The belt is supposed to make the fighter better. What the hell happened?

The old timers would often say that the belt makes the fighter better. Quite often the fighter proves this true as the earned name champion makes the fighter fight harder to keep his belt.

This was not the case this weekend with the very hyped WBO champion Paul Williams. The Punisher was the one that was punished for his foolishness of over looking Quintana during his preparation or lack there off.. He obviously didn't train like he should have for this fight.

Quintana laid the blueprint on how to beat Williams. Great lateral movement, a stiff jab, and crisp counter punches kept Paul out of his rhythm. Quintana kept to his fight plan AND did everything he said he was going to do against the punisher.

Paul showed a lot of flaws in this fight. I mean he would through lazy punches and often dropping his hands or brining them back slow. The quick counter punches of Quintana made him pay. Brilliant on Quintans part! Paul didn't adapt and adjust. He did for a bit but then lost focus. Champions don't fight that way.

That's what you get when you buy into all that shit the nut huggers yell in you ear while your training like your fighting a bum. Not a professional approach at all. His whole team included. They all got a REAL lesson in this fight.

Paul needs to clean up his technique and basics. He needs to quite reading the headlines on how feared he is or really now was. This could be the type of fight though that polishes the punisher. This may be the type of fight that lights the fire to really raise the bar on fighting skills and ability. Only time and his next fight will tell though.

His grades in this fight are as follows.

Conditioning- C Did just enough to stay in the fight, not dominate it.

Strength C- Quintana bullied him around too much.

Power C- Quintana kept stepping in and countering and countering. No power to keep him at bay.

Speed C+ Paul pushed his punches many times in this fight. He is too WEAK to have real speed. This MUST be addressed!

I will say that Paul needs to get stronger so he can develop some power that will stop a fighter in his tracks. He should be using his lanky long arms to put people to sleep like Kelley Pavlik, Who is another tall lanky fighter. The thing with Pavlik is that he has fight ending power and polished skills.

This fight showed what Paul lacked and needs. Lets see if his team can fix these weaknesses. They shouldn't hesitate be to contact me as I can make Paul live up to his Punisher name. If he wants to be champion again lets get in REAL fight shape and develop the power that will end fights quick behind his high punch output. Paul has all the ability. He just needs the right training to bring it out.

I was impressed with Quintana when he fought and beat Joel Julio. He hung in with Cotto for awhile, no shame in loosing there. Quintana appears to be the type of fighter who WILL improve with the belt and being a champion. I will give him a hellava chance to beat the Cintron-Margarito winner. He could easily out box both.

Quintana's grades.

Conditioning- B+ he was gassed good in the last round. Needs better conditioning so he can box well the WHOLE fight and not get caught by power punchers Cintron and Margarito. Road work of slow paced 6-8 mile jogs won't do it either.

Strength B- Mauled and pushes around the weak Punisher at will in the inside. Didn't do that against the strong Cotto. Needs to improve big time if he's to fight the above power punchers.

Power B- Stung Paul pretty good causing him to hold on at times in the fight. Quintana's style doesn't allow him to be a real power puncher. Still some more power will be needed to stop the bigger and stronger Cintron-Magarito from marching right in.

Speed-A You have to give him an A for coming over Paul's jab and countering. Using quick lateral movement then moving in and getting his shots in over a lazy defense. Great work.

Quintana will be rewarded for this great win with fighting the winner of Cintron-Margarito and making A LOT of $$$ doing it. He needs improvement too. If he gets it, we could again be hearing... AND NEW in his next fight.

Go to http://boxingperformance.com/ to lean how to improve Conditioning, Strength, Speed, Power, and over all boxing skill.

Does a jacked boxer equal a KO artist? How about in amateur boxing?

Is it possible to be an effective boxer and not have that much muscle? I mean look at guys like Tito Trinidad and Kelly Pavlik, epically Pavlik being a knockout artist, I was just wondering if their both great fighters and don't have that much arm strength then is it really necessary to have it? What about in amateur boxing where the point isn't to score a KO just to score points?

