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What to do in the Ring
First Things First
Make sure you put in your best fitting mouth piece. You don’t want to have to be in the middle of a fight and have your mouth piece fall out. Also, make sure there is no chemicals in your hair or on your face. Once you start sweating these chemicals such as hair spray may drip down into your eyes and irritate them. This could alter your vision or distract you from what you need to do your opponent.
Make sure your face is properly lubricated so you can avoid getting cut. Getting cut will not only take you out of the fight, but also prohibit you from competing in a fight you may have the next week or following week. If you’re fighting amateur, make sure your head gear is one that fits well. Often when you fight on and amateur team you have to share equipment, make sure ahead of time that you have the proper gear ready for you when your fight comes up.
Show Good Sportsmanship
Always show good sportsmanship. You are reflection of your team and your coach. People root for the boxer they like the most. Most spectators don’t like cocky boxers.
Most amateur boxing tournaments are invite only. If boxers on your team are rude and unsportsmanlike, you probably won’t be invited to many tournaments. This could even influence the judges in your fight. I suggest before a fight tapping gloves with the other fighter. Don’t complain if you get a bad call. And at the end of the fight, go shake hands with the other team.
Set Your Defensive stance
I consider there to be two defensive stances – a straight up defensive stance and a leaning back defensive stance. The forward stance is where you have your feet a little more than shoulder width apart, and your weight is balanced on both feet. Stand on the balls of your feet. This gives you balance and spring in both your steps and your punches. Your knees need to be bent slightly so you can spring into action quickly. Put your gloves up around your chin to protect it and hold your elbows in close to your sides to protect your ribs and kidney area. Tuck your chin down to protect it. Your shoulders should be raised a little to protect your chin also. Your left shoulder should be slightly more forward than your right (if that is your jabbing arm). This way you’re not as big a target for your opponent and your jab is out in front to steer your opponent. Also with your right back a little it is ready in a cocked position ready to fly.
The second defensive stance is what I call the leaning back stance. It basically includes everything the above does but the difference is your weight rests on your back foot instead of balanced on both feet. So you’re actually leaning back. This method could be dangerous though because of the weight distribution being placed on your back foot. It’s easier to be knocked off balance in this position. But I liked this position because it gave the illusion that I was at a farther striking distance from my opponent than I actually was. Your opponent feels safer, so is less defensive. At the right moment you can quickly spring forward and be within your striking distance and unleash your combination of punches. It gives you the element of surprise. Also, I liked it because by springing forward like that it gave my punches more momentum.
Remember to keep loose. All your muscles need to be loose including your hands. Relax as much as possible. Fighting is stressful and causes your body to tense up. Veteran fighters learn to be relaxed in the ring even when they are being hit. Tensing up uses valuable energy. You need to conserve every once of energy you can. I had a trainer that wouldn’t let me stand up out of my corner chair during a fight. He would actually pick me up out of the chair and on to my feet just to conserve that little amount of energy.
Keep Your Chin Tucked Down
Always keep your chin tucked down into your chest. A veteran fighter will always aim for your chin. This is the most common way people get knocked out. The chin is filled with nerves and when you are hit solid on it the billions of nerves in it overload and cause you to black out. Also keep your shoulders up a little to protect the chin further. When your opponent throws a punch you can deflect that punch using your shoulder. Their punch will bounce of your shoulder and away from your chin.
During training you need to get in the habit of keeping your chin down. Some of the “old timers” would take a tennis ball and tuck it under their chin while they shadow boxed. If you work out with a friend or are lucky enough to have a trainer, have them watch to make sure you are keeping your chin tucked.
So as you can guess, when you take an offensive position you should aim for the chin when throwing a punch. The best time catch your opponent is when they step into your punch. This gives you not only the momentum of your arm hitting them, but also the momentum of your opponent running into you.
Hit and Move
When you hit your opponent, move to one side or the other. Never back up. When you back up you’re keeping yourself in front of your opponent and within his striking range. You’re also on the move, so you’re not balanced as much as if you were stationary. If you move to one side then your opponent has to realign himself to effectively throw a punch. If they try to throw a punch when you’re off to the side, they will not have nearly the amount of power or effectiveness as if you were in front of them.
When you’re moving to the side, leave your opponent with a punch. If you’re moving to the left, hit him with your right. If you’re moving to the right, hit him with your left. You’re creating momentum by moving one way or the other and you should use that momentum by applying it to a good solid punch.
Don’t just stand there either after hitting your opponent. This is one of the biggest mistakes beginner boxers make. You’ve just unleashed a flurry of punches on your opponent. Your body is tired. Your opponent covered up and took a breather while you were hitting him. He’s now refreshed and ready to hit you. Don’t just stand there and let him do it. Move away. Let him come to you. Get away and give yourself an extra second to catch a breath and get into your defensive stance. Boxing is normally one fighter throwing a combination and then the other fighter throwing a combination and it goes back and forth like that. The great fighters are masters at throwing counter punches and frustrating their opponents.
Hit at an Angle
If possible, avoid squaring up against your opponent. If you square up against him, you place yourself in his power range. Try throwing your punches off to the side at an angle. This way your opponent has to reach around to you because you are not directly in front of him/her. Some call it the triangle method. Pretend there is a triangle between yourself and your opponent. The tip of the angle should be pointing towards your opponent. When you throw your punch, you should be at one of the base vertexes of the imaginary triangle. Using this imagery can help you avoid squaring up with your opponent.
