What happened to the peek-a-boo style?

If the peek-a-boo style candidates are Daniel Dubois and Kevin Lerena, then that peek-a-boo style is on a downward trajectory.

 

Not alot of fighters used that type of style to begin with, Winky and Iron Mike are probably two of the few fighters I remember ever using it.

 

Ike Quartey and Chocolatito also used that style as well.

 

Yeah I forgot about Quartey. Good call on that one.

 

I guess if you're using the term very loosely then they apply.

 

To be honest it’s a style that you can only apply exclusively with Tyson and other fighters deeply associated with Cus D Amato such as Kevin Rooney, Jose Torres and Floyd Patterson.

I mentioned Quartey and Choco because of the way they keep their gloves so close to their face similar to that of Tyson but I know they aren’t that close together. No other fighter has ever fully applied the peekaboo style as effective as Tyson.

 

Yeah, it takes more than a tight high guard. Otherwise Usyk would be in the category as well.

 

It sucks, thats why. Its a style that is based on psychology breaking your opponent so they surrender to your aggression. A lot of people and fighters sincerely believed and some still do, that tyson was some sort of eternal warlord that was barely human. A lot of fighter could have done the same thing douglas had done if they had just kept their nerves and stayed rational about the fight. Dougles got absolutely demolished by hightech holyfield a few months after beating tyson in an all out war.

 

Fighters that attempted to replicate the "peekaboo' style typically ended up in the ICU.

 

Agreed. I think it works well for shorter, stocky fighters that have that naturally strong core. Then gives them that explosive power from the feet up as they return from an almost bent over position. Tyson used it, as we all know, to give some devastating finishes. Although I'm not sure he would be permitted to stoop that low these days.

 

You beat me to it. I was going to point out Cruz who is without question one of my personal favorites these days. He is an absolute wrecking ball and has the perfect style for his build.

 

There is some confusion between the high guard which Quartey and Wright deployed and the peekaboo which the Catskills guys used. With the peekaboo the hands are at the face but typically not above the eyes and there is way more head movement.

The high guard is exactly that with the hands much higher on the head than the peekaboo and head movement is not really a thing. High guard guys like Quartey, Wright and Abraham typically fight outside or mid range and have strong jabs and throw a lot more straight punches. Peekaboo dudes (Tyson, Patterson, Torres) move their heads a lot more and throw alot of hooks and uppercuts on the inside.

One more thing, we don't see guys like Frazier and Tyson have compete at heavyweight anymore because of the way the cruiserweight division has grown. CW has had many sub 6ft guys over the last few years find success that are not technically Peekaboo guys but they certainly have similar elements. Mormeck, Concrete Davis, Fragomennei, Toney, Lebedev etc. Have all won titles south of 200 pounds in the last 20 years or so. Those guys all would have been heavyweights pre 1980's for sure. These days you simply don't see guys of that size have success against the tall guys that dominate the glamor division.

 

That is historically inaccurate.

Tyson lost to Douglas because of several factors, not just jabbing and clinching. Douglas also had a vicious uppercut, lateral movement, effective framing/parrying, and powerful combinations. Douglas was a very active fighter, he wasn't just spamming jabs the whole time.

Liston likewise did not defeat Patterson by simply jabbing and grabbing. He also employed rough tactics keeping Patterson on the back foot and timing him with uppercuts. Neither of the peak a boo masters had their styles dismantled via jabbing and grabbing (the ancient washed up Tyson vs Lewis fight doesn't count). A competent ref whose actually enforcing the rules is going take a point away if a guy clinches more than 4x in a round and has been given multiple warnings. Someone like Wladmir or Ernie Terrel for example, would have a hard time beating Tyson or Patterson with a strict ref.