Yes... Pavlik punches with great leverage and Tito did too with his left hook. The power is not in the arms it come from the legs, core, lats, they deliver the most power. The power is in the mechanics/technique and the intention ( attitude ). Just because a guy is jacked doesn't mean shit. The cns ( central nervous system, brain ) thinks in terms of movements, not muscle. So if a fighter is really jacked, the question is, is the cns educated/trained in terms of moving with power?

Right, Amateur boxing is really a whole different sport than pro boxing. I teach a pro style to my amateurs, not that pity pat bullshit. The point system is different along with how the fights are fought and punches thrown. The focus is on accurate volume of punches landed. So power punchers often get out worked. I don't call that style the Sweat Science. There are some good amateurs who don't all fight like that.

Just because your a really good amateur with that style doesn't mean you'll be a great pro. Hmm... Notice how 04 Gold Medalist Andre Ward is being moved along ever so slow!

Visit http://boxingperformance.com/ for more info on how to train for a fight ending punch.

If a fighter stops fighting...How do you make them fight?

Alwyn Cosgrove emailed asking what I would have said to Eddie Chambers in between rounds to make him fight in his last fight against Povetkin. Eddie was NOT listening to his father and Buddy McGirt between rounds. He mysteriously quit fighting!

I agreed with Alwyn in saying that I would have thrown in the towel to stop the fight. All it takes is one shot to really fuck you up. If a fighter isn't listening to your instructions and isn't fighting back... Stop the damn fight! This will teach the fighter that you won't play around in stopping the fight again if he/she stops fighting. The sour taste of having the towel thrown in will forever stay with the fighter urging him/her to action in future fights.

I had an amateur coach who would stop the fight in a heart beat if the fighters didn't answer back or quit fighting. It taught everyone that Gene didn't play around in the corner. We better fight or get the hell out.

In stopping the fight in this situation, a trainer is truly looking out for his fighter. Situations like this often propels a fighter to future great performances. The fighter now knows that they've got no choice!

Visit http://boxingperformance.com/ for all your boxing training needs.

Povetkin -Chambers Proved that Boxing Is 90% Mental.

Those with a lot of experience in the fight game know that boxing is 90% mental. Getting in great shape doesn't guarantee anything. If any of you watched the Povetkin-Chambers fight you witnessed that first hand.

Chambers started off very fast. He continually beat Povetkin to the punch as Povetkin's frustration showed. Chambers looked confident, cool, relaxed, while in between rounds it looked like Povetkin was a chain smoker! The dude was huffing and puffing like he smoked three packs a day!

The turn in the fight came when Povetkin forced his will on Chambers. Although it looked like Alexander was going to hyperventilating in the corner he continued to out worked Eddie as he took over the fight. Eddie just stopped fighting?! He had no answer. Many are still baffled by this. What happened? Why couldn't he answer back with his own will? Was it the big stage and HBO lights? Lack of big fight experience? People have to understand, that it's a tug of war of wills in a fight. Evander Holyfield said it best when saying " The fight starts when both men are tired"

Eddie's father and Buddy McGirt couldn't get through to Eddie in between rounds. It was Eddie's mindset. Only he could flip the switch back on. He just didn't do it. His hunger wasn't there. Povetkin it seemed took Eddie's will and ground it up.

Remember, It's not how you start the fight, it's how you finish. Povetkin was the mentally stronger fighter in the fight as the out come proved. He showed why boxing is boxing is 90% mental.

Visit www. boxingperformance.com to learn how to prep right for a fight.

Shadow boxing with hand weights. Know why and how to use them in your boxing training.

I just had to repost this reply I gave about shadow boxing with hand weights awhile ago. In the gym today, I see some guys using too much weight and I think throwing punches.

These are my thoughts on the use of hand weights in your boxing training.


Q: Whats the bottom line on shadow boxing with light weights like 2lb, productive or not.

Straight up question i know, I've heard a lot of people discuss this my trainer has me do it, i respect him a lot so i do whatever he says cause he hasn't led me wrong so far just want to see what you think about this. J


RP: As long as the weights don't impede technique then no worries.

