i am in an ulster final against a good boxer and counter puncher, i myself like to wait and counter with hard shots but how do you guys suggest i get the better of my opponent and try to draw leads from him, bearing in mind he is more experienced than me. i am tall with long arms and am powerful for my build but by my own admition i have a suspect defense. ne tips??
feinting would be a good start. i'd say leaving out the jab on purpose to set him up but if your defense isn't stellar that doesn't really work so well, especially if he's more experienced. this isn't meant as an insult but how is it that you came to be a good counter puncher but never developed a good defense? reflexes? speed? just seems an odd combo to have.
Practice throwing various feints, slip into a countering position, and let the shots go. For instance, throw a lead left hook, purposefully a bit wide, but with not too much commitment to it. The opponent's counter is going to be either a right over it or a slip and counter hook. So, practice both throwing the hook and then immediately slipping into a hook counter or a right hand counter position and let the punches go. Same with a right hand lead or even off the jab. The idea is to lead with a non-committal punch so you can immediately slip your opponent's counter. That way, although you seem to be leading the attack, its just a setup, so you are in fact getting your opponent to do the real leading, allowing you to counter him silly. If the opponents doesn't counter, you can actually let your shots go anyway since you just faked him out of position already.