The next use of the cross guard is in infighting. This is perhaps the most awkward way to use the cross guard, but is the most delicate. When inside, a fighter cannot slip, roll, or duck any punches. That's why it's important to be well protected when fighting inside. Again, this method of blocking is more effective in close-in fighting, because a boxer can throw with one hand, but have his other in place to protect himself, but still in position to be thrown. Because of its difficulty in use when inside, it is least utilized inside. Gene Fullmer and Bert Cooper were known for their swarming and brawling inside, and both of these cross-guard practitioners were veterans of 128 rumble-and-tumble brawls combined. The third main use of the cross guard is for purely tactical purposes. The truth is that most boxers don't know what to do against a fighter using the cross guard. A lot of good boxers will waste either a lot of precious time trying to figure out how to get past the guard( Norton-Ali I, Holmes- Witherspoon), or they will abandon all assessment and exhaust themselves by a throwing a lot of punches that just land on the fighter's arms, or the top of his head, or might not even land at all ( George Benton vs. Allen Thomas). In addition to this, one could further confuse his opponent by maintaining the cross guard up until he seems to have figured it out, and then switch back to an orthodox stance. Although this method is used even very seldom by those who use the cross guard, Ken Norton and Tim Witherspoon both employed this tactic very effectively, and because of that, may have been two of the most frustrating practitioners of the cross guard in boxing. In closing, it must be said in defense of the cross guard's universality, that it can be used effectively by anyone. The " cross guard should only be used by certain people" argument is ridiculous. Though the cross guard is typically practiced by men of thicker builds, it can be applied to equal effectiveness by boxers who are not so, as aforementioned in the cases of Benton and Witherspoon. Even if you still want to stick with the argument that the orthodox stance, the peek-a- boo style, or even the southpaw stance is superior, there is but one last piece of undeniable information to be given about the cross guard ; that being that of all the numerous stances in boxing, the cross guard, unlike the other main stances, eliminates virtually all head damage. The "Old Mongoose" himself, Archie Moore, veteran of 219 contests(131 knockouts in 185 victories), over a period of 27 years, died at the advanced age of 81.(the average life expectancy of a black male born in 1916 was approximately 40).
