The Cross-Arm Defense Essay, Part One

Ok

 

Thank you very much. Very kind and appreciated.

 

I appreciate the effort. No bias, no denigrating of other styles or fighters, well written and objective. Good stuff.

I think it can be an effective form of defense on occasion.
What I'd say is that often fighters who use this defensive technique are willing to 'tank' to a degree. I mean, they will absorb leather on the forearms, elbows and upper arms, shoulders, even top of the head, to keep coming. Foreman in his second career and Cooper did this often.

Where I think it falls short is that a fighter cannot intercept something coming in. That limits countering opportunities.
Also, any lateral movement is difficult in the 'Philly shell'.
Both arms are fully engaged which again limits countering opportunities.
Holyfield managed to find a gap in Cooper's defence by shooting uppercuts inside with tremendous results.
The fighter's vision is restricted, which isn't ideal.
The body is often left badly exposed.

If I had a short, thick-set, compact fighter with stubby arms, I think I'd make it part of his defensive repertoire. There are definitely benefits to be found.
Tall fighters with long arms... I think there are better solutions.

Just a quick note: Foreman used it less and less as his second career progressed.
Rocky Marciano briefly used a cross-armed defense on occasion to catch incoming punches, though not regularly and only sporadically. But he knew how and when to use it. With good effect, too.

 

In my opinion, no.

As you know, Tyson's ethos was built upon complete evasion of punches.
Slipping the jab and countering with hooks, uppercuts and right hands. That, or lead and move in so quickly that the other guy couldn't get a shot off in time.

Tyson used great head movement and upper body lateral sway, which the Philly shell makes hard, impossible or pointless.
His upper body sway would have been compromised badly because the Philly shell changes the center of mass and makes lateral sway a lot harder.
It would have been harder if not impossible for him to effectively slip and counter, which his style was built on.
For me, the style would have badly compromised his natural explosiveness and cat-like reactions.

On the other hand, perhaps the older, slower Tyson may have found it useful on occasion. He had all but abandoned head movement and body sway anyway, except for brief periods.

 

It's possible. And maybe a mixture of that and the peek-aboo?

 

Who used it the best ? Witherspoon...Norton ....Moore ? (Not who was the greatest fighter that used it )