Simple observation is one of the more valuable facets of training. It requires no sweat, strain, nor physical exertion of any kind, yet it produces results on par with the most rigorous workout. Like all things related to the craft of boxing, it does take practice to perfect. Listed below are a few things to get you started. Make critical observation a habit in the gym and at the fights you watch, both live and on TV.

 

Be Humble

 

Let’s get the lecture out of the way. One cannot talk and observe at the same time. The key to learning is humility–the belief that you lack knowledge and you desire to gain more of it. When you are in observation mode, keep your mouth shut and your eyes and ears open.

 

Eavesdrop

 

Listen to what trainers are telling their fighters in the gym. Do the fighters do as they’re told? How would you apply what you heard?

 

Think Like a Boxing Writer

 

When watching sparring or organized competition, try to come away from it with a clear idea of each fighter’s strengths and weaknesses. One of the keys to being a good boxing writer is the ability to break down a fight–the strengths and weaknesses of both fighters, and the factors that contributed to the outcome–then write the article so that it’s clear to the reader before deadline, which is sometimes a matter of a 20-30 minutes. Try to develop that same skill. How would you describe what you saw, in simple language, to someone who wasn’t there? If you can do that, you know you have learned something.

 

Make Old Boxing Videos New Again

 

Videos of even the most mundane fights are a gold mine if you break the fights down to their most simple elements:

 

Focus on one fighter for head movement. Watch his jab. Watch his defense of the jab. Does he slip it? Parry it? Slip and counter it? Or does the poor fellow just take them on the snoot? Watch for other punches and how they are defended, but focus on a single punch for extended periods, or even an entire fight.

 

Watch the feet. You could observe only the feet of the fighters and have a clear idea of who is winning. You can even tell which punches are being thrown. Is the left foot taking a shorts step straight forward? A jab. Does the left foot and knee turn sharply to the right? Left hook. Right foot pivots to the left? Straight right.

 

Use Your Imagination

 

Use you imagination and learn to pick fights apart. Those old boxing tapes you haven’t looked at in a while will gain new life, and so will your skills as you begin to apply your newfound knowledge.

 

 

 

 

Working the heavy bag is either the most useful time a boxer spends in the gym (other than sparring), or the greatest waste of time. It is meant to simulate one’s opponent in the ring and, like any other tool, is most effective when used properly.

 

Don’t Wear Yourself Out

 

Many beginning boxers make the mistake of wearing themselves out in the first round or two of bag work. This accomplishes nothing. More punching power and stamina will come in time, but it is imperative that the beginner keep proper technique in mind so that when he/she has developed that power and stamina, they can be applied when it counts–in the ring.

 

Emphasize Technique

 

The heavy bag won’t scream, cry, bleed, or beg for mercy when you punch it, so there’s no point trying to kill it. That’s not to say that you should never punch hard, quite the contrary, but technique must take precedence.

 

Respect Your Neighbors

 

Maybe you’ve been impressed by watching other guys/gals make the bag swing around like a drunk on a mechanical bull, but that doesn’t translate to success in the ring. Besides, all that bag swinging usually means that they are pushing their punches through the bag instead of snapping them, and that they aren’t punching when the bag is in its return arc, which is proper. Having your heavy bag swinging wildly into your neighbor’s spot in a crowded gym is irritating to them, not to mention rude.

 

Think of the Heavy Bag as an Opponent

 

As a beginning boxer, one must think of the heavy bag as they would a live body. Imagine that it is your opponent in front of you, an not an inanimate object. This means that you keep punches short, straight (for jabs and straight rights), and snapping. Throw hooks with precise technique (article upcoming). And, most of all, keep your mind on defense.

 

Because there are no punches coming back, it’s easy to forget about defense, but be disciplined. Keep your guard up. Use proper head movement. Make sure there are no lapses in your footwork; remain balanced at all times and use quick feet to step in and out of your “opponents” range.

 

In truth, only 20-40% of the punches thrown in a boxing match actually land; most are blocked by gloves, arms, and shoulders, and many miss altogether. Missing punches causes fatigue faster than landing them. Much faster. Spending round after round landing solid punches on a bag can be misleading, even terrifying the first time you enter a serious sparring session and it seems impossible to land a solid punch, except for the ones your sparring partner is landing on you. Here’s a trick to help get used to that feeling.