Tying up Your Opponent
When your opponent is getting the best of you, it is best to tie him up and hold on until the referee splits you apart. Sometimes you’re just too tired to try and get away.
Tying up consists of getting in close to your opponent and holding his arms between your body and your arms. When you have him/her held in this position you can turn him one way or another or just hold on until you gather your breath. It’s also an effective way to get yourself out of a corner or off the ropes. Make sure you do not do it too many times or you may lose a point by deduction. Also, make sure you tuck your head into his shoulder.
Cutting off the Ring
Sometimes your opponent will run from you. Either he/she is hurt, scared, or trying to get in at you from an angle. To stop this, you must cut off the ring. Cutting off the ring means to trap your opponent in a corner or against the ropes. To do this you must gradually push him to spot you want him by stepping in front of the direction he is going. Think of it as trying to catch a chicken in a chicken pen. The chicken tries running one way so you step in front of it. Then it turns to go the other way so you step in front of it again but step forward a little more. You do this until it has no where to go. The same concept goes when trying to cut the ring off from your opponent. This is important to do especially when your opponent is beating you to the punch and hitting you from an angle. You’ll have to get the person trapped and in front of you so you can take control of the fight.
While Resting between Rounds
You have a minute rest between rounds. Take this time to relax and gather information and instruction from your corner. Take deep breaths up until the bell rings. Your muscles need as much oxygen you can give them. Some people say it’s better to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. I disagree, the only reason you should breath through your nose is because your nose filters the air going into your mouth. Over the long run, this is a good idea. But in a fight you need as much oxygen as you can get. If you’ve been boxing for awhile you probably have crushed nasal passages anyway and can’t breathe so well through them. So I suggest breathing through the biggest air entrance you have and that’s your mouth. Get as much air as you can and feed the muscles the air they are lacking.
Listen to your corner men. They see what you cannot. They see what’s working for you and what is not. They can see when your opponent is dropping his guard or stepping off balance. Gather as much information from them as you can and use it.
Don’t drink too much water. You should drink plenty of fluids before your fight. If you drink during the fight, you will cramp up and slow down. Too much water can lose the fight for you.
Hide Your Weakness
I always knew when I had a fight won. The moment I knew my opponent was hurt I took total control of the fight and punished my opponent for letting me know he was hurt. And that’s how all boxers work. They keep pecking away until they find a weakness and then they exploit that weakness.
If you get hurt, it’s best to try and hide it until the bell rings and you have time to recover. Don’t give your opponent the advantage by showing him/her that he/she hurt you. They will gain confidence and punish you.
Don’t Act Tired After A fight
Sometimes how you act after a fight can sway a judge one way or another. Do not act tired after a fight when the judges are making their final decisions. This means, do not lay hunched over the ropes. Don’t sit down on a stool or especially the mat. Walk around with your hands on your hips or up on top of your head to get a better breath. Try and show that you had control of that fight and you deserve the win.
Never Come at Your Opponent Head First
Make sure you are in your defensive stance with your hands up and you’re standing straight up. Never put your head out in front of you. It makes for an easy target if it’s sticking out in front of you. You are open for an uppercut when you do that. Keep your back vertical and your chin down and tucked away. And always make sure your hands are up around your chin with your elbows held in close to your body. NEVER BEND DOWN!
Strike First
If you can strike first and keep control of the fight then do it. This means you have to be quick and ready to throw an array of combinations. Hit, move, and then recoup. Hit, move, and then recoup. Keep doing this as long as you don’t burn yourself up in the first round. Watch for counter-punches. Keep your free arm up and protecting your chin.
Counter Punching
Counter punching is one of the most effective techniques for winning a fight. To counter punch, you must anticipate your opponents punch and decide on a punch to give in return to the one he/she is giving you. Hopefully you can connect with yours before your opponent connects with his/hers.
Counter punches frustrate your opponents to no end. If you connect with a punch every time they throw theirs, then you are telling them that they are too slow and you already have them figured out. You’ll force your opponent to mix things up and throw combinations that they are not so comfortable throwing.
An example of a counter punch would be to throw an overhand right when your opponent throws out a lazy jab. Knock their jab to the side by brushing your overhand right in the inside of their jab. So the result is, their jab deflects off your overhand right and your overhand right gets through and hopefully connects to their jaw.
Feet Work
Boxing is a matter of movements. How well you move your feet determines how well you box. Fast feet lead to fast punches. If you are slow on your feet, then you’re slow with your fists. You use your feet to seek your opponent and to avoid your opponent. Feet work must be graceful and fluid. It should be done easy and relaxed but firm in movement. Proper feet work leads to harder hitting power and speed. Quick feet work will beat any punch. A moving target is harder to hit.
The best position for your feet is where you can quickly move in any direction and cover a distance quickly. Your feet should be a little more than shoulder width apart. To move, slide your feet or shuffle. NEVER CROSS YOUR FEET! If your opponent hits you with your feet crossed, you will lose your balance, stumble or go down.
Always lead with the foot closest to the direction you are heading. If you are moving left, lead with your left foot and slide the right foot over. If you’re going backward, lead with your back foot and slide your front one back after. If you cross your feet, you're going to get knocked down.
Keep on the balls of your feet. This helps with agility, absorption, and spring in your punches. Keep your knees bent slightly. This will give you spring in your punches and help absorb a punch. Never stand squared up to your opponent with your weight on your heals. Your grandma could knock you over if you were standing that way.
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