I'm 5'10 1/2, weigh about 138. I don't know if that's tall for my weight class, but some people I don't need to bob and weave being that I'll be fighting guys 5'7 to 5'8. I also do not see tall fighters really bob and weave. Look at Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko. Is bob and weaving necessary for tall fighters?
It's a good skill to have when you need an exit, such as in going back to the center, or want to change the angle in-range. You can't always maintain perfect distance, and I myself don't like to grab as much as I do move with my balance intact. Khan-Maidana is a good example, where Khan used his footwork and reach to maintain distance most of the time, but you still see him weaving under hooks from his shorter opponent to escape. Mosley and DLH have also ducked under shorter men's punches. Staying tightly in the pocket to consistently bob and weave is one thing, but avoiding consecutive punches by ducking can be advantageous and open up opportunities despite you being taller. You want to be long, but you don't want to be a huge target. I think the Klitschko and Lewis templates are hard to implement. They're effective, but I see more hazards in trying to apply them as a lower level fighter than immediate benefits.
Being a tall fighter myself (6'3"), often times our "bobs" are more in the form of bending forward at the back than bending down at the knees. I got cautioned for that by some ref in one of my fights who claimed I was dropping my head. In any case, I've ducked a lot of punches that way.
Yes and no. If a guy is winging hooks at you then you might need to bob and weave to get under them and out of the way. Bogo did a good job explaining how it can be used to create angles against a shorter opponent too. For myself, well, I try to almost never do it. I'm 6'6" and have long arms, my coaches have drilled into me how to use my jab and reach over my opponents. I still sometimes have to bob and weave, but me going in there, trying to emulate Tyson would be a waste of my physical tools.
No, it is not absoloutely neccessary. Yet nothing is, but its possible that there will be times in which knowing how to bob and weave effectively will help you.
it ant necessary, but why not have it in your tool kit. You don't have to bob and weave all the time if you don't need to, but you might come up against an opponent where you need to bob and weave. Its always good to have it in your tool kit
