This is just a basic bit of information about defence in boxing a boxers defence is arguably the most important part of his technique this is because no matter how hard you can hit someone or how fast your hands are if you cannot get out of the way of your opponents jab you won’t be able to get near them to start with.
There are three types of defences in boxing:
Hand defences – Using your hands to knock your opponents shot off target and also can put your opponent off balance which give you time to counter there attack. Some effective hand defences are the parry or the catch.
Foot Defences – Using your feet to defend against your opponents attack, these defences work really well by making your opponent fall short of their attack these are some of the simplest to do as you can make someone miss by just stepping back. Remember if your opponent can’t reach you they can’t hit you. Two more popular defences are pushing in and out and also laying back.
Body Defences – These are a bit more complicated to explain, basically you use your body to defend the shot by either moving to the side (slipping) and rolling underneath also ducking under a shot is a body defence. A lot of good professional boxers use these defences one of the best in the business is Floyd Mayweather Jr. These are some of the best defences to use as it leaves you in a good place to counter your opponents attack,
With all the above mentioned defence’s it is important to always to remember the basics that we have talked about in previous training tips articles – be in your stance because if you’re not then you don’t have your balance so would just get pushed over by your opponents attack and always keep your hands up!!!!.
Every boxer has a different style of fighting so each boxer would use different types of defences for example Floyd mayweather uses his body defences where as a boxer like Winky Wright prefers hand defences. It’s all about what works for you and your style of boxing.
A massive part of your defence is being alert and having good reactions remember always eyes wide open and you always want to anticipate what your opponent is going to do giving you time to get out of the way and come back with your won counter. The only way to perfect the defences is to practice them as much as possible to make it you natural reaction when someone throws a punch you catch the shot or lay back making the shot miss or block it.
Sparring is also a massive part of practicing your defence at Elite we make a point of every one of our boxers having a great defence and practice as much as possible remember practise makes permanent, so the more you practice the more natural the defence will be.
This is a basic bit of information about defence in boxing there is loads more information but please take a look at the above video to see some of the different defensive move and different boxing styles in boxing performed by one of the best defensive boxers ever Pernell ’sweetpea’ whitaker
