SPORTS

A Way To Appreciate World Boxing

By Alex Vidal

This is a guide on how to score a world boxing.

MORE ON CLEAN PUNCHING
Clean punching or hitting is an important criterion for two reasons: 1 For aggressiveness to be effective, the punches must land on target cleanly and inflict damage. For example, clean body shots will inflict damage that may not become apparent until the latter rounds of the fight. When scoring the fight, good clean body punches are sometimes overlooked because they are not as spectacular as those to the chin or to the head. This is one of the most apparent oversights made by judges who may not have the experience or the training method in the previous column.
Clean, stiff jabs may inflict damage quickly by causing cuts and swelling. The jab is a very effective weapon and must be considered when developing your scoring during the round. It will take more about the jabs when we get into ring generalship and the effect that a jab has on the conduct of the fight. Clean left hooks or a straight right hand may cause instant damage by knocking the fighter down. What we have are punches that are doing damage, landing cleanly to the body or the head which, over a period of time, will wear the fighter down.
There are certain times when we may even score for clean punches thrown to the shoulders or arms, depending on the amount of damage they are inflicting. (If, on the other hand, a fighter used his arms or shoulders to block punches in a defensive maneuver, there would be no advantage for the fighter throwing those punches) 2. Clean punching also means the boxer is obeying the rules of boxing by landing the punches on authorized areas of the body, like the jaw, head, solar plexus, or heart are. These are scoring punches. On the other hand, low blows, hitting with the open glove, punches behind the head or back, and holding while hitting do not score points. The primary factor in a fight is the punch delivered by the boxer.
The boxer scoring clean, effective punches is on his way to winning. Watching a fight on television is not the same as seeing it live sitting at ringside for obvious reasons. It is sometimes difficult to determine the effect of punches while watching the fight on television. If there is anything lost in the transmission of a fight on television, it is the impact of the punches being landed in the ring. Much depends on the camera angle and the lighting at the particular time the punches are being thrown.
We have often viewed tapes of fights we have seen live, and we know of many instances where the impact of good effective punches is lost during transmission. To overcome this, while we’re at home, watching the fight on television and scoring, we need to move close to the television and really focus our concentration. Here again, we need to emphasize the importance of concentration when scoring a fight.
RING GENERALSHIP
Ring generalship applies to the fighter who uses skills beyond his punching power to control the action in the ring. He is thinking. He is strategizing while he is fighting, utilizing cleverness, agility, and feinting to keep his opponent off guard. By using footwork and movement, he forces the opponent out of his fight plan. Using subtle tactics, he sets up his opponent for effective combinations. He causes an aggressive fighter to look awkward. He may even cause a boxer to get into a slugfest. He minimizes his opponent’s strengths by controlling the action to suit his own skills. A fighter using a good left job (or right jab for a left-hand fighter) often does it as part of his tactics to utilize ring generalship.
A good jab allows a fighter to set up combinations and follow-up shots. If we watch fighters, we can pick out the one who is thinking, laying out a plan, and in complete control of what is happening. When you hear the term "the fighter won the round because he was controlling the action," it means the fighter is in mental control in developing his fight plan, allowing him to score effective punches. Ultimately the boxer employing skillful ring generalship will be on his way to winning the round. A smart fighter usually gains an edge.
DEFENSE
Becase of the combative nature of boxing, it would be difficult to award a round to a fighter who has not displayed a more effective offense than his opponent. A good defense simply can’t overcome an effective offense. However, the importance of defense cannot be minimized. Good defense is an element of ring generalship. Good defense allows the fighter to avoid unnecessary punishment, thus giving him a better opportunity to stick to his plan while extending his physical endurance.
The fighter who takes a lot of punches often runs out of steam as the fight progresses. Most good fighters deploy good defense naturally. They do not sacrifice good offensive actions. Good defense usually means that a fighter will enjoy a longer career, as opposed to the fighter who takes a lot of punches. Wear and tear on the body shortens the fighter’s career.
In analyzing the impact of defense in scoring the round, it is very important to remember that good defense is not holding, clinching or running. Holding is usually a last resort employed to avert aggressive tactics of an opponent. Remember that holding and clinching are subjects to penalty by the referee if abused. What is good defense? Good defense is averting punches by blocking, bobbing and weaving, good footwork, and lateral movement. These are assets possessed by the skilled fighter. In close rounds, when neither fighter has an edge offensively, good defense could well be the deciding factor. /MP mailto:madyaas_pen@yahoo.com