 

A (Heavy) Bag of Tricks

 

Take two or three old pairs of gloves and evenly attach the laces (or Velcro closures) to the chain around the top of the bag, so that the gloves hang at chin level. Now, when you hit the bag, the gloves will bounce around quite a bit, forcing you to pinpoint your punches more, and when in close, keep your gloves high to avoid getting smacked in the face. The added benefit is that you will often hit gloves, not the heavy bag. The gloves offer much less resistance to punches, thereby simulating blocked punches. It’s a feeling you might as well get used to.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ask any trainer worth the spit bucket he carries what the most important punch in boxing is, he’ll tell you that it’s the jab. Boxing’s great appeal is that it evens the playing field. Proper technique can nullify physical advantages like height, reach, speed, and punching power. Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes, and Pernell Whitaker routinely beat fighters that were stronger, or faster, or in some cases, both. The common denominator? Each of these Hall of Fame boxers had an excellent jab, and used it.

 

  FightTube was at Freddie Roach’s famous Wild Card gym a few months back, and Freddie where Roach discussed Rey Bautista’s upcoming bout against Daniel Ponce De Leon (a fight that Bautista ultimately lost). Roach said that Bautista looked strong and sharp, but wished that he would use his jab more. “Isn’t that every trainer’s favorite line,” this writer asked.

 

“Yeah, I guess it is,” Roach replied, laughing. A few days later De Leon knocked Bautista stiff. The laughing stopped.

 

While the jab isn’t glamorous and it doesn’t make highlight reels, it is the perfect punch because it sets up a fighter’s offense and, simultaneously, provides an effective defense. There are numerous approaches to throwing a jab, but the basic punch is most useful.

 

Assuming that a fighter has already learned proper foot placement and a relaxed but effective “on guard” stance, the jab is ready to be thrown from the lead hand. Before going any further, it is critical to keep in mind that wasted motion should be avoided. Developing “triggers” such as cocking one’s hand before throwing, feinting before every jab, lifting the lead shoulder before jabbing, or any other form of “telegraphing” must be avoided. If a fighter allows himself to develop such habits, a more experienced boxer will exploit them, with often devastating results. (See above).

 

For a right-handed boxer, the left jab begins from where it rests in the guard position. It moves in a straight line toward its target, with the lead foot simultaneously stepping forward and the lead shoulder driving the punch. Just before making contact, the boxer’s fist rotates clockwise so that the heel of the hand faces down. This is what’s known as the “snap” at the end of the punch. Once completed, the jab hand returns to the guard position in the same path as it was thrown. Although theories abound as to why the “snap” is necessary, it’s simple physiology, really.

 

Make a fist and hold your arm straight out with the thumb side of the fist pointing straight up. Now concentrate your thoughts on your biceps. Keeping your arm extended, slowly roll your fist clockwise. You should feel the release of tension as your biceps fully extend and all tension is released. That’s the snap.

 

One can practice the jabbing motion most effectively outside the gym. Find a shelf that is chin high somewhere in the house. It could be in the kitchen, bathroom, closet, or garage. It doesn’t really matter where, as long as there is room for you to take a proper stance and move comfortably. Now take a small towel, a hand towel is perfect, and roll it up using a rubber band or tape to keep it rolled, then lay it horizontally on the near edge of the shelf.

 

Take your stance and, without really thinking about it, reach out and grasp the towel and bring it straight back to you. What you should gain from this exercise is that you’ve spent a lifetime grabbing objects off shelves and that you’ve always done it without wasted motion. The reason for that is purely psychological. At home, one doesn’t worry about getting punched in the mouth when he grabs a towel or a loaf of bread off the shelf. In the gym, even in front of an innocuous heavy bag, psychological tension causes the fighter to telegraph his jab, as well as other punches.

 

 

 

Continue to practice this “shelf technique,” which this writer first heard in it’s basic form from legendary trainer Gil Clancy, at home for a few minutes every day. Before long you should see a jab that’s more relaxed, cleaner, and more difficult to counter, in the gym.

 

 

Perception is everything. Life is a “glass half empty” vs. “glass half full” drama for everyone and which one we choose determines our choices.

 

When Bernard Hopkins (48-4-1, 32 KOs) looks back at his career, he can see either a man who hasn’t lost a fight since 1993, against first ballot Hall of Fame inductee Roy Jones Jr., or he can see a man who, most recently, lost two fights to Jermain Taylor then decisioned two badly faded fighters in Antonio Tarver and Winky Wright. Apparently, this “Executioner” is an optimist.

