Shorter guy for once
Last night I sparred (boxing) against a taller guy with a longer reach in a long time. I’m 6’1 and a guy came in he was about 6’3. I’m usually the taller one and is the way using my jab and playing the taller mans game but this time that wasn’t the case. He was doing that to me and I found it hard to do anything I wanted.
For starters what my trainer was telling me move your head and get on the inside was terrible advice because it didn’t work out well either (he didn’t explain anything)…I was getting hit with jabs but it was really the distance change that was hard to a rapt, I usually keep people at MY range so it was very different for it to be the other way around.
Saturday I will see him again and try and get footage to put on here but for the mean time what possibly could I have been doing wrong? Tips anyone?
Btw I’ve used a lot of stuff over the past few months on here in other threads and had success. There’s some smart people on here and would love to train with yous eventually.
First, your Coach’s advice to move your head and get on the inside is good advice and can certainly be used by you to get to where you can hit your taller opponent back (because on the outside only he can hit you). However, since this is something that you seemingly have never had to deal with it’s not all that surprising that you would be having trouble.
A couple things that can help you get past his jab and into the pocket:
-keep low, lateral head movement (slips, bobs, and weaves), pressure him/cut off the ring (study young Tyson and Frazier for two great examples). You need to understand that as the shorter fighter, you can no longer fight like a tall fighter in this situation (which you sound like you have become accustomed to being).
-use fakes/broken rythym to throw off his timing on his jabs and then “jam” your way into close range (watch some of young Foreman’s fights to see how he used a “horizontal shield/cross arm jam” to cover his head and jam his way into range against good jabbers) aggressively when he is hesitating or just as he is missing/mentally unprepared/confused/retracting
-hit him to the body first rather than going to the head, not only is the body harder to move out of the way of incoming punches, a lot of taller fighters also tend to like to lean away from punches and not move their feet which does pull their heads out of danger, but still leaves their body in range, and finally a couple good counter rights or long range counter hooks or even jabs if targeted well to the body will start to make him hesitate to throw his jab, which will make it easier to get past and into range
[quote]shs101 wrote:
Shorter guy for once
Last night I sparred (boxing) against a taller guy with a longer reach in a long time. I’m 6’1 and a guy came in he was about 6’3. I’m usually the taller one and is the way using my jab and playing the taller mans game but this time that wasn’t the case. He was doing that to me and I found it hard to do anything I wanted.
For starters what my trainer was telling me move your head and get on the inside was terrible advice because it didn’t work out well either (he didn’t explain anything)…I was getting hit with jabs but it was really the distance change that was hard to a rapt, I usually keep people at MY range so it was very different for it to be the other way around.
Saturday I will see him again and try and get footage to put on here but for the mean time what possibly could I have been doing wrong? Tips anyone?
Btw I’ve used a lot of stuff over the past few months on here in other threads and had success. There’s some smart people on here and would love to train with yous eventually.[/quote]
You’re playing a different game than what you’re used to pal.
Some tips:
Time his jab. When he stops to reset (and he will) after that 1-1, vault your ass in there, preferably behind your own jab, and stay in that range.
Don’t let him shake you. Don’t play the footwork game with him, keep your head in his chest and stay there.
Hooks and uppercuts are your friends. Ditch the long game that you sound like you use because you’re tall and switch to a shorter, more circular style of punching that works much more on the 5-3-2, 6-3-2, etc.
Go to the body. Dude can’t move if his ribs and liver are killing him. This lets you catch up later on.
Keep that head moving. Joe Frazier used a lot of head feints and crossed arms to make his opponents think he was coming in when he wasn’t, going to the body when he wasn’t, etc.
Cut off the ring. Step with him. Don’t follow him. Don’t give him the room he wants to operate.
[quote]shs101 wrote:
Shorter guy for once
Last night I sparred (boxing) against a taller guy with a longer reach in a long time. I’m 6’1 and a guy came in he was about 6’3. I’m usually the taller one and is the way using my jab and playing the taller mans game but this time that wasn’t the case. He was doing that to me and I found it hard to do anything I wanted. [/quote]
Thats great that you had some sparring with a guy taller than you.
You need different looks to become experienced in all aspects of boxing.
[quote]shs101 wrote:
For starters what my trainer was telling me move your head and get on the inside was terrible advice because it didn’t work out well either (he didn’t explain anything)…I was getting hit with jabs but it was really the distance change that was hard to a rapt, I usually keep people at MY range so it was very different for it to be the other way around.[/quote]
Moving your head is a great nugget of advice.
Boxing is what it is. Our primary objective is to avoid taking punishment.
Think Johnny Nelson, Willie Pep, Pernell Whittaker, Nicolino Locche…
Safety first; evade the shot and concentrate on getting into good positions.
the counter attack is secondary.
[quote]shs101 wrote:
Saturday I will see him again and try and get footage to put on here but for the mean time what possibly could I have been doing wrong? Tips anyone?
[/quote]
You may not have been doing too much “wrong” as much as you were inexperienced in this scenario.
You need to appreciate the situation you are in and adjust your tactics accordingly.
The initial step is acceptance of the physical challenge.
Ok, he’s taller; first how can we cope with this and secondly, how can we use this to our advantage?
Its all just elementary textbook stuff…
He’s taller- wants to pin you at the end of long straight shots.
You have two options; Move inside or get on the move outside.
Don’t become frustrated. This is sparring- time to experiement and absorb the lessons. Keep notes. What works, what doesnt.
Why doesnt it work; wronmg technique- or you did the technique wrong?