Been watching some of his fights lately .Simms Hilton etc good performances by Doug I just wonder why he was so easy to hit ? Fought hands low square on most of the time head up .Why didn't his trainers or indeed Doug try to improve his defense ? Holding his hands higher chin down would of helped not rocket science is it!.Doug had good speed and decent power and a solid chin . I wonder why he was so reckless defensively.
The guy liked a good tear up. Maybe he just couldn't resist a scrap and neglected the basics when his blood was up. I always liked watching Doug. I hope he's well today.
I noticed this to. Especially when he fought Benn, one of the worst things you could do against someone like him!
I think he kept his hands lower to bait guys so he could counter. Was known to have a good chin for a while and then he fought someone named Quinones I think it was.
His face showed the effects of his lack of defense. The flattest face I've ever seen. Hell of a chin though, and deserved the nod against Don Lee.
I am surprised how a legend he fought Hearns has such a damaged face. It looked ok late into his career, but somehow the later fights messed up Tommy's nose. And Dewitts. Which is surprising with Hearns since people say he did not take a good punch, yet he took enough to get his nose damaged from punishment. As for Dewitt. He was a good fighter. Nonexistent right hand, but a great left hook.
There's a lot more to it than keeping your hands up and the number of trainers that actually know how to teach it minimal. It generally amounts to a combination of "keep your hands up " and letting the fighter figure it out himself. With DeWitt, he had a stupid amount of faith in his chin. By the time it let him down his habits were carved in stone. Fun to watch him fight, especially in the ESPN days.
Fighters aren’t puppets. You can teach them and drill them over and over and some of them just keep doing it their way.
I always liked Doug DeWitt...I was a fan. He Traded on his rugged chin until it just gave out...I think he just used up all his tokens vs Hearns. He also traded on a certain fundamental cleverness that I appreciated.
Doug was a party guy who never took his job real seriously. After boxing he acted in extra roles off Broadway
His fight with Mathew Hilton on the undercard of Foreman-Cooney was epic. Hilton’s face was so disfigured it was disgusting.
I watched that fight at a Mexican restaurant; $15 for the fights and an all you can eat buffet. If the Foreman Cooney had gone 10 rounds, I would have bankrupted that place.