 

His optimism isn’t that of a dreamy-eyed idealist or capricious romantic. His optimism has been sharpened by circumstance and burnished by decades of hard choices.

 

He grew up in the unforgiving streets of Philadelphia and chose to be a thug in order to survive. He then found himself in Graterford prison, where thugs like him were on the bottom of the food chain. It was there that he developed the character trait that has defined his life and career ever since-discipline.

 

For nearly sixteen years, from February 1990 to December 2005, he managed to keep his light-heavyweight sized 6′1″ frame pared down to the middleweight limit of 160 lbs. His first fight in 1988, a majority decision loss against Clinton Mitchell, was at light-heavy.

 

Unlike fighters who seem to pride themselves on how fat they get between fights and how hard they have to train in order to make weight, Bernard waltzes right back into the gym merely days after each fight. Nor does he indulge in the luxury of empty calories in between training camps. His life is a training camp.

 

At this point in Hopkins’ career, there is little that any trainer can teach him, but that’s not to say there isn’t some benefit to having new sights and sounds to motivate with. Motivation is what Hopkins seeks at this stage in his career.

 

A penny pinching multi-millionaire like Hopkins doesn’t need money. A fighter with 20 consecutive middleweight title defenses doesn’t need to build his legacy. A future Hall of Fame inductee doesn’t need another pat on the back. Although he has said that he doesn’t like to box, that it is simply his job, it is more than that. It defines him.

 

The by-product of discipline is habit and it is Bernard Hopkins’ habit to get up in the morning and run. It is his habit to go to the gym and train. It is his habit to find a new enemy, learn his strengths and weaknesses to the smallest detail, devise a plan to overcome those strengths, magnify those weaknesses and vanquish him.

 

His actions aren’t dictated by his environment. While many observers bemoan his reluctance to try and outgun his opponents from the opening bell, he knows, as all learned warriors do, that victory isn’t defined by destruction of the enemy, but by destroying the enemies will to fight.

 

Bernard sees the 12 rounds of a championship as a complete entity. The early rounds are a laboratory for testing his opponent’s reflexes, defense, strength, chin and will. If he loses early rounds he doesn’t get rattled. They have served their purpose. He has a way of shifting momentum in a fight, almost imperceptibly, until one realizes that Bernard is landing the cleaner, harder shots and his opponent’s expression has morphed from confidence to concern.

 

While his fight against 35-year-old Joe Calzaghe doesn’t promise breathtaking action, Calzaghe’s clever defense and constant, controlled aggression present an interesting tactical puzzle for Hopkins that hardcore boxing fans are curious to see if he can solve.

 

If he wins, says Hopkins, he continues to fight. To remain a viable light-heavyweight he needs to stick to ranked light-heavies, and at his age, only belt holders make much sense. The question is: Is he willing to do that? Even for the disciplined, especially for the disciplined, hard choices never stop.  

    

 

Undefeated prospect Alfredo Angulo (left) poses with Ricardo Cortes (right) during Thursday’s ShoBox: The New Generation weigh-in at Grand Casino Hinckley in Hinckley, Minn.  The pair will headline the SHOWTIME telecast on Friday (live at 11 p.m. ET/PT delayed on the west coast).  Angulo weighed in at 152 pounds and Cortes tipped the scales at 153 pounds during Thursday’s weigh-in.

 

IMG_3651 Bey 131 and Acevedo 135: Former United States Olympian and undefeated prospect Mickey Bey, Jr. will fight late replacement Roberto Acevedo in an eight-round super featherweight co-feature.  Bey tipped the scales at 131 pounds while Acevedo weighed in at 135 pounds.

 

ALFREDO ANGULO vs. RICARDO CORTES
MICKEY BEY, JR. vs.  ROBERTO ACEVEDO
FINAL QUOTES AND WEIGHTS

 

Thursday, Jan. 31, 2008,
Grand Casino Hinckley, Hinckley, Minn.

 

“SHOBOX: THE NEW GENERATION’’
Friday, Feb. 1, 2008; Telecast Begins at 11 p.m. ET/PT

 

NOTE: WEIGHTS – Alfredo Angulo weighed 152 pounds and Ricardo Cortes tipped the scales at 153 pounds during Thursday’s weigh-in.  Mickey Bey., Jr. weighed in at 131 pounds while Roberto Acevedo measured 135 pounds.  The Mille Lacs Band Of Ojibwe Indians Department of Athletic Regulations let the Bey and Acevedo weigh-in late Thursday night because Acevedo was a late replacement and had last minute travel arrangements.

