hi i have searched the site and it's hard to find a good discussion about the subject. i have boxed off and on for many years and been to a few different coaches from different countries and i have also sparred boxers from these different styles and the differences are HUGE. the latin school made most famous by mexicans and ricans. usually great inside fighters. often times they do get tagged more then other fighters but they also tend to wear down the oppenent easily. russian(soviet) school which is used by russian speaking fighters and to big degree the rest of the eastern block who were taught the same style but i find there are some differences between say russian speaking fighters romanians. they are great counter-punchers and often big hitters...(also this school espically the russians have some rather werid looking punches) cubans- a sort of mix between latin,russian,and american schools. i think they circle much more then others. which is great for amauters but can get you tried in the pros. the old school american pro style- there are many verisons of it here. some like james toney comes to find, a good old school pro can do it all, the english style. usually preety upright with good fundemantals the list goes on i am sure there many other styles and sub-styles it's amazing how different these styles will teach the same fighter to the most of basic of things like throw punches to footwork, to ofcourse the distance you want. at first it was strange how different they would teach things, even how to throw a jab,hook,right hand etc. what i think a lot of people that don't box, don't seem to understand that for example a mexican is better at body punching then a russian, and a russian is a better counter-puncher. a good fighter from both those school can do quite alot of the things the that other is known to be good for. any thoughts............... this subject interests a lot because the same sport is taught in such different ways.
Welcome to the forum. Its an interesting topic. Althought its worth pointing out that there are always so many exceptions to the rules, there are some similarities. Sometimes the value systems of gyms play into this quiet a bit. In Los Angeles, there is a strong value system that runs through Mexican gyms in regards to bringing it, being willing to be tagged, engage in gym wars, to show your meddle. In other gyms, this ethic is frowned down upon, its about getting in and getting out, preserving yourself for the ring, etc. Many draw the color line in this regard, stereotyping Mexican boxers to be brawlers and black fighters to be boxers, but lets not forget that the Philidelphia tradition is similar to the Mexican tradition in many ways.
IMO there is no one style superior to another, it all comes down to the practitioner. amongst the Latinos there are so many different styles, but not one has been dominant to other. It's about what style works for you, depending on your strength and weaknesses. Not all Mexicans fight in the same fashion ( barrera, Morales, Paez, and Chavez were different). Not all Puerto Rican boxers have the same style ( Camacho, Rosario, Trinidad, and Cotto can be different). Lets look at Manny Pacquiao, he's not great because of his style, or that he is philipino. He is a strong durable fighter that has a great chin and heart.
Once you learn the basics you then evolve your own style. Or that is the way it should be. Over in Europe 90% of boxers all have the same style. Apparently they think they can build boxers like Volkswagens on an assembly line. Little wonder they don't do too well when they have to face real opponents on this side of the pond.
well yes alot of european fighters do box in a smiliar fashion, the ratio is not 90 percent or maybe it just looks to you that way because you really don't know what your looking at. and ohh and real oppenents....YEah....and ofcourse americans have a great track record when going to europe...right??? ohh sorry they "ALL GET ROBBED" but yes every school school has sub-styles and i love to watch philly fighters box, same goes for mexicans. and yes not all mexicans are brawlers, look at finto lopez, great boxer. and about russians and counter- punching, i trained with some before and most the drills they did from starting to advance, was based on counter- punching.
There isn't much difference between Eastern European fighters, Russians and Europeans in general. There are always exceptions, but chances are if you see a card with an Eastern European or German on you've never heard of, he'll be upright, technically sound and a non-risk taker. He'll fight tactically behind a consistent jab, rather than with emotion The Brits are different. You can't really pin them down to a style, it really depends on the gym they fight out of
good point, tffp, but they are human after all so their will be emotion there too, but yes ofcourse not as much as say a latin fighter. and yes brit fighter are often very different actually