The last Rocky movie could have been the worst thing to happen to strength/conditioning fighters cause of the whacked shit Sly did in that flick.

Attempting to throw lame ass uppercuts with those heavy dumbbells and other not so cool looking methods look cutting edge to the misinformed but are you F****** kidding me are the thoughts to the ones in the know.

Trainers and fighters get the wrong idea when using loaded resistance while practicing technique.

It's true SPP, as long as it grooves and enhances proper technique, skill, performance.

No disrespect to your trainer, but many trainers just use methods without knowing why or questioning, are they appropriate for my fighter at this stage? They should be able to educate their fighters this is why we are doing this so there is NO doubt, only total trust.

Bottom line, knowing what your doing, why,is it necessary? and when it should be done,usually will transfer.

Generally speaking, being to sport specific and loading the movement patters too aggressively defeats the purpose and retards performance by instilling poor motor engrams( movement patters) for which you are training.

Shadow boxing is meant for warming up J and grooving proper technique. Again as long as you are maintaining and really improving technique with the 2lb db's you'll be fine.

I know 2lbs doesn't sound like much, but I wouldn't make it a habit of always shadow boxing with hand weights.

Same goes when using the super bag gloves with the weights you can put in the wrist.. Be careful

You will know when you load yourself too much, as the body doesn't lie.
Now you know the why to not do that J and you can armor yourself a bit now from the HEAVY bullshit out there...

The best and real coaches understand strength/conditioning and skill.

Click here http://boxingperformance.com/ to learn boxing skill and performance enhancing training.

Boxingperformance.com is now live!

It has been a lot of work with delays, but boxingperformance.com is finally up and running!

I created boxingperformance.com with the sole intention of it being and I believe it is... The best source of no BS boxing training info... Period!

Boxingperformance.com is where we bridge the gap between the skill training and strength/conditioning of boxers.

There is more than 20 departments of great training info ( Where content will continually be added ) covering everything from heavy bag training, double end bag, punch mitts, strength/conditioning, power training, Nutrition, recovery, injury prevention, sparring/defensive drills, to name a few. I will also be adding a boxing striking for mma department for you mma fighters.

We also have a community forum where you can discuss or debate about any topic you want. This is a great opportunity to learn from one another.I have a growing team of experts with real world experience working with boxers that are contributing some great content. Be sure to check out top English trainer John Houston's articles. John is a great resource from the UK where boxing is as popular as ever.

Just posted on boxingperformance.com are two awesome Q/A interviews with Alwyn Cosgrove, and Mike Boyle. More interviews with the best trainers in the world are soon coming.

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Does developing a big bench press in a boxer's workout deliver big power?

I get asked this question a lot and I feel it's long over due that I post my thoughts on this question.. Here is a post I answered on Elitefts.com fight corner concerning training with the bench press for increased punching power. Lets put this question to rest.

Rob, Taking into account weight training and it's relationship to improving sport form whats your thoughts on accomodating resistance training for the bench press for improving punching? Kevin

Kevin...For improving punching power I focus more on training the lats, legs, and core.Since I'm a skill trainer I see improving technique ( a lot of fighters arm punch) along with the above enhances punching power BIG time.Fighters develop pronated shoulders, tight upper abdominals, and a kyphotic posture. Having fighters bench press on top of this wouldn't be wise. Address the imbalances ( tight muscles,weak muscles) and punching power improves.

Mobility work in the hips and core will go along ways too.Kevin, Look at how a fighter punches. In fact go to youtube look at Gerald McClellan's highlight clip( One of the hardest middleweight punchers ever ) and watch that nasty right hand of his put people to sleep watch where the power comes from, and tell me if bench pressing addresses where the power comes from and if it would have improved that hellacious punch of his even more.

The bench press is a good general exercise, but don't expect to have a big punch along with a big bench. With the imbalances that fighters develop, it wouldn't be a good general exercise to use until the imbalances are addressed.

Look closer at great punchers Kevin.