Professional boxing is a business. Sometimes a dirty business. Everybody in the world is looking to see Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao. Pacquaio fans say Floyd is scared, Mayweather fans contend that Manny is the one afraid. In truth both neither fighter are scared and I believe that both want to fight eachother. To acheive everything that these two fighters have acheived takes tremendous confidence and ego. I'm sure they're both tired of hearing the other one is better than him.

Everybody wants one punch knockout power but as the saying goes "every rose has it's thorn". When you look at most of the best fighters of all time most relied on skill not power (exception: Sugar Ray Robinson had skill and power).  The problem with having tremendous power is that the fighter will tend to rely on his "big" punch instead of developing his all around game. It's just human nature. If you take a rich kid who knows he's a big inheritance coming generally it's hard for the kid to be motivated like a kid that doesn't have that kind of guarantee. When go through the history of boxing most of the greats weren't single punch KO artists. Look at the game today Andre Ward, Floyd Mayweather neither have deadly  power but they have off the charts skill. Why, because they were forced to develop it. Now take a look at Pacquiao, skill wise he's leaves a little to be desired but he has a left hand that can ICE anybody. More than likely coming up in boxing psychologically Manny knew his punch could change any fight so instead developing different skills he was more concerned with finding a way to land the big left hand. Much has been written and reported about Freddie Roach developing his right hand. Why would a world champion not be able to punch with one hand? That's because the other hand has other worldly power. Manny is an exceptional athlete with alot intangibles so he has still been able to climb to the zenith of boxing but the vast majority of big punchers never get that far . Largely because they solely depend on their power. 

 

There's a difference between being fast and quick in Boxing. Many people think if a fighter is fast then he is also quick but this isn't always the case. Being quick is having the abilty to react to the opponent. For example you need to be relatively quick to have good defense or to be an efficient counter puncher. Many fighters are fast when they deceide to intiate a punch or manuever. The young Roy Jones Jr. was fast and quick but as he got older he reaction time (quickness) slowed. Consequently he became more susceptible to opponents punches. That doesn't mean he isn't fast anymore. Even at the age of 42 when he punches he still has tremendous hand speed what has left him is the quickness. He can still intiate but cannot react like before. Take for instance Barry Sanders in football, he wasn't necessarily fast but he had unbelievable quickness and reaction instincts. In boxing the biggest stars in the game today Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather are both fast but I believe Mayweather to have a quickness advantage. Manny is explosive when he deciedes to do something in the ring but I don't see that same decesiveness when it comes to defense and counter punching. Amir Khan is another fighter who has great hand speed but is not necessarily quick. I have yet to see him counter punch much or frustrate an opponent because of his defense. I have nothing but respect for Pacquiao and Khan just merely pointing out most of their success has been predicated on being "fast" with a volume of punches not because of quickness. At the end of the day a win is a win whether you use speed, reaction, etc, etc just pointing out there's difference between being "fast" or "quick".

 

 

     Shadow Boxing is one of the best exercises you can do to increase your boxing fundamentals and overall boxing game. The problem is most people don't know how to do it properly or have any motivation to do it.

    There are many benefits to shadow boxing. Unlike the heavy bag if done properly there is alot of footwork involved just like there would be in an actual fight. Also while shadow boxing your punches aren't hitting a target which forces you to maintain balance and by punching the air you get a feel for what it would be like in a boxing match.

       Most people automatically assume that because someone plays football they would also have the type of pain tolerance and temperment for boxing. The violence and type of contact in football is completely different from that in boxing. First off the collisions in football is like a car crash. One big moment of impact then you rest for 30 seconds and do it again.  Boxing on the other hand is a non stop attack on vital areas that is not protected by $5,000 worth of equipment.

            The first time people saw Floyd and Uncle Roger doing their dazzling display of pad work on HBO's 24/7 it was met with mixed emotions. Some saw it as awe inspiring, and proof that Mayweather Jr is the best fighter on the planet. Others saw it as Floyd just doing more of his showboating antics and that type of regiment had little to do with fight preparation. 

       In boxing if you lose you're a bum, if you win impressively people will say you're the greatest of all time. Boxing fans and writers tend to over react to a fighters win or loss. Victor Ortiz was the butt of every boxing joke. He had a decent win over Andre Berto now people actually think he has a shot a beating Mayweather. Brandon Rios had a nice win against a better than average lightweight and now he's being mentioned as a potential Pacquiao opponent. Speaking of Pacquiao he put the fear of God into first ballot Hall of Famer Shane Mosely but because he didn't get the knockout people say he's slipping.

     Boxing Roadwork is it out dated? Yes and No. The belief that running 5 miles will get you in shape to Box is a little misleading. Running 5 miles doesn't effectively mimick your heart rate during a fight. Jogging long distance keeps your heart at slow methodical pace. A Boxing match consists of times where your heart soars,drops back down, then soars again.

      The constant debate amongst  boxing fans is who wins, a prime Mike Tyson or a prime Muhammad Ali?