Mastering a certain style of boxing- let's break down the technical factors

Might do one on Zarate

 

I'm loving Davila at the moment, next weekend I think I'll do one on him.

 

Ah, has this corker been bumped again teeto? Right then.

This might be an iffy one when you consider the minimal footage we have of him strutting his stuff, but I'll try to contribute a few words on behalf of Mr Jem Driscoll as a master fencer.

First thing's first: the jab. Driscoll seemed to have it nailed down in every sense to an almost innate degree: to body or head from every angle in one's, two's and three's; as lead or counter; as a hurtful shot in and of itself or as a prelude to other things (ranging from the half stab designed to draw the other man in through his to gauging of the distance etc); in conjunction with simultaneous sideways/downwards movement of his head/shoulders to avoid his opponent's counter-jab. It's all there.

His footwork - which sometimes reminds me of that other great fencer, Tommy Loughran - was superb too. Technically top notch with both feet positioned and set perfectly for the sharp, darting, multi-directional and fencer-like movement he utilised which allowed him to control pace and distance so well while always being ready to punch. It was also in ideal co-existence with his excellent balance and reflexes, not to mention the clever hand placement and subtle upper body movement that allowed him to feint, block, parry, pick off and redirect shots in midflight (the latter two in Joe Gans/Jack Johnson style). Yet his hands were always in a perfect position to let loose, particularly that deadly accurate and powerful right that was cocked like a sawn off 12 bore. Magnificent punch and a genuinely hard one. The fencer connotation when applied to men such as Loughran often implies a lightness of punch as well as foot. But not with Driscoll.

He had just about every other punch in the book too with his jab and famous straight right being accompanied by fast, astutely timed and well executed hooks, overhands and uppercuts. The right in particular seemed to vary as to how hard he delivered it from punch to punch in order to keep his opponent guessing or perhaps lull them into a false sense of security before unleashing the rapier with full-blooded commitment (something he never neglected doing despite being defensively excellent). He had a very good command of finding the right angles to punch from too.

Much as a great fencer or swordsman is able to lock blades up close and work it to their advantage, Driscoll was also a good inside fighter. His ability to keep his feet, head and body in the correct position at close quarters worked well with his inside uppercut, his grasp of leverage, his deceptive strength and his technical ability to lock arms and manoevre the other man. Breaking the clinch and shoving opponents back in straight, unbalanced line was also a well deployed tactic.

I've never understood the criticisms of his style tbh even if he appears a tad straight-backed on first viewing (which only adds positively adds to the stylistic label with which I've ascribed him here). He was a natural innovator and technical marvel who came along well before his time, and his style would hold up under scrutiny even today as would his supreme ring generalship and boxing IQ.

I've probably missed something, but I'll leave it at that.

 

I might do one of Joe Grim in due time. It'll take some in depth research to fill out the subtle nuances of his style, but I think I'm up to it.

 

bump

 

Thomas Hearns - 'The Outside Puncher'

Firstly, I better explain the style. It is pretty much a boxer-puncher, but I thought I would give it a fancy name, but where he is a very accomplished boxer, and separately a very accomplished boxer but both of these things complement the other perfectly. I will go in to more detail as I go along.

The Stance

He generally keeps quite wide legged to maximise his leverage, but not too wide that he cannot escape with his swift feet. He is set as a puncher, so to speak. His hand positioning is also pretty good, he keeps his right hand generally quite high with his left dangling out at his hip.

The Jab

With that left hand dangling at his hip, Hearns is able to snap out a very fast and reasonably hard 'up-jab', as Gil Clancy would call it. This is pretty effective as it is very hard to slip as it travels in an upwards direction and it is easy to end up ducking onto the path of the jab. Because of the way the left is held, Hearns can easily snap that jab to the body without altering his position. Thus, posing a double threat with that left jab from the get go without wasting any extra energy.

The jab is generally used to measure his man and keep him at range. The fact he does not have a heavy jab adds to this as a heavy jab tends to push a man back, whereas Hearns light jab allows him to measure exactly where his right hand will land. It is also a pretty potent weapon because of his size and is his main point scorer as he is able to poke away with it from range in relative safety.

