What are your experiences sparring with different sized fighters?

I have a very particular problem in that I am very tall for my weight, and very strong as well. I am 5'8'', 130 lbs, but I used to fight near 125, and in college at 118. Something happened to me at 128 when I was in my mid 20s. I suddenly got stronger than everybody near my walkaround weight who wasn't a professional. But I wasn't defensively that good, so pros were a bit much for me, and guys who hit hard could tear my face up, but I was too strong to get a good work out in with most of the guys my size at all, who were for the most part kids. So I started sparring middleweights.

I was just as strong as them, and quicker with the in and out motions. I dont' get hit very much when I spar them ... BUT when I do get hit clean, I get hurt. So I can hit hard enough to hurt them, but almost all of them can hit hard enough to bust my face up. But I got used to being so much quicker than my opponents that little guys who can hit can still hit me pretty cleanly and tear my face up. (most of the guys my size are boys, and its too easy to discourage them with a shot or two). The more physically developed pros I've sparred, like Augie Sanchez, had WAY WAY too much power and sharpness for me.

I've sparred heavies a few times, and its the same thing but worse: they are mired in molasses and I either just go a round or two to cruise to a flawless in and out running victory or get hurt and ask that the session be stopped after one round. Too much power, and if they don't try to match my speed and work rate and just concentrate on landing a hard shot when I am in range its a bad night for me.

So I'm in a weird boat where my fights are all either easy for me or easy for the other guy. I've had a lot of success against medium size guys because I am quicker and just as strong as long as they are not unusually quick.

Then again, I think a lot of really big guys in sparring are not trying to kill me like they would in a sanctioned boxing match for millions of dollars, so they don't take it to that lethal point to stop the little quick guy from getting away with it, but they are trying to hit me hard.

I really don't get hit much by the bigger guys because I'm in and out of range quickly, but when I am, I tend to get a little hurt and bloody.

 

a few years ago when i was at 91kg i didnt think it made a difference,but now down at 64kg i often get put in with guys like 75kg and the power difference is incredible,i get hurt from the ****ing jabs

 

Big fighters make you work twice as hard. I mean big, big... At 6ft and 140lbs I regularly sparred with a couple of blokes towering at 6ft 4in and 6ft 5in, both weighing about 19st. Good training of course, you certainly sharpen up defensively, but you do end up working a lot, lot harder as it's nearly impossible to control a space in the ring.

 

I love sparring guys who are about 155-180. That's my weight range and I'm almost always way taller than the other guy. But when I get in with guys from 185-225, I have a hard time using my gameplan due to the fact that A. They're usually a little taller and B. They don't have to respect my power.

Problem with me is I have very close to zero defensive or counterpunching skills. I rely almost totally on offense and backing the other person up, so when I can't do that I look like a total newbie in there.

Last few weeks I've been letting/making my 12yr old sister spar with me, me not throwing and her throwing whatever she wants. She has absolutely no clue what she's doing and she still sneaks at least one or two clean scoring shots through every round. I'm that bad at defense.

 

This lol but I'm an inch shorter, against bigger slower guys I actually prefer to stay in the pocket not let them get leverage on their shots ( aramini possibly u could try this with your strength) or other than that I get on bike and work on upper body movement!

 

i wouldnt say your tall for your weight my friend thats just normal

 

I was thinking that. It's not 'very tall' in the slightest. Not boasting for being skinny, of course, but I'm 6ft and 140lbs. One of the greatest bantamweight champions, Panama Al Brown, stood 5ft 11in at 118lbs.

 

I'm tall for my physique, I look a lot stockier than 130, and that is my walk around weight. I guess I should say I'm tall for a guy who doesn't look skinny at the weight.

 

we'll say he WAS tall for his weight when he was 118.. not any more at 130 tho

 

Generally, the bigger they are, the harder they hit. That old saying of "The bigger they are, the harder they fall." is pure bull**** when in the confines of the gym since they are also learning technique and gaining skills and endurance.

 

Another thing that has probably made me think I'm taller is that most of the little guys in the gyms in the southwestern US are Mexicans, and they seem to be like 5'6'' and 120 when young and just kind of balloon up later in life. Most of the same size sparring I've done was against Hispanics, and I think for my actual weigh in competitions I only fought one black guy, who was my height but looked pretty thin.

 

yeh i see what your saying , im 5'9 almost 5'10 and im 136 walk around 130 in shape , but im pretty slim , i guess its all down to your build

 

I'm usually the smallest person at the gyms so I always spar with someone bigger than me. I've had mixed experiences, sometimes I outspeed them and then other times they beat the utter **** out of me

 

I'm about 170 at the moment, and I've sparred with guys of all different sizes, anything from short 130lb guys all the way up to guys stand at 6'2" or 6'3" and weighing upwards of 240-250. I've always found the taller lanky guys the most trouble, because although I'm generally one of the smaller guys I tend to have the longer reach (or I'm better able to use my reach). I also never minded being on the inside if it went there, even with the bigger guys because I spent a lot of time working on my uppercuts and more recently my body shots
But there was one guy who used to give me fits, he was only about 5'8" and he had the reach of a much shorter guy, seriously, he had t-rex arms, but he weighed like 200lbs and was unusually fast. I could tear him up all day on the outside, if I worked hard enough he'd never get near me, but if he ever did get close enough to unload he had an uncanny ability to hit me right on the point of the chin. While most people with just hit you in the general face area this guy would put all his effort into landing right on the tip of the chin, every time. It would only be one shot, he'd never follow up, it would just be the one nice clean shot... and then he'd stop and say sorry, which drives me ****ing nuts.