how did different boxing styles evolve in different parts of the world

An interesting thread, and something I've often wondered about myself.

The (ex) Soviet styles possibly came about from the study of what gave the best probability of success in the amateur sport. In the later years of amateur boxing and the 'clean strike' scoring system this has led to the extremely aggressive styles we see exhibited by standouts like Kovalev, GGG and Provodnikov.

US styles are a mixture arising more organically, evolving as the rules of boxing changed over the course of the 20th century. Of course, many US amateur standouts have entered the pro sport and this has impacted US styles but generally US amateurs go pro younger and frequently had pro (or ex-pro) trainers anyway. I guess it's part guesswork, but more defensive, 'slicker' styles are likely to lead to better longevity in the sport than that of brawlers who engage in wars every other fight.

The 'warriors' of mexican and latino boxing are perhaps a result of the extreme competition in areas where boxing is both popular and frequently one of the few routes out of extreme poverty. The characteristic grit and 'do or die' attitude in the ring may be in part an offshoot of a particularly macho culture an the understanding that failure genuinely isn't an option.

These are just ideas off the top of my head, and I don't really believe in racial generalisations or stereotyping anyway, but I've often thought there must be some reasons for the regional styles that seem to exist. Maybe the answer is simply that originally only a few people taught or practiced the sport in each country and their individual approaches impacted successive generations.

I'm also wondering if, over the coming decades, we'll see the emergence of characteristic styles from say China, Africa or Southern Asia. Japanese fighters already have gained a reputation for incredible endurance for instance.

My other curiosity is if we will start to see a synthesis of styles as pro-boxing becomes increasingly international. The different styles will meet increasingly often, and may evolve to take account of other styles' strengths and weaknesses. At the very least it will be interesting to see how the sport develops over it's second century.:bbb

 

Good Thread. I think it Reflecks the countrys environment, ethics. Interestingly the 1st time I saw the Philly Shell was watching Charlie Burley . thats a lot of years ago.

 

JMM style came from fighting a ton of mexicans. He knows they will come forward and throw punches. His style is all built to destroy that. On the other hand... he cannot fight going forward... it is a huge flaw in his style that wasn't exploited till he went to the international level.

 

This is very much the same for Thais who are known as very durable comeforward warriors with limited skill but bags of ring experience, heart & conditioning. All Thais who make the leap to pro boxing have had in excess around 70 pro Muay Thai fights which is an aggressive come forward style of fighting with limited footwork which explains why most Thais fight on the from foot most of the time stalking. They are often refers to out here as the Mexicans of SEAsia.

It's interesting because considering how small a sport boxing is in the country compared to how massive MT is the amateur national team has had alot of relative success (they are notallowed to turn pro) which has to be down to the years and years of ring experince from pro MT, most of them turn pro about age 8-11. In the last 10 years the olympic team has been coached by a Brit and now a team of Cubans, it'll be interesting to see if any of that foreign influence spills over to the pro game.

 

Trust me I've lived here since the late 90s and am an ex Muay Thai fighter who has been a sparring partner for Thai converts to boxing and boxing is not popular. There are Muay Thai gyms round every corner the estimate is around 3000 with 65,000 professional fighters, many stadiums and live shows of elite level MT every day. On the other hand except for the touristy areas of Phuket & Pattaya you try and find a boxing gym! Impossible. The only gyms that really exist are military amateur systems for troops, the official Thai national set up, the rare gym in BKK that is run by foreigners for foreigners, the odd MT gym that has had a history of producing one or two boxers & the few elite pro dedicated boxing gyms that recruit only a handful of seasoned promising fighters from MT & there are maybe only around 4 of these.

Since the early 2000s most Thais are unaware of the reigns of fighters like Pongsaklek or promising prospects such as Jomthong Chuwattana. I'm a massive fan of Jomthong he's a modern day MT ATG so I decided to go and watch him western box a Pinoy live earlier this year, as is normal for boxing matches it was broadcast in the day for the gamblers but the live crowd was around 40 people and that's normal for boxing titles including world titles for live fights in Thailand.

MT is very much still the national sport but has changed vastly from the days of Samart Payakaroon & the Galaxy brothers, the golden age of the 80s and 90s are gone where MT was followed and loved by huge parts if the population and hence when the fighters converted to boxing would get huge support. Satellite TV and the arrival of live premiership football has grabbed the attention of many in the traditional MT fan base. MT isn't struggling it never will, but its defiantly less followed than it was before so the western boxers have little chance of fame in their own country. In fact western styled boxer's got more chance of fame and fortune as a successful Olympic amateur than a pro world champion. Only the hardcore fans and gamblers really know what's going on in the Thai western boxing world.

I kind of agree with u about the lower weight class, but if u look at the amount of champs and top fighters they produce compared to the handful of pro boxers they have their record is phenomenal. Their previous MT pro experience has to be the key. These guys have been living in dedicated camps fighting as pros training 6 hours a day 6 days a week year in year out from the age of around 8 with very few breaks. These guys are conditioned as pros from a very very tender age. Most Thai's are done in MT by 25 their body's can't take it anymore, that's usual about the time they get converted into boxing to squeeze the last financial drop out of a hastily disappearing career.

 

*reflects

 

Double thumbs up to this thread, really makes you think. I once had a fighter Jesus Chavez, who fought an American journeyman Rudy Lunceford in Poland. Lunceford, was a boxer, Chavez was a typical aggressive Mexican stylist. I was surprised when the Polish crowd applauded Luncefords rabbit moves, running this way and that trying desperately to avoid the heavy toasting his body was taking. There was not one second in that "fight", that Lunceford won. To me that might be the reason why some countries fight the way they do. Europeon's seem to prefer boxer types, Americans, like punchers, nobody in the states would applaud a runner the only reaction would be to boo them.
A boxer in Mexico is extremely rare, Gilberto Roman and Miguel Canto are the only ones that really stand out there had to be others but these two were great. I guess you might say fan's vote by buying tickets, and that is what dictates the country's style preference and the style the country adapts.

 

I don't think runners are liked that much in Europe, we find it very frustrating when boxers run away most people say that European style is to walk down opponents rather than run away. cant think why the polish would of liked your guys opponent running away Dempsey, Polish people usually like their fighters to be tough and rugged, I think there is a big bare knuckle boxing scene in Poland witch was much documented at the 2012 European football championships last year.

 

He was a stick and move guy and wouldn't engage, maybe "runner" was too harsh. My guy was a straight ahead banger. It was on the Witherspoon - Golata card. A funny thing happened while we were there. We were in the hotel restaurant when in walked this big Polish guy who walked up to ex world champ Johnny Bumphus and started punching him. The guy thought Bumphus was Witherspoon, I guess all blacks look the same to that guy, I believe it was the first professional boxing show after the fall of communism.

 

I knew "Finito" Lopez, the guy always stayed in shape, I was at the Romanza gym in Mexico City for two years. "Finito" would walk around the gym and when he came to the speed bag he would hit it a single shot and it sounded like the bag would explode. Funny thing he rarely hit the mitts if ever his favorite was what they call call in Mexico the "Govenadora" . The Romanza, is named after two fighters one of the purist boxers mexico ever produced Gilberto Roman, and Daniel Zaragoza. Finito was a rarity he could box and was a one punch guy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IGBHNJIuEE
This was "Finito's" trainer, and the hook the trainer was demonstrating was how Finito walked the gym, fir, st he would put up his guard and then step by step he would **** his hook and throw it. Here was a guy late in his career and he was still doing that, step by step, he was an amazing guy.