High Guard

It's exhausting to keep your hands up for the entire fight, not to mention fairly boring: many boxers want to be flashy and pretend to be Floyd/Nas. Additionally, it takes a lot of effort and discipline to consistently train with a high guard, and that's effort that many boxers and trainers are unwilling to put in. Two famous trainers right now who get their fighters to use a good high guard are Reynoso and Derrick James.

 

Because it's not effective in all scenarios obviously.

 

WHat snails said.

Also your range is limited. Exhausting as previously said. Can't fight like that on the outside for 12 rounds. Or In it either. Succeptible for getting belted to the body.

Basically you will look like Roy Jones Jnr vs Calzaghe did for the vast majority of that fight. ****ing cannon fodder.

 

mayweather would eat that **** up all night long. Jab and right hands to the body. Bash the **** out of you upstairs with hooks, smashing through your guard. Then smashing through your face with straight right hands and more hooks.

This isn't Australia and England mid 2000's ( so many of ours and their fighters adopted this terrible strategy, one dimensional crap )

 

Unless your Winky Wright!

 

Wright was a great exponent of the high guard for sure, it helped that he had long arms and a short torso, so his high guard covered a large proportion of his upper body. It really was the best style for him and suited his physical attributes. He went from a guy dropped a bunch of times vs

But even he couldn't overcome the limitations of high guard defensive style. High guard is great when you have an opponent who isn't willing to exchange or counter and predominantly throws straight shots. But if you have an opponent who's willing to throw when you throw, counter when you throw, come around the guard as well as switch from head to body then high guard becomes less effective.

We saw that in the Simon and Hopkins fights. Simon's willingness to outwork Wright, exchange with him, switch his attacks, made it a very tough fight for Wright, as did Vargas too in his fight with Wright.

Hopkins too adopted a more aggressive approach vs Wright than he had done vs many opponents at the time, exchanging, countering and switching to head and body, utilising hooks and uppercuts more to expose the chinks in the high guard defence. Coming around the side then down the gap exposed in the middle or going high and then low through the gap he had created. He also used light flurries to keep Wright behind his high guard, shutting down Wright's offence at times and giving himself time to recover.

 

Benavidez is the best high guard fighter at the moment. He uses it very well and it suits him style and body. Long arms that cover his body, and he can catch and shoot from it effectively when needed like he did vs Plant, or he can just walk opponents down and pound them. Contrary to the myth, he is hard to catch clean with his style. Plant barely ever landed on him clean over 12 rounds. Mainly body shots.

 

1) It's probably one of the most commonly used guards when it comes to Mexican fighters. It provides great defense, promotes assertiveness and to an extend being flat-fooded/plodding. Similarly it's a huge part of Soviet boxing styles and its relatives like Cuban boxing style.

2) It's easy to fix in a high guard as a defensive tool, but due to rigid hands position it takes time to learn its counters and offense. The most devastating counters are launched after you condition your opponent to thinking you are there to be touched/take the punches on the guard, getting him to commit more.

3) Canelo is a great master and a dedicated high guard user. Bends at the waist, give-and-take, assertiveness: he is a great study of all the elements. Chocolatito is another. Both Usyk and Lomachenko naturally implement elements of the high guard, and so do multiple other boxers. The likes of Wright and Michalczewski also come to mind as dedicated users.

It's one of the, if not the, most popular guard outside of the USA. Not every practicioner is an expert (just like you can fix in a crossguard without really mastering all its elements) but hands up is a very common and effective position.

 

@Rollin
Don't think it's really that common in Sovet school. Their fighters, as long as I can remember - were usually practicing more open stance, with lead hand extended. Don't think it's popular or common among Cubans either.
Classic High guard I associate mostly with German and German-based fighters. Michalczewski whom You mentioned, Abraham, Sturm, Arslan... as well as a lot of lower level fighters who fought in similar manner.

I think it's easy to learn on basic level - but hard to really master. Most people will be more comfortable leaning back and using their legs, rather than bracing to absorb punches. Even if You block shots effectively, They tend to hurt and it takes some effort to absorb them so fighters who were really effective with it usually needed great physical preparation as well as technique to be really effective with it.
Quartey, Clottey, Winky, Sturm, Abraham, Arslan - They were all very strong physically.

 

Well for one example if your a fighter like that's to use movement like Leonard, Ali, how can they fight with high guard defense whilst moving all round the ring dancing on their feet ? you know how awkward that would look ?

 

Sven Ottke was like that, using his legs a lot and keeping his guard up. It definitely made him more limited in some ways, but on defensive side He was quite effective.

 

Mayweather had an excellent high guard. He'd walk you down with it ir covered up against the ropes when a bit hurt like against Manny.