Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Q/A: Strength Training for a granite chin?

Hey, is there anyway that you can train your "chin" - to be able to take more hits? I've heard of doing neck extension, while holding the weight from a towel that you bite on. Is this an urban legend or does it actually work? Thanks-David.

David, work of good defense so you don't get caught hard. Learn how to roll with punches so you can roll away from the power.

Look at a very hard to hit fighter like Winky Wright. What's so special about him? He keeps his hands up and elbows tucked. Pretty basic, but done very well.

Your ability to tolerant pain is within you. But do warm up properly before sparring and the fight moving your jaw around so everything is lubed and ready.

Work on your defensive skills bro. You know why most guys jaws get broke or fractured in fights? Cause their mouths are wide open when they fatigue.

Train with a mouth piece and bite down on that keeping your mouth closed on it learning to breath with it while you're training and tired. This will protect your jaw in the fight.

Hands up, chin tucked, mouth closed, and you can't go wrong David.


Click here http://boxingperformance.com/for world class defensive techniques.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Fat camp or training camp?

If Ricky wants to make it out of boxing without any serious long lasting damage his team better start conducting training camps instead of fat camps. Seriously, he could have made a statement in Lazcano fight proving that he is indeed back better than ever. That was hardly the case. What he did prove is that he is a very hittable fighter that has not improved in the skills department for quite some time.

Ricky MUST begin to act like a world class pro now by keeping his weight in check between fights by altering his lifestyle and partaking in a strength/conditioning program that improves his dire needs of strength, speed, power, endurance. He showed little of these qualities in fading against Lazcano and he'll get his ass severely kicked by the next world class fighter he faces unless these are improved.

Bottom line, Ricky's training camps are grueling fat camps that are tailored to drop the weight quick. Look at the way he hits the heavy bag with his hands damn near down by his waist! He doesn't have the type of reflexes to get away with this flaw. My point is that there is no focus on improving skill or adding to his style. team Hatton must bring in another coach like John David Jackson who can instill some solid defense into Ricky's style. Cause what they're doing now sure the hell isn't working. Just watch the replay of his fight against Lazcano as it shows the obvious.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Q/A: Corrective exercise for forward head.

Rob,
I remember reading from you a while back about an exercise to prevent forward head posture where you lean back against a wall. Do you think neck extensions with a head harness would work for that too?

Hey Alex, first of all if there are muscle imbalances in the pelvic region ( lower cross syndrome) they must be addressed first as the pelvis is a major postural control center so if there is an upper cross syndrome there is more likely a lower cross syndrome as well.

Yes training the neck in extension will help.

When correcting postural imbalances training the postural muscles in static correct postural alignment work very well to improve imbalance. Prone cobras are another excellent postural corrective exercise correcting forward head, shoulder pronation, pronation of arms and thoracic kyphosis. Alex try using them at first with 5 sec holds-5 sec. rest, working to 10's on, 10's off, try holding for 30's, then 60's and progressing to 2 min. This works very well cause your training the postural muscles in this desired correct alignment for long holds.

Keep in mind Alex it's best to keep at least one corrective postural exercises in your training program to combat faulty posture and improve maintain proper balance as sport and ergonomic of life alter them.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Weekend wrap up.

Byrd-George

The story of Chris Byrd dropping 40 + pounds to light heavyweight distracted many of us from the obvious going into this fight... Chris Byrd was a shot fighter. The writing was on the wall in his last heavyweight fight against Povetkin, Chris just couldn't get out of the way of punches.

I knew George was a very fast handed fighter going into this fight and Chris wasn't prepared for that speed as his reflexes were lost in his tough losses to Klitshko and Povetkin. The speed and power at light heavyweight is obviously far different and Chris experienced that. I'll admit, I overlooked that Chris was pretty much shot going into his fight with George. No shame in losing though, as he's had a great career winning a heavy weight title and battling it out with the giants and faring pretty damn good in many of those fights, like his style or not, he had balls doing it.

Kirkland-Albert

I like Kirland and he was very impressive with stopping Albert for the first time ever in their fight. Kirland's hard core training methods were hyped up going into this fight. He can bang hard that's for sure. He needs to develop more all around skills though. Sure, don't take away from his strengths, but what is he going to do when he fights a fighter with balls, toughness, and skills. Marching relentlessly forward banging away will only take you so far, if Kirkland can expand on his awesome tenacity and punching power he can enjoy longevity in this sport and he'll be able to adjust when he must when a fighter stands up to his strengths.

Angulo-Gutierrez


Angulo is a patient persistent killer. He starts off a little slow and that must be improved upon but when you make a mistake or create an opening, he's on you. That was the factor in this fight, Gutierrez started off fast and had some great success severely hurting Angulo, but he made to many mistakes that a great counter puncher like Angulo capitalized on.

