Joe Louis demonstrates a clever move against Braddock here. He intentionally punches the inside of Braddocks front arm’s elbow. It has the effect of swinging Braddock’s arm out of the way and gently pulling his weight into a straight right cross. http://giant.gfycat.com/UnsteadyWelltodoFrigatebird.gif It’s seems so common sense, and yet, no boxing coach I ever had ever taught me that trick. Any of you ever been taught that or seen it used?
I don't think it is taught so much as it is learned from experience in the ring for example shooting a punch past the head and then pulling the hands down or during in fighting pulling a fighter to turn him at the shoulder or as Marciano did punching the arms was not new...beautiful study and catch I had not noticed that combo
Anthony Joshua vs. Wladmir Klitschko is a good example of fighters boxing with the opponents arms, so to speak. But nothing like the maneuver Louis used. Would be cool if someone found a close comparison.
What Joe did there was among several techniques not taught but picked up along the way, Robinson would tap an opponents shoulder just before they threw to make the punch go off course.
Sweet Pea Whitaker used to do a lot of similar things, putting his hands on the opponent. Larry Holmes, too. I saw Thomas Hearns do this against, IIRC, Pablo Baez: Pivoted to the right and as he did so reached his left out to touch Baez’s left glove (which was held high), flicked it down in a sweeping motion (to clear a path) while he launched a missle of a right hand. There’s other things you don’t see every day too, punching an opponent’s arms to wear him down (Marciano was big on this, Leon Spinks pounded on the points of Ali’s shoulders in their first fight when Ali rope-a-doped to tire his arms out) — I was reminded of this tonight watching Deontay Wilder jab Luis Ortiz’s right shoulder repeatedly ... and, funny enough, Ortiz stopped using his right jab so much as the fight wore on. It was subtle but it was there and I’m sure it wasn’t by accident.
I remember Bernard Hopkins demonstrating that in a video. He was talking about throwing a hook to the front shoulder to opera an opponent up for the right hand.
I think you're half right and half wrong. I'd agree that he wasn't the most accurate puncher in the world, but I do think he would punch the arms at points to wear people down when they shelled, sometimes throwing short rights to the left shoulder, and sometimes throwing chopping uppers into a tight inside guard.
