By Hector Gonzalez: Let’s keep it real, most boxing fans don’t have a clue of what they are talking about when it comes to the sweet science. It’s not their fault really, it’s pretty simple. Most kids all over the world played various different kinds of sports, basketball, soccer, baseball….. But very few, and I mean very few have actually ever laced up the gloves. There are too many assumptions going around so I wanted to dedicate this article to the fans specially on BN24.
I see a lot of comments circulating on the boards specially from fans assuming that they know how to box, “Canelo is too flat footed”, “Angulo is too slow”… this that or the other. The reason why such comments are bothersome is because they are condescending to the fighters, specially from people who’ve never been in the ring before and sometimes from perspectives that have a heavy bias as oppose to actual understanding and respect for the sport. It’s a pretty simple really, it’s been said over and over again but what it comes down to really is the way that styles will match up.
First of all, I understand that Floyd Mayweather has set a high standard in modern boxing today. But I find that many fans use Mayweather as the bar, and compare his attributes to other fighters as if they need to be on Mayweather’s level in order to be relevant. To get my point across, I will go ahead and say that Mayweather is something special… Fighters like him come once in a while, and although he might be the best fighter today, if you want everyone to look and fight like Floyd Mayweather then you should just stop watching other fighters and just watch Mayweather because that’s not going to happen…. Every fighter is special and the science is based on how his style will match up against another fighter.
Styles will match up in three ways, boxer, boxer-puncher, swarmer. The fighters who usually have the advantage are the one’s who could adapt the quickest to the opponents styles, and mix a variation of three. Swarmers have and advantage over boxers, because to be an effective swarmer you need a strong punch and a strong chin.. It’s up to the boxer to figure the swarmer out as quickly as possible, but if the boxer can’t figure out how to stop the swarmer soon enough then the swarmer has the advantage… The perfect example is Lara vs Angulo. Lara is one of the best boxers today, but yet take a look how effective Angulo was against Lara.. mind you, Angulo is often referred too as ‘flat footed’ and ‘one dimensional’… Mind you, it’s also why some people would stay that the most effective style against Mayweather is pressure. Being a swarmer is a gift, it’s something that not every fighter could do.
The boxer has the advantage over the boxer puncher, and the boxer puncher has the advantage over the swarmer. The key is always to be able to variate from style to style, and know when to switch and adjust to your opponents style. A good example of a fighter that does a great job of adjusting his style is Mikey Garcia, once his made a mistake in a fight, it’s rare that he makes the same mistake again. Garcia is a good example of a natural boxer, how can if he choose to, be a boxer puncher when he decides to exchange. Mikey Garcia also knows that he is not a natural swarmer, so you will never see him lunge in. For this reason, I don’t see Garcia losing to any fighter from 130-140 anytime soon. And yes, Garcia will beat Gamboa, and it will be because Garcia will figure out Gamboa before Gamboa figures out Garcia…. the key word will be ‘distance’.
A good example of a fighters who do not know how to adjust are Amir Khan and Victor Ortiz who have great qualities but do not know how to adjust when they need to. Another bad quality of Ortiz and Khan is that they want to be swarmers but are not natural swarmers, meaning that they don’t have the chin or stamina for it.
The best example of a fighter that was able to do it all, swarm and box at any given time was the great Ricardo El Finito Lopez, I suggest fans go and youtube his fights if you are not familiar with his career.
So fans, take it easy on your critique of these fighters putting their lives at risk. Most of these guys have dedicated their lives to this…. There is a reason why they are making a living off of boxing and we are not.
Email Hector Gonzalez @ Hect59@hotmail.com
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