 

Angulo (11-0, eight KOs), a hard-hitting, undefeated prospect, looks to continue making a name for himself in the junior middleweight division when he battles the dangerous Cortes (22-1, 150 KOs) in a 10-round junior middleweight battle Friday, Feb. 1, 2008, on ShoBox: The New Generation (live on SHOWTIME at 11 p.m. ET/PT delayed on the west coast).

 

In the co-feature, former amateur champion and 2004 United States Olympian Mickey Bey, Jr. (9-0, six KOs) will face Roberto Acevedo (5-3-3, one KO) who was a late replacement for the eight-round super featherweight special attraction.  Gary Shaw Productions, LLC, will present the doubleheader from Grand Casino Hinckley in Hinckley, Minn.

 

ALFREDO ANGULO

 

“I don’t think it will go more than five rounds, and I will walk out of the ring undefeated once again.

 

“You saw my last fight, it ended in the first round.  My style is attack, attack, attack.  So you can expect that tomorrow night.

 

“I have been training with (former world champion) Roman Karmazin, so I am ready for this fight.

 

“I feel good about my conditioning.  Training has been going great and I am at the top of my game.

 

“I have power in both my right and left hand.  I can take care of him with body shots or blows to the head.  We’ll see how it goes in there, but I will be aggressive.

 

“I want to thank SHOWTIME for this opportunity to fight in the main event.  In the future, I want to fight on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING.  That is my goal right now, 100 percent.”

 

RICARDO CORTES

 

“I’m not at all worried about Angulo’s undefeated record.  That isn’t something that I even think about.  I am just focused on getting in their and coming out with a win.

 

“My training has been great.  This is the best shape I’ve been in my whole career.

 

“We’re both hard hitters, so you never know how long it will go.

 

“I’m going to be boxing him from the outset, I will definitely be aggressive.

 

“I feel good right now, I am ready to go.”

 

MICKEY BEY, JR.

 

“My training has been going great for this fight.  I am ready for anyone that comes to fight me.

 

“I’m not anxious for a KO, but it will definitely be a devastating win either way, KO or victory.  I will win easily, that is for sure.

 

“My little brother beat him in his last fight, but I look for my opponent to be better than he was that day.  I am expecting the best out of him, so I will definitely be my best.

 

“I have not been affected by the numerous changes in opponents.  I just train hard and make sure that I am ready for anyone that steps in the ring.  This new opponent will not change how I perform.”

 

ROBERTO ACEVEDO

 

“I was a late replacement for this fight, but that does not matter.  I am ready for the challenge.

 

“I will be aggressive in there.   I thought I wont that fight against his brother (Cortez Bey).  I want to make up for it tonight by giving Mickey his first loss.

 

“I am thankful for this opportunity to fight on SHOWTIME.  I plan to take advantage of it with a convincing win.”

I just read an excellent book on Ali by Jack Cashill called Sucker Punch: The Hard left Hook That Dazed Ali and Killed King’s Dream (2006, Nelson Current)

 

In the book, Cashill reflects on his own Newark, NJ childhood in the sixties, his neighborhood’s rapid implosion, and the influence of Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali on his contemporaries. A thoroughly investigated account of Ali’s association with Malcolm X, Elijah Muhammad and The Nation of Islam, the book tells of the deceit in Ali’s “conscientious objector” stance, his “Oh Well” attitude concerning the murder of his friend Malcolm X, and the cruelty this supposed civil rights hero showed the black fighters he faced, especially Joe Frazier, Floyd Patterson, and Ernie Terrell.

 

Yet, Cashill sees in Ali a morally pliable man with basically decent instincts. Ali’s pliability, likely due to his illiteracy, rendered him vulnerable to Muhammad’s influence, though after Muhammad’s death in 1975, his more reasonable, and genuinely religious son, Herbert, began Ali’s journey back to the decent principles that lived closer to his heart. A journey that is completed by his humbling physical infirmities.

 

At once scathing and sympathetic, Cashill zeroes in on the truth of Ali. That is, as the highest profile athlete of his time, with the potential to build racial bridges, he built walls instead. His was “an opportunity lost.”