What boxing techniques are "lost arts"? Have any techniques improved?

Although I feel that boxing has mostly regressed on a technical level, most sports have stylistic cycles that aren't better or worse but are just different, so those suggestions are welcome as well.

I'll start with what I consider "lost arts" lacking in today's boxers that used to be common and not reserved just for champions.

1. Jabbing. Particularly from angled stance, the way Joe Louis used to do. If you look at any two guys before the 90's (especially before the 80's), you'll see that when two guys jab, their head is off center and their right glove is in front of the face outward ready to parry the return jab. Leonard-Benitez is a good example of this.

http://i1140.photobucket.com/albums/n571/Bogotazo/insta_zpsfoszlboi.gif

2. Inside fighting. Not a lot of the younger guys today can fight on the inside. Outside fighters don't often have an inside game at all, and inside fighters are under developed.

Here's a lovely example of good positioning on the inside from Armstrong, because why not.

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This concerns two areas (which both have to do with positioning).

The first is body punching. Offensive fighters still go to the body, but few set them up like they used to. There are a lot of head hunters as well. I notice that back then, fighters used to secure their head on an opponent's shoulder and purely block their body with their arms. You don't see that anymore, because rarely are fighters even thinking of getting in an inside position so secure, they don't need to put their hands up.

The second area is fighting in the clinch. Back then, a referee would more often bark "fight out!" instead of breaking them right away. Even liberal referees are often forced to step in when one guy is hitting and holding, or clinching, because the other fighter has no idea how to counter those tactics. The almost grappling battles that took place involved negotiating space and freedom of the arms to punch, so the action was more fluid, not less. Porter and Brook looked clueless with each other at close quarters despite Pat Russel's liberal style.

You can see both of these things on display during the opening round of Gene Fulmer vs. Gil Turner.

https://youtu.be/ksVPG8kTvaA?t=344

3. Ring generalship. Broadly what I mean by this is the ability to use one's footwork to get into the right position at the right moment, throwing the correct punches which open an opportunity to change position again, and generally fighting one's fight by always making the correct decision. This applies to space in the ring, angles, and the range in the moment of exchanging.

To make it even simpler, two fundamental skills apply for aggressors and "boxer" types. Cutting the ring off, and controlling the center of a ring. Too many fighters just follow their opponents around the ring instead of preemptively closing off the exits. Stiverne-Wilder comes to mind.

Here is a nice film study on Chavez cutting off the ring.

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Controlling the center never seems to be a priority for boxers nowadays. Instead of stepping in a tight circle, skipping around the perimeter of the ring is the only form of lateral movement they know. Floyd Mayweather Jr. could get away with this because of every other skill he had, but others can't. Amir Imam was showing these deficiencies early, and he paid for them when he got upset. Keith Thurman also struggled with this against Bundu and Collazo, who made him gunshy and back up ineffectively just by walking him down without pause.

Here, Ken Buchanan's back is always to the greater space in the ring. His jab helps, but it's the way he steps efficiently and never backs straight up that saves him from getting backed up against the ropes or subject to a multi-step attack.

https://youtu.be/UgL0m8RFG1Q?t=806

4. A 4th might be head movement. Even just having the head off center and bending at the knees a bit was commonplace. People often remark how surprised they are when they look at LaMotta for the first time, hearing his reputation as a brawler or slugger, and seeing how well he could slip and roll with shots. Bobbing and weaving styles (Tyson, Frazier) are also not seen anymore.

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5. Parrying. It was really common for fighters back in the day to reach out their hands to block punches. Rarely seen nowadays, only Beristain fighters seem to do it much. Look at Pep and Sandler; as both control the distance, their hands are outstretched and they constantly knock each other's punches down to counter.

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Add yours and discuss :bbb

 

Mayweather is retired.

And in any case, he's poor at controlling the center of a ring.

Great at parrying and slipping/rolling with shots though. Also a great inside fighter. He had an oldschool style for sure.

That's why I included Fulmer and LaMotta and Buchanan as well.

Who in the 2000's jabbed in that stance? Prime Shane and Oscar are the only ones I can think of. Or maybe Barrera. Whereas in SRL's era it was like the default. Hopkins, but he's a relic.

Parrying in the 2000's? Just Oscar depending on the trainer. And Marquez. Floyd parried a bit with his lead hand.

Good post. Golovkin is the best at cutting off the ring today, and Kovalev/Gonzales are beast at controlling the center. This is kind of a slight reemergence of the well rounded pressure fighter, because for a long time it looked like the "slick" style was dominating, not because of inherent superiority (since historically slick fighters don't dominate the top level) but because pressure fighters had decreased in quality.

But funny enough, control of the center isn't something the boxer types emphasize too much. Except for Ward.

So you can still see some of these skills here and there, but they're lacking in a lot of younger guys.

I should add more B level guys from those eras to this thread. In past eras though sometimes ATG's weren't even the best in their divisions. Like Benitez being beaten by Leonard and Hearns, yet still being an ATG overall. So he should count. Same with Lamotta. Buchanan isn't a P4P ATG in my eyes. Fulmer certainly isn't, nor Turner. Pep and Sandler are but I was just showing their stance which was fairly commonplace, outstretched hands. Today, you have CHAMPIONS that can't do this. Danny Garcia can't control the center. Canelo can't cut off a ring. Neither jabs well. Stiverne can't cut off a ring and Wilder can't fight inside. Thurman can't control the center. Porter smothers himself.

So you're half right, I could have included more B-level guys, because what I'm trying to show is commonplace stylistic habits and skill that are not longer commonplace, but I just think these ATG's, HOFers, and champions display them well and are still able to be compared to the top champs and contenders of today.

Straight punches is actually something I think I'd agree with. Lots of looping shots and the overhand right used to seem more common than the straight. The jab could be popped out straight but a stiff right hand seems something more emphasized today. Faster route from A to B.

Thanks for your response btw.

 

Oh yeah, I definitely have room to appreciate that. At the end of the day, it's a fight. If you can find subtle ways to manipulate your opponent and hurt him in unconventional ways, I can't hate, that's gamesmanship. Love watching Hopkins do that stuff but I'll have to pay more attention to Pedroza.

Yeah, that last-resort abandon was needed. I mean that's basically all Maidana had in terms of style and look how far that took him! Funny enough, when you look at the earliest footage of Manny, he's inside fighting; leaning on a guy with his forearm before letting loose a conventional hook to the body. Never would have thought that.