The fact it is held so low also allows him to feint with it easily and regularly providing another area of threat. He also uses the jab to disguise the right hand, often throwing it just a split second before the right.

The Right Hand

This is where the 'Outside Puncher' element comes in. Hearns right hand is his most proficient weapon, but it is used for both offensive and defensive purposes equally as well. Firstly, as the offence it is the main threat as he tends to use it behind the jab. Against more boxer types he tends to use the right in a more counter-punching role behind that jab, probing for openings and letting it go when they appear. Against more aggressive targets it is used to back up his man and set them on their back feet, negating their effectiveness and increasing Hearns'. The Cuevas fight and the Duran fights are superb examples of this.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SS_AQK2idU8[/ame]

In the Duran fight watch how Hearns combines the using the jab to probe for openings with the use of the right hand to push back Duran. As he feints with that left to the body then brings the right in over the top, ultimately disguising the oncoming missile.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNFi3ZcM_S4&ytsession=LGWDXpGAraAcbrUgZeYEsTbodqSHbdSBAFUkU_k_cUbpniIddzMNcsavqt_TFOJ_Aepu0EzmSva_OTvGoUG-azylHvLaOHuqeyd_gtizg_-282bL1LpvMEwSB7xjlUDrQKEdUEYONNq7k22mTOxrGGR4r-3n8jjpq99RI1UZqFnMgmL2_i0oLzZfVZoJ_IhqaKY54dnMkLeVtJKYUnq8daiSOXHr-PW_6cuzHMXxjmsrlxRIMnBfufTGyXwIl90hzuO9aLsc78r9Y8HQEpuU8-h8OtcZ0FVN3YHBE1Hluub3i6anrTbPcjGWxHntEYKUDyp2oViJ0Cpk5k2TqK6SMW6bldHBMNqxr3vxIxAz-eqF2FdxcDxi7eew6fTE8VLTyl43E8YEJhw2HZ62p5rzHVHKPdbq4QNYJFf0v0ogWgt-HrhawzEPFS18lnhAgJ6nUP50NhM311DRABZJHm1Dpjl3K59WAM5Lep1vSyhtckS88oNB3ts-ljgZZC0PcX2x1aFicIUHH7UpflWRI93HhC65HS5Eqynk-pQOHBxJZerj9Q7W2zUfGZ_1GSO7NtzVnTs4d5lzyUSnIBqR6e4RLoQlg0YRp_MpwbjdMsLy4Gw[/ame]


The defensive purposes of the right hand are that is a threat to step into Hearns' range as the right hand is waiting to hit you. Hearns is a superb counter-puncher with that right hand and when somebody steps into range he just lets it go. This allows him to keep it an outside fight, as most fighters are discouraged from coming inside, and even if they do the right hand generally backs them up again. A superb weapon and also a very nice, little, ring generalship feature that basically allows him control of the range of the bout.

He shows this well in the Benitez fight in the early rounds.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etcQzDZO-Ik[/ame]

The Defence

Hearns' technical skills as a defensive technician are lacking. He can parry and slip shots but he is not outstanding at any of them and only uses them as a last resort. His main pillar of defence is that right hand 'burglar alarm' that he launches when an opponent comes into range. It allows Hearns the ability to controll the range and with his height and footspeed he stays out of range, as his main form of defence. And cleverly too.

The Punch Mechanics

Charley Burley once said that when punching you should consider your arms as elastic bands with weights on the end of them.

Hearns does this brilliantly as he uses his whole body to power them long limbs through the air. If you watch his punching technique it all comes from the legs and the hips and he has very little movement in the arms. Every punch seems to lead on to the next one and there is very little wasted motion as a straight right leads on perfectly to a left hook etc....

He also whips the body shots in really well and uses the more upward momentum in them to power in head shots.

 

bump

 

Man ! Thanks for the bump Greg.....What a thread !!!

I love the technical stuff......I will read later !!!!

 

Talking of Hearns, this is one of my favorites. What a display of power and sharpness. The left hooks to the body are beautiful.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOPS_1PThCc[/ame]