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Defensive Techniques

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All offensive boxing tactics have corresponding defenses. Clever footwork and the quick use of the hands, shoulders, and torso will protect a boxer from many threats. Techniques such as infighting and elusiveness are all-important in the defensive maneuvers of a boxer.

Infighting

In infighting, the boxer keeps as close as possible to the opponent while delivering choppy punches to the body or face. Keeping close prevents the opponent from getting off long-range blows that could result in a knockout. The technique is particularly useful for boxers with a short reach.

Elusiveness

The boxer makes vulnerable parts of the body as difficult to reach as possible. While keeping the feet steady, the fighter moves the head from side to side, keeping the body in motion to avoid becoming a stationary target. A skilled defensive fighter can often either duck punches or elude them completely.

Other Defensive Measures

A tired boxer can go into a clinch, grabbing the opponent’s arms and holding on tightly. Another defensive technique is covering up so that both arms cover the front of the body.

Offensive Techniques

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To be effective, boxers must have an assortment of punches that are coordinated with their footwork. Less powerful punches often serve the important role of setting up the fighter’s chief “weapons,” as boxing analysts sometimes call a boxer’s main offensive skills.

Feinting

Moving the hands or head to confuse an opponent is called feinting. A smart boxer will first test the opponent by trying different feints, noting the reaction to each one before deciding which will be most effective to set up a punch.

Left Jab

The boxer delivers a left jab by striking out with the left arm while the left elbow is straightened sharply. A boxer opens up less with a jab than with many other types of punches. The jab can also be used to ward off blows.

Right Cross

The right cross is usually the most powerful blow of a right-handed boxer. It is delivered by feinting with a left jab and, before the jab reaches the mark, driving the right fist straight out while the boxer twists to the left and pivots on the sole of the right foot.

Left Hook

Delivering a left hook properly requires perfect coordination and timing. The boxer executes this punch by starting the left arm from the jab position with the palm facing the right, driving the hand out, and circling it in an arc.

Uppercut

Almost always delivered with the right hand, the uppercut is usually most effective after a jab. The blow starts from the direction of the floor and is aimed at the chin of the opponent.

Combination Punches

A series of blows designed to make contact with a fast-moving opponent are called combination punches. This is usually accomplished with a combination of different blows, such as a left jab followed by a right cross or an uppercut.

TECHNIQUES

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TECHNIQUES

A successful boxer must have sound training and fundamental techniques.

These techniques include stance, punches, feints (fakes), blocks, footwork, and other aspects of the sport sometimes called the “sweet science.” In addition, boxers often employ different strategies during a bout.

Training

Modern training routines differ little from those of earlier times. Fighters still keep trim by working with the heavy bag, a large punching bag suspended from the ceiling, and the speed bag, a smaller bag attached to a swivel at eye level.

The heavy bag enables a fighter to practice different kinds of punches while the lighter bag improves timing and coordination.

Rope jumping, weightlifting, cardiovascular exercise, sparring (practice fighting) with partners, and distance running are other important training techniques. Fighters have increasingly trained at high-altitude sites to improve their conditioning, especially for high-profile bouts.

Stance

While many boxers develop unique styles, they all must have a proper stance and good footwork. These two essentials enable a boxer to maintain balance, whether advancing in an attack or retreating from an opponent.

A right-handed boxer positions the left foot about one step in front of the right one and holds the left side of the body in a direct line with the left leg. The left fist, ready to jab or ward off blows, is extended slightly in front of the body at about shoulder level.

The right fist should be near the jaw to protect the face or to be driven straight out if needed offensively. The chin should be kept down, tucked into the upper left shoulder. The teeth should be clamped tightly to the mouthpiece so that the mouth is protected in the event of a blow to the face.

Introduction

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Boxing

fistfighting sport between two matched combatants wearing padded gloves. A boxer’s primary aim is to land as many blows as possible to the head and torso of the opponent, using strength and speed to dominate the contest.

One of the oldest sports still practiced, boxing dates back thousands of years. Today the sport is popular in many parts of the world and encompasses both amateur and professional matches.

Sometimes it is referred to as pugilism, from the Latin word pugil, meaning “a boxer.”

For most of the 20th century boxing attracted huge fan and media attention in the United States. Some boxing champions became legendary, larger-than-life figures, such as Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali, and Mike Tyson.

Criticized to varying degrees throughout its history for its violent nature and high injury rate, boxing has somehow always managed to survive—and even thrive—as a sport.

RULES

Modern boxing regulations are based upon the 12 rules set out by British boxing officials in the mid-19th century.

These rules became known as the Marquess of Queensberry Rules, named for the 8th Marquess of Queensberry, John Sholto Douglas, who sponsored and published them.

In addition to in-the-ring rules, modern boxing also has specific regulations regarding eligibility for the fighters themselves. Sanctioning bodies can bar boxers from competing in a certain jurisdiction for medical reasons or for violating specific rules or codes of conduct.

The modern rules for professional and amateur bouts differ, but both types of contests are divided into time periods, called rounds.

In professional bouts each round lasts three minutes; in amateur bouts, two minutes. A one-minute rest period between rounds is standard.

Amateur contests consist of three rounds; professional bouts may consist of up to 12 rounds. A bell is usually sounded by a timekeeper to begin and end each round.

Gloves

A key step in making boxing safer and more respectable was the introduction of gloves, ending brutal bare-knuckle competition. Boxing gloves are heavily padded to soften the impact of the blow and to protect the hands of the boxer.

As an added protection, the hands are taped before being placed in the gloves, which are essentially huge mittens. Professional gloves usually weigh between 170 and 226 g (6 and 8 oz); amateur gloves average 226 to 340 g (8 to 12 oz).
Ring

All boxing matches take place in the ring, an enclosed area in which the boxers fight. Ordinarily on a raised platform, the ring is surrounded by three ropes supported by posts at each corner. Its floor is padded and covered by canvas for better traction and to protect

the head of a boxer in the event of a fall or a knockdown.

Sometimes referred to as a squared circle, a boxing ring is actually a square that measures 5.5 to 7.3 m (18 to 24 ft) on each side, depending on the available space.

After each round, each fighter returns to a specific corner of the ring, which is diagonally across from the corner of the opponent. The other two corners are called neutral corners.

Officiating

Modern boxing includes a referee, who is stationed inside the ring and officiates the bout, calling fouls and separating fighters caught in a clinch (hug).

Boxing fouls include blows below the belt, blows to the back of the head, kicking, tripping, gouging (such as to the eye), biting, and headbutting. A boxer who commits a foul loses points and may be disqualified for repeated violations. Ringside officials, or judges, score the fight using an established point system.

Deciding the Winner

A boxing match can be decided in several ways: by disqualification; by knockout (KO), when a fighter is knocked down and cannot get up within ten seconds; by technical knockout (TKO), when a fighter is judged physically unable to continue or does not answer the bell to begin a new round; or, at the end of all scheduled rounds, by decision, using the scores tallied by the ringside judges. Less commonly the scoring officials will declare the fight a draw (tie) or will rule “no contest” and stop the fight if both boxers are not competing adequately.

The referee has the authority to count a fighter out or to declare them unfit to continue, often in consultation with a ringside physician.