Alfredo really needs to increase his speed though. He hangs his punches out there to much and he'll be caught regularly himself when he faces another persistent fighter with great hand speed. He arms punches a lot too and needs to get more leverage on his shots so he can get a guy out of there faster when he has them hurt. He's a young fighter though and has a lot of upside and time to grow, and i think he will. Sparring with Antonio Margarito has been speeding that up too. He's a great young gun to keep an eye on and his future is bright in the aging junior middleweight division.

Gamboa- Jimenez

I was really looking forward to watching Gamboa fight with all this hype of his comparisons to a young Meldrick Taylor. What a bunch of fucking bullshit! What really got me was the praise of Gamboa's team going into this fight, he does have a great strength/conditioning coach in Mo who's been doing his job, but the lack of discipline that Gamboa displayed in the fight was very disturbing for such a high praised fighter!

I mean what the hell are they working on in camp?! Keeping your hands down and hot dogging it? The dudes in trouble with a fighter who can jab, move and counter with power. I think Gamboa has A LOT of potential, but they need to tighten ship in the discipline/technique department during the fight and NOT give a fighter like Jimenez opportunities to counter and drop a fighter with seemingly superior gifts in Gamboa. Hey this is the pros, NO head gear and heavier gloves, anything can happen and having discipline makes sure it doesn't.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Tonight Chris Byrd's actions will speak louder than his words.

Chris Byrd fights tonight in his first apperance in the light heavyweight division. Chris has shed 40+lbs. to make 175. He said it was mostly fat but looking at his physigue at heavyweight and now he lost a lot of muscle too, and there was a strict dietary plan involved to achieve this.

Here's a comparason of Chris at heavyweight and now, courtisey of maxboxing.com scribe Steve Kim.

In his bout against Evander Holyfield in December of 2002, he weighed 214 pounds. Now, he will come in at 175 or less. Back then his chest measured 44.5'', now its 38''. His waist has gone from a 35to 30.5. His thigh back then was 24.5'', to 21.5''. And even his fist has shrunk from 12'' to 11

Big difference in the Chris Byrd we'll see in the ring tonight for sure. We'll see how he handles the drop and loss of muscle during the fight, this isn't sparring anymore. He's not fighting a guy that's coming to roll over. Shaun George is fast and ellusive so we'll know after this fight if Chris is indeed as fast and strong as he says he was in training camp. No more words, action counts tonight.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Q/A: Mythical Matchups

Rob, Who do you like in the following matchups?

Terry Norris vs. Wifred Benitez
Lennox Lewis vs. Joe Louis
Azumah Nelson vs. Erik Morales

-Mike-


Mike I like these match ups!

Norris-Benitez

Terry was a devastating puncher and could box but not like Benitez...The thing with Benetiz was he NEVER trained, never took boxing really serious. He could have been MUCH better. We saw the best of Norris as he trained his ass off.

Norris hit harder but Wilfred could crack pretty good too. The factor in this fight would be speed and movement and Benitez owned both of them. The knock on Terry was that he wasn't disciplined during the fight, he could loose focus and become frustrated and start fouling or making mistakes.


People forget how slick Benitez was... He gave Leonard lots of fits in losing by 15 round stoppage with only seconds left, lost a close dec. to Hearns and beat Duran. While NEVER training serious! He would stand in front of Norris taunting him, laughing at his power while countering and dancing away... YET being in range to get off again and again and again. That's how you shut a puncher down.

So Benitez wouldn't cooperate with Norris and become part of his highlight reel, he would move, counter and then set down on his punches to earn a UD or even a late stoppage ( IF Wilfred trained at least 8 weeks).. Terry was very good fighter, but he wouldn't be able to cope with Wilfred's natural skill and NEVER fought a fighter close to it.

Keep in mind that Wilfred won his first world title at 17 years 6 months.....That's what you call a great fighter! You won't find any police officers, post men, or shot former champion fighters in his record either as you will in OTHER so called great fighters records.


Lewis-Louis

You know Mike, I could really see Lennox out boxing Joe. He had the jab to keep him at bay and he could work off of his jab with hooks and upper cuts while moving away from Joe's dangerous bombs. People may think I'm full of shit with this scenario but styles make fights...

Lewis could do this but he could also lull himself to sleep with his own style and success rate. He could have a lapse or become lazy and make a mistake. Louis was the type of fighter with the type of power to take advantage of a mistake by changing or ending the fight quick. I could see this happening, Lewis out boxing and shutting Joe down for 10 rounds then Joe pouncing on Lennox's ass after coming over top of a lazy Lewis jab with a heavy right hand and ending the fight before the crowd and ref could register what the fuck just happened.

Power solves problems fast. Joe had lots of it. Louis by 10th round KO.


Nelson-Morales

The professor ( Nelson) is not talked about enough. He was a really great technician in the ring with good power and a sturdy chin. A classy true pro. He fought the legendary and possibly best featherweight champion of all time in Salvador Sanchez going into that fight with only 13 fights! He lost by 15 round KO but earned much praise. He beat a badly faded Wilfred Gomez for the WBC featherweight strap in 84.

He would have his hands full with the feracious and relentless fighter Morales was though.

