How do I film study, and who are some good fighters to study? I'm a southpaw, so who are some good southpaw fighters to study? e.g. Marvin Hagler
Something that worked well for me when I was starting was watching fights when I already knew who had won. Then I could watch the fight and focus on what he did that led to his victory. You have to separate yourself from the idea of seeking what looks good so that you can find what is effective. Sometimes they are the same, just as often they are not. I learned a lot about southpaws by watching Ricardo Lopez fight them. He was not a southpaw but what works one way will work the other. What you are really looking at is foot position and creating angles; what you really want to avoid is the modern southpaw theology of 'always' having your foot outside his lead foot. I believe it is Hilario Zapata that will show you how effective a southpaw can be circling to his right- once you get outside the line of his right shoulder he can't hit you. You can watch Ralph Dupas v Charlie King; Dupas was not a southpaw but he fought that way inside in this fight. You will learn how to use your right shoulder to take away his left hook in close. You will learn to smother his right hand as you pivot out to your left while lining up a lane for your left hand. You can watch the second Jose Napoles v Billy Backus fight. Again, Napoles is not a southpaw. But you will see how he uses his foot position to set up different punches, what he throw when his lead foot is outside, and how the inside position sets up his jab and left hook.
Oleksandyr Usyk. Terrence Crawford. Marvin Hagler. Vasyl Lomachenko. Try some of these tricks that Usyk is using in this video. Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk - Film Study There are already many film studies available on youtube. Guys who have slowed down footage and broken down what the fighters are doing. Let me know if you need links to more.
Two really good points here I’d like to underscore from @greynotsoold: 1) Pay attention to footwork. Control the geometry of the fight and you probably control the fight — and footwork is how you do this. Even a subtle change in angle, a few degrees (especially with a southpaw vs orthodox) can make the difference between who is landing and who is getting hit. 2) The idea of the southpaw having his lead foot on the outside (or, conversely, the orthodox opponent) having the advantage is really about when you’re in the pocket. It’s a matter of which has the best path for the power hand. When the distance is greater, it doesn’t matter much. Watch Nunn vs Kalumbay and you can see he stepped into the pocket with his foot inside and he’s right in Nunn’s wheelhouse. The surprising KO was actually inevitable … watch the entire (less than a round) fight and you’ll see Sumbu stepped in the same way before the KO and Nunn didn’t pull the trigger, but you can also see he noticed it and was poised to pounce on the opportunity when it happened again. Outside the pocket, different kettle of fish. Inside vs outside with lead foot doesn’t matter if there’s a foot or more distance between your lead feet, as in you’re that far apart.
One thing that helped me more than anything else is watching tape with someone more experienced than you, letting them explain what they see and asking them lots of questions. You can do only so much on your own in fighting sports
Best way to film study is to pick one thing at a time when you watch, don't just watch the fight like a fan. Watch footwork first: how they move into range, out of range, how they circle. Then watch defence: head movement, guard, parrying. Then offence: how they set up punches, not just when they throw them. Watch without sound too sometimes, easier to focus on the details instead of the commentary. For southpaw fighters, definitely study Marvin Hagler like you said, especially his balance and how he switches ranges. Also check out: Pernell Whitaker: master of defence and positioning. Zab Judah (early career): very fast, explosive southpaw basics. Manny Pacquiao (early-mid career): angles, explosiveness, how to break rhythm. Lomachenko: especially his footwork, angles and how he forces opponents to reset. Pick just one fighter per session and focus hard on what they do before they attack, not just the highlight moments.
