Critique my friend's boxing

**Hatake88** · Posted On: 1/03/2012 8:07am

What the some holes in his game? Haven't seen him for half a year now and, as far as I know, tomorrow's reunion will most likely feature the usual 3 x 2 minutes bouts (amateur rules) of sparring at the gym. Any tips against him will be much appreciated.

For the record I am shorter and leaner.

Here are two clips of him sparring recently. Here is the dude in black pants, black shorts and uses yellow gloves.

**Hatake88** · Posted On: 1/03/2012 8:07am

We're talking pure western boxing here btw and the guys in the videos start sparring at around thirty seconds in :P

**gregaquaman** · Posted On: 1/03/2012 8:58am

He is a fancy boxer but opens himself up. Stay tight and respond with technical boxing.

He punches hard but does not string together combinations quickly. Throw three or four fast straightish shots to break his rythim

**Lu Tze** · Posted On: 1/03/2012 10:39am

45 seconds in, and he's lead with his right far too often already.

Stopped watching after that...

**Lu Tze** · Posted On: 1/03/2012 12:44pm

Just watched again and apparently I misread your comment, he's the other guy.

So yeah, the other guy needs to not do that.

**Neo Sigma** · Posted On: 1/09/2012 11:03am

The thing that immediately jumped out was the fact that you could drive a truck through his guard. Also, he never brings his hands back to his face after throwing a punch. His hands almost always go down to his waist first, then up. He's also got a real bad habit of dropping his other hand to his waist when he's throwing a punch, which gets him clobbered with a lot of counter shots that he really should have been able to defend against.

Speaking of defense, he over-reaches to parry punches WAY too much. He also seems to not deal with pressure very well, his arms go flying everywhere trying to catch punches when the other guy comes in on him with a combo.

How long has he been training for?

**td82394** · Posted On: 1/15/2012 10:00pm

1:16 in. So far, I like his straight punches. Seems to know what he's doing. I don't like how he just winged out that left hook, though. He also backs up in a straight line when the other guy comes in with a punch. That's fine once or twice, but after that, you need to be able to block, slip, parry, or at least side step.

EDIT:

2:20 in. He seems to throw one shot at a time. That's fine at the beginning during the feeling out process, but by the time that you're more than halfway through the round, you should be throwing 2 and 3 punch combinations. He's taking a very methodical approach, however, lining up every shot, and I like that. He's also countering well, but I just can't get over that left hook. It bugs me.

2nd EDIT:

2:57 in. I don't know if you're friend knows this or not, but a windmilling, looping right hand is the cardinal sin of any striking art, because the way it crosses your body puts you off balance, which makes it harder to follow up with another punch and leaves you open to counters. If it's going to be a part of your arsenal, it should be as a counter only or when you have the guy rocked, and even then , only with 16 oz. gloves on.

3rd EDIT:

3:11 in. Your friend seriously needs to work on his hooks and his defenses. Just saying. I'm sorry, but it's really bugging me.

4th EDIT:

4:52 in. Ugh... I feel like a broken record. It's 15 seconds in and he's leading with that wild left hook. A left hook should be short and it should come straight from the guard. It shouldn't be wound up.

5th EDIT:

5:08 in. He just stepped straight back AND dropped his left hand. Huge no no.

6th EDIT:

5:24 in. He seems to get sloppier as he goes along. Not a good habit to start.

7th EDIT:

5:45 in. Nice slipping.

Final EDIT:

I'm done.

What the some holes in his game? Haven't seen him for half a year now and, as far as I know, tomorrow's reunion will most likely feature the usual 3 x 2 minutes bouts (amateur rules) of sparring at the gym. Any tips against him will be much appreciated.

For the record I am shorter and leaner.

Are you asking for advice on how to beat your friend? Not to be condescending, but it's sparring. The whole point is to get better. If you're not losing in sparring, you're doing it wrong. Also, if your shorter and leaner, it sounds like you're in an entirely different weight class. Why spar bigger guys?