The Clinch, How Does It Work and Who Does It Best?

I agree 100%. What he did in the Super six was amazing. I put a very high premium on guys like him that have won multiple tournaments in the pro's and amateurs. In the amateurs, it is very difficult to win multiple three round fights against different style opponents in a short period of time. You don't accomplish that without being a well rounded fighter which is exactly why I rate both Ward and Uysk so high. Ward like Uysk took on all comers regardless of style or location. He was a true champion that is weirdly disliked by some on this forum.

 

Nice thread Georgie, one of the more interesting ones in quite a while.

 

He's a bit better fighting as Dieselnoi but I agree, Saddler with a plum is so scary.

 

From reading other threads one would think clinching is tantamount to loading your gloves.

 

Wlad held out his right arm to create distance which is technically illegal with the emphasis on technically. Athletes are always looking for an edge.

 

He's going to abuse the fact that in Thai rules low blows are legal and busts every of his opponents nuts.

 

Thanks for this topic @George Crowcroft . I can only concur with those who said it's one of the most interesting in recent time.

I've been familiar with those techniques - like most people who saw thousands of fights over the years - but You synthesised it well and definitely expanded on some aspects of it, beyond what I ever did for my own purposes.

So many fans these days treat clinching and any part of the inside game that goes beyond two fighters taking turns from behind a high guard - as something poisonous which should be eliminated, while it's maybe the most technically interesting part of boxing. There are so many tactics and counter-tactics to use here.. I'm always frustrated when the referee breaks fighters too quickly, not giving them a chance to "play it out" in close, on themselves.

Some of the most interesting tactical fights are also between two fighters who are educated in different forms of clinches and "dirty" tactics.
Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev had some fascinating battles for position in close, with Andre having to avoid the head-lock attempts from Sergey while He was trying to take the fight close and put his head on Sergey's chest to work.

People often argue about whether fighters of old were better than those of today. I don't have an answer for it, but I strongly believe that one aspect where boxers certainly devolved is inside game and all the tactics described here. There were couple occasions where I randomly came across some fights from the 50s or 60s - with some guys I never heard of and who never even competed for world title - and I was astonished by their skills in close quarters. For today's standard, They were masters.
It's interesting how many successful world level fighters are very amateurish and limited, unaware - when it comes to this aspect of the fight game.

This is also the reason that I don't believe that Wladimir really was a master of a clinch. He was good at it of course - and got better later in his career - but I think big part of his success was the fact that He never fought anyone who could be called particulary good, effective or skillful inside fighter. Not much was required from him to prevent his opponents from doing any work up close.

 

It seems some posters believe the taller fighter is just supposed to let the shorter fighter get inside and pummel him.

 

I guess one could expect all tall fighters to develop the kind of Tall Man's clean inside game like Margarito, Chico Corrales or Brandon Figueroa - but to me, attempts to completely take the clinch and any related techniques away from the sport would take a big and important part out of the fight game.
The Amateur boxing went in that direction for a while - and it made it barely watchable, to me. They reversed this trend in recent years and now there are some very effective inside fighters in the Amateur code also.

The Jordanian team in particular is worth looking at for this. They developed their own unique style with emphasis on physicality and infighting.

 

Reviving this thread,I also observed Bobo Olson to be a master here.

He would charge straight,lock his hands on his opponents and starts smashing,whenever his opponents punch,he could guard it with his frames that could be transitioed into underhooks,sorta like Duran and clinch his way to maul safely,he'd lean his head on the lead shoulder to eliminate the cross and use his head to change angles at times too.


If his chin wasn't so easy to crack and he defended uppercuts better he would be a better ATG,I would even compare him to a middleweight version of Duran,despite getting stopped by SRR in their first fight Robinson looked horrible as his wide fast shots and wonderful jabs literally get taken by Olson,took him many rounds to adjust.

 

Alright I’m with you to an extent… but Hatton cheated, blatantly, that fight sucked! - A giant Tszyu fan