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The Art of Body Punching

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How to throw (AND LAND) body punches with devastating effect!

Body punches are one of the deadliest weapons in boxing, and yet they’re still under-utilized by even top pros in the game today. You would think every fighter would add soul-snatching body punches into their game but very few ever do.

Why is that?

It’s because body shots are tricky as hell to throw. You need incredible timing just to land the shot, and then there’s all this stress about not getting hit in the face when you lower your hands. It always feels like a risky exchange and for that reason, most fighters just “play it safe” by sticking to head shots.

Today, we will focus on the timing you need to LAND crippling body shots!
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Sabas Boxing Gloves Review (UPDATED 2019)

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Are Sabas boxing gloves still the best deal around? (And are they even close to Winning?)

A year ago, I reviewed Sabas boxing gloves highly without having tried them personally. Street rumors and internet reviews compared them favorably alongside other top brands in boxing…even considered by some,

“the closest Winning clones!”

They were supposedly high-quality gloves “made in Mexico” with beautiful colors and customization available, all sold at a great price. It seemed fair to pass this hearsay along in my boxing gloves review as I ranked them [semi-]blindly at 5th place. While I wasn’t totally familiar with Sabas, I was very familiar with the gloves they were being compared to.

But in the past 6 months, new comments surfaced suggesting their quality had fallen. The guys who once adored them no longer raved about them. Being that I sign my name on every product review I’ve ever written, it was my responsibility to seek the truth.

After ordering my own pair 2 months ago, I’d have to say the rumors are true. Sabas gloves will no longer be in my top 5 picks.

Let’s go over some obvious flaws…
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Advanced Boxing Head Movement (PART 1) – The Evasion Dance

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Tricky slipping patterns for all you slick-flashy fighters!

I’m sure you’ve seen it before…Muhammad Ali, Nicolino Locche, Pernell Whitaker, Prince Naseem, Vasily Lomachenko, and more.

They just got that super slick flashy head movement that lets them dance around RIGHT IN FRONT of their opponents without getting hit. Sometimes they do it to escape from the corner. Others times they do it make their opponent look silly. Or also when they’re hurt from body shots and trying to survive. There are many reasons why you might want this skill!

Let’s be real…nobody reading this site is good enough to copy them (that includes me), but in the spirit of artistic appreciation…let’s make our best attempt!
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Can You Parry Hooks?

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The question is… can you parry hooks?

Yikes, this is such a scary ask. Trying to parry a hook is probably one of the most dangerous ways to defend against a hook. Not only is it hard to accomplish and gives you very little benefits, it also puts you at a great risk of getting hit anyway. Before I say anything else, the answer is mostly NO!

But with that said, here are some ideas if you want to try parrying hooks:
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Top 5 Beginner Boxing Mistakes

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Isn’t it amazing how difficult even the most basic things can be?

We’ve all been there before. The first couple days seems exciting as hell and you can’t wait to come back. But then your beginner excitement dies down and training alongside other fighters, you start noticing all your deficiencies. And the harder you try, the more you feel unnatural at it.

Don’t you worry, everything you’re feeling is exactly what everyone else has felt before. What seems like a hundred mistakes really comes to only a few basic principles. Get those resolved and you’ll be holding your own against the “intermediate” guys in no time!

Here are the most common beginner boxing mistakes I see in the gym:
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DISADVANTAGES of Mike Tyson’s Peek-a-Boo Boxing Style

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Mike Tyson is one of the best fighters to have ever put on boxing gloves. Tons of talent, power, speed, athleticism, defense, skills, and work ethic. He would have been any trainer’s dream come true! I love his boxing technique and recommend it to all fighters.

But with that said, his style (like many other boxing styles) does come with its own limitations. In my opinion, you need to have exactly his qualities to really make it work. Otherwise, you’ll should use a MODIFIED version of it. Please do not take this to mean that I think he’s a terrible boxer or that his style shouldn’t be used at all.

Here are the reasons why I don’t recommend the peek-a-boo style for all fighters:
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How Do You Punch Straight with the Back Hand?

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I keep getting told I don’t punch straight with my back hand. I focus on it, think I’ve got it, but then get told by my coach that my elbow still comes out, if you know what I mean.

Any tips? I’ve tried throwing it standing next to a wall, so my elbow doesn’t hit the wall. Maybe I just need to do that more and more and more and more.

For me, there are only two main reasons why someone punches with too much side-arc or elbow-flare on the back hand punch (straight/cross)…
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Guillermo Rigondeaux – Southpaw Boxing Tricks

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My favorite boxing tricks from the Cuban southpaw super-slickster!

Guillermo Rigondeaux is one of the best fighting talents to ever put on gloves. As a testament to his unmatched boxing abilities, he is already a pound-for-pound star despite being 37 years old with only 17 wins. I’ll break down my favorite moves and patterns that I see him befuddle opponents with.

Rigondeaux is a slick southpaw pure boxer with incredible speed, power, skills, ring generalship, and all-around guile. His defense is top notch, his offense is top notch, his footwork, his tactics, everything! There really is no equal to him in any area IMO. Anything other champions do well, he does better. And the fact that he could continues to terrorize opponents at his age is only further proof of his seeming invincibility. He would be a formidable fighter in any era of boxing…I truly do wonder if there would ever be an equal.

Let’s figure him out, shall we?
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How to Throw a Knockout Punch

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Steps to knock out opponents in a fight.

How to stand, how to generate power, where to aim, and more importantly—how to set opponents up for the kill shot. It takes a little bit of technique and strategy, and a lot of confidence and timing.

It’s crazy that I’ve ran ExpertBoxing all these years without ever writing a post dedicated to getting knockouts. I’ve always thought everyone had the capacity to knock someone out, so why teach it? Well…having knockout power and being able to land it are two entirely different things.

Knockouts are a science! You have to create knockouts. They aren’t accidental events that happen when the stars magically align. There’s angles, timing, technique, and yes, even a bit of genetics and luck.

This is how you end fights with JUST ONE PUNCH!

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