Fight tempo would be key in this fight and I feel Eric would set one to high for the Professor to be able to comfortable do what he did best. He would have to forgo his style and strengths just to hang with Eric and the pace he would set in the fight. If you want to know what I mean about pace just search for Morales-Barrera I on youtube and see for yourself. Morales was a beast! He didn't spend time in the studio trying to sing to win a fucking grammy, or be a model, and fight 2 division blown up fighters...Nah... He kicked ass and was a REAL Mexican warrior arguably one of the top 3 or 4 best ever and that's why he's worshiped in Mexico.

Fenech was a high volume, aggressive puncher and Azumah knocked him out after drawing with him the first time out, but Morales had a more fierce aggression and hit to the body and head harder than Jeff. Nelson never faced a fighter who could rip to the body like Erik could while also having the quick ability to follow up with viscous head shots not giving his opponents the chance to think.

Again Mike, It's the pace and power of Erik's attack that would do Azumah in. Azumah would have brief moments were he would catch Erik coming in but I just feel Erik would be too much for Nelson and Morale's pace wouldn't allow the professor to take advantage of and pin point Eric's weaknesses during the fight.

An older, wiser, more experienced Nelson gets stopped in the last round as he did the last time he fought a REAL Mexican great while again earning much praise and awe in his gallant fighting effort.




Monday, May 12, 2008

Choosing the right heavy bag for your boxing training workouts.

What should I look for in a good heavy bag? Space is defiantly an issue, so would one of those wave/free standing type bags be just as good as a hanging one. -Matt-


Matt, In my opinion you get a lot more out of a hanging bag. Leather bags are great, canvass I feel sucks for sure when its cold out and they harden. Get a soft filled so you don't bust your hands, wrists, elbows, and shoulders up. Ss far as weight depending on your size get a 100lb. heavy bag so you can get some good movement with the bag allowing you to work on your footwork, punching distance, along with your punching skills. This is what the hanging heavy bag offers that the free standing doesn't and you don't need that much space to work it either.

Be sure to get some good hand wraps and gloves too.


To learn how to maximize your heavy bag workouts
Click here: http://boxingperformance.com

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

This is why boxing is often labeled the theater of the unexpected.

Watch this clip all the way through.

Simon Brown vs. IBF Jr. Middleweight Champion Vincent Pettway 4-29-95.



Now that's a sick KO!

Monday, May 5, 2008

Q/A: My thoughts on Oscar's last performance and his career.

Rob P-
I was wondering what your opinion is of the de la hoya vs forbes fight tomorrow. I personally have always repected de la hoya's ability's in the ring, but resently after watching the preview on hbo a few times i am questioning his character. I dont understand why a fighter with his ability has to keep stressing his dedication, trying it seems to regain street credit lost when he begain promoting fights a few years ago. I mean honestly when your hungry for something its in your eyes, just look at glen johnson. You should not have to tell people or your self that your committed, people just no. Obviously there is a bigger picture to that subject then what was on that show, but that is just my opinion. If de la hoya wants to stay on top of the boxing world for years to come and get back that respect from fans, he needs to get rid of the mayweather circus that surrounds him and go back to the roach. Nothing personal against mayweathers training ability, just not a fan of his personallity. Anyways i am pulling for Rudy on this one. Jarrod.

Jarrod, Sorry for the late reply. I was at the Elite seminar over the weekend...

I'm not a fan of De La Hoya and I was taunted pretty good over the weekend seminar about it lol!

For the majority of Oscar's career he's been a broken record, he's also been more than just a fighter and that is what's hurt him over the years.

It's BULLSHIT to think of him as a really great fighter. He's more a product of proper promotion and management than anything and I challenge anyone to prove me wrong.

Oscar has won a couple of impressive fights and I can't hate on him for milking the system. He IS a smart business man...Just NOT a great fighter.

So that's why he's been full of excuses Jarrod.. With all the fucking trainer changes over the years he's never really gelled into his own. The excuses stem from the trainer changes too... Oh, so and so has me doing this, and that Oscar often says before another fight.

Oscar never had street credit... Do you know what would happen to him if he sparred down in Mexico in those hard core gyms... I would PAY to see that. Those Mexican fighters would beat the shit out of him and taunt him. He's never been a true Mexican fighter with the style he has.

Now you put Glen Johnson in any hardcore gym in the world and he'll whip some ass. Glen is a really good fighter cause that's what he's focused on. He's a true old school fighter.

I agree with Floyd Sr's personality, I met and talked with him before. Saying he has an ego is a huge understatement.I disagree with him not being the right trainer for Oscar right now. To be able to hang with Floyd Jr. he needs more of the style Floyd Sr. teaches than Freddie's style. Freddie is a GREAT trainer but his strategies won't help Oscar in the rematch.

Oscar needs to retire now, spare us with this sorry ass rematch.

You saw how he was touched up by a blown up Stevie Forbes Jarrod. He's a good promoter and that's what he should be doing. He just hasn't been a REAL fighter for many years now.