inside game is shambolic. He doesn't know how to tie somebody up at any point, especially when hurt. A big part of Mayweather's game before his comeback was pot-shot, and then push off with the elbow before throwing a single shot and then tieing them up. It's simple but very effective. Hopkins has used a similar tactic very well since he's aged and some fighters don't know what to do.

Look at Antonio Margarito. He's physically very, very strong, has a granite chin and does pretty much all of his work on the inside, but he hasn't got a ****ing clue what to do when somebody ties him up. In their first fight, Cotto made the mistake of staying at mid-range after throwing a combination. There is no doubt in my mind that Cotto would have won the first fight if he simply tied Tony up after throwing a combination, rather than moving off and trying to get out of range. Mosley tied Tony up in their fight and Margarito didn't know what to do. Shane didn't give him the room to get his shots off and he was completely ineffective. Cotto used this tactic to his advantage in the rematch, although not as much as Shane.

Andre Ward is a wonderful inside fighter. He's as versatile as anyone in the game imo, but has very short arms and does alot of his good work inside. He has good reflexes and keeps quite a high guard so he can sit on the inside and avoid punishment, aswell as dishing it out. He realised that Kessler is **** on the inside (i love Kessler btw, but he is) and absolutely dominated. Kessler's game relies on combinations which flows from his ramrod jab. Get inside, rough him up, take away his jab and you have him. Kessler is a strong man both mentally and physically, but he simply hasn't been taught to fight on the inside. It's unreal that world class fighters and long-term champions don't know how to do the very basics on the inside, but it's true. Khan and Kessler have been mentioned, but Wladimir Klitschko is another. As soon as his opponent is inside he literally flails around like a fish out of water and grabs on for dear life. He has a wonderful left hook (as does Kessler), so why not throw the ****ing thing?

 

We need more new posters like this.

Top post :good

 

Thanks, SJS.

Not long untill the big night in Nottingham now. WAR Froch!

 

Andre Ward

Froch throws on the inside, but don't know how to defend on the inside

 

I'll get crap for this call but Molina is very good also

 

spot on, Wladimir Klitschko can't fight on the inside, but the problem is he is so talented and gifted and has an ATG jab, so he basically won't' need it, because he would never let his opponent inside.

But that post was brilliant :deal

 

Good call.

 

It's sad that inside fighting is a dieing art.

 

bralwers and swarmers love the inside game. you either have to have a good chin or good defence to be a effective at inside fighting.defense like mayweather, ward, hopkins or chins like corrales, castillo,gatti.phone booth fights are always fun to watch, even better when someone has defense behind or it like a james toney.

 

It's not often taught nowadays, which is a shame.

I saw an interview somewhere with Manny Steward a while back where he explains amateur coaches tend not to spend much time on it because of the scoring system, and professional coaches don't have enough time to train fighters on it because they're already so set in their style from their amateur days.

An example of a good amateur not having a clue what to do on the inside is Ismayl Sillakh's recent defeat. He got caught, was visibly hurt, and had to make a decision on whether or not he was going to fight back or try and survive. In the end, he did neither and literally did the worst possible thing in backing himself into a corner with a high guard and without throwing punches. I was astounded at what i was watching. He showed poor punch resistance which is obviously a concern, but the most concerning thing was the lack of ability to think clearly and logically when put under pressure. Either fight back or try and survive, do either (depending on the situation) but not neither. Look at Floyd when he was caught against Shane. He took a minute, got caught and rocked again, but you could see he was thinking clearly and even finished that same round the stronger man. He didn't panic or back into a corner. Marquez is the ****ing master in that situation.