~~~ Decebal's Boxing Promotion$™ proudly presents: The cross_trainer Special™~~~

i wish i had the time but unfortunately i don't

 

i'll see what i can do and if i can write enough on it :good

 

i guess i am the winner since i was the only one to volunteer

 

When did Willie ****ing Pep go to the body?

If old timer did actually go to the body more, it is because they were so poorly-conditioned they struggled to hold their hands high for 15 rounds. They lazilly swung for the body instead of lifting their arms to go to the head.

 

Fighters went to the body more in championship fights in years past for two reasons:

1: The fights were scheduled for a longer distance, meaning that their was more time for the body work pay dividends in the latter portion of the contest.

2: The emphasis on clean, effective punching in scoring had yet to established to the same extent as it is right now. Since it's tough for judges to determine how effective a body blow actually is, or even if it scored at all, then that means that they're not as likely to score it as a clean shot in the same manner that they might score a blow to the head. This probably explains why you don't see today's fighters employ feints as frequetly as they used to in order to set up their punches- it's probably just as expedient for them to actually throw the shot and see if it connects.

However, it's instructive to note that there were fighters back then who threw almost exclusively to the head (Tommy Loughran and Willie Pep, etc.) And, there are modern fighters (Miguel Cotto immediately comes to mind) who possess fierce body attacks. And, there are fighters (Guzman, Mayweather, et al) who still employ feints to throw off their opposition.

So, while some of the more nuanced aspects of boxing aren't seen quite as much as they once were, we shouldn't necessarily write them off as extinct techniques just yet.