[RING, June 1962] What Happened to Body Punching? By Paul Berlenbach

Different type of boxer were you had to fight more to make money.

 

Punching to the heart is what Tunney said was the key factor after getting massacred by Greb in their first fight to becoming competitive with him in their subsequent once.

 

Why is it not taught or used anymore? And why has the strait rt hand to the body become an extinct punch? The last guy I saw throw shovel uppercuts to the body was Frazier with the rt hand. That's 3 forgotten lost punches we dont see today

 

I don't really subscribe to the idea, that body punching isn't what it used to be, because all the good trainers have died out... and that today's boxers therefore aren't being taught the proper way.

Boxers fight in all kinds of different ways. To some body punching comes naturally (like Ricky Hatton), to others (like Ali) it's not really part of their arsenal.

And I don't think it's necessary to bring back some old-time trainer, to teach this fellow about body punching:

This content is protected

 

Lomachenko, Kovalev, Gvozdyk and quite a few others from that school throw Dempsey style shovel hooks on the regular. Kovalev is especially effective using it as a clean up power shot on his 1,2,1 combo. Dropped many a foes with it.