How Do You Fight An Aggressive Puncher?

No mentally healthy person likes getting punched repeatedly. Most humans have a natural reaction to things coming at their head and it is usually to flinch, back up and cover up. This is not necessarily a terrible thing. It is just unconscious survival instinct. But as I have said before, boxing is not a natural thing. Some people are better at it than others, sure, but we train ourselves to bypass and overcome some of these instincts when we learn the sweet science.

When two boxers enter the ring and one is extremely aggressive, throwing punches from all angles, their opponent has several options. They can try to match that aggression themselves, which usually makes for a super exciting fight but also puts them at risk for a knockout. They can also go the other way, which may make for a less exciting fight, being mostly defensive and looking for their opportunity to counter. Or they can find a spot, or several spots, in between both of those extremes. Where you might fall on that spectrum depends to some degree on your boxing style and personality.

It is also worth noting that not all aggressive punchers are the same. Some are powerful but a little wild (like a George Foreman), some are more about constant, overwhelming volume than power (Julio Caesar Chavez), and others are great boxers who use pressure effectively (Canelo Alvarez).

For me, I would prefer to fight or coach a fighter against someone like this - much more than a counterpuncher at least - and here is where I land, tactically, on how to handle swarming, aggressive punchers:

Mindset

The general strategy I see boxers use is to try to keep distance between them the swarmer. This makes logical sense. The swarmer wants to get close and oftentimes in boxing, we want to deny our opponent what they want. But I don't see it being successful enough in these situations. Plus it requires a lot more work from you and if it's a competitive boxing match, the judges likely won't look as favorably on it. Instead, the mindset should be to disrupt the aggressive fighter as they come in. There are physical techniques to make this happen but it begins in the mind. You have to steady your nerves and accept that that it will get scary.

Not Backing Up/Giving Ground

Along those lines, trying to keep your distance from a pressure fighter means you will have to back up. You can move laterally and circularly and we will talk about that later but if distance is your strategy, there is no way you won't give ground. But that is what your opponent wants. And you backing up will allow them to keep their forward momentum and keep striking. Yes, we have seen some phenomenal knockouts with fighters backing away - Oscar Valdez vs Miguel Berchelt is probably the greatest one I have ever seen. This is not easy to pull off though, and will require that your opponent is charging forward somewhat wildly. In general, I don't think it should be a long-term strategy for a fight. Again, my vote is for disrupting your opponent's momentum as they come in, backing up only if you have to and not giving too much ground.

Jabs/Stabs to the Body

So how does one disrupt the swarmer's momentum as they come forward? The jab to the body is one of your best tools, provided you are able to really stick it. It's not so much about hurting the aggressor with this punch but driving their hips backward. This is called "breaking the base" of your opponent. Hips control just about everything in boxing. If your hips are driven backwards, you will have no balance and no solid base to throw good punches, dodge punches, footwork, nothing. This effect will not last long so you had better follow it up with something or circle around to keep them frustrated. Though I don't recommend emulating his style overall, especially for a new boxer, Floyd Mayweather Jr. does this better than anyone.

Angle Steps

While you want to try not to give ground, this definitely does not mean you want to just stand in front of your aggressive opponent and go toe-to-toe with them. You've got to move your feet but instead of going backwards, take angle steps and pivot steps, laterally and circularly. This is really a good strategy for fighting any one in any style in any discipline but particularly against someone coming forward who wants to brawl. They come forward, you step out of the way but stay close so that now, you can hit them and they can't hit you. That part is the key - staying close. Of course there may be times you want to just reset but if you are looking to counter, you have to stay in counter range. Sometimes you can do them both at the exact same time. I have to give it up for Money Mayweather again on this one, as his check hook knocking Ricky Hatton through the ropes was one of the best examples here.

Body Shots

Once again, it is always good to throw those body punches against all fighters, they can be particularly effective against aggressive punchers. Every time you throw a punch, you open yourself up to getting punched and particularly when you throw punches at the head of your opponent, your body is wide open for the counter. So if someone is swinging away at you, go to the body to shut that down. I've talked about the value of body shots in general before - https://theboxingmanifesto.blogspot.com/search?q=body+shots - and since pressure fighters need to have serious cardio to keep up the frenzied pace of their attack. body shots are the best way to take that away from them. Big power punchers too may have strong chins but nobody has a strong liver. You can't exactly build muscle to protect and cover that area so a good liver shot will drop just about anyone.

Blocking/Covering/Catching

Even if you have insane head movement, it is difficult to dodge everything an aggressive puncher throws. You have to have incredibly fast reflexes and spot the punches quickly. Otherwise, head movement against a series of strikes coming at all angles will ultimately fail (you will see examples of someone doing it in the ring and it working but I would argue in every case, the puncher who keeps missing is at fault for not pressuring the body more). Most of us are going to have to block a lot more than we might against a different kind of fighter. Blocking is easier than slick head movement but it hurts and you have to be disciplined in your blocks and still quick with your responses as you don't want to try to be Muhammad Ali,  shelled up on the ropes waiting for George Foreman to get tired. And you have to be able to block with just about everything your hands, your forearms, your elbows and your shoulders. If you were to actually fight someone in the ring, you would need to practice blocking HARD punches. Reasons being that this will cause your body to harden but more importantly, get you used to being moved by the punches. Light taps are not representative of what you will face in the ring, especially against a brawler so it will totally disrupt your timing once you have to catch something like a big overhand right for real. I am not saying I would advocate a lot of hard sparring in general, I am speaking specifically about practicing blocks. And then, make sure you can respond quickly. Dimitri Bivol did this about as well as I have seen it done in his fight against Canelo.

Clinch Game

Pressure fighters want to get in close but they do not necessarily want to be grabbed/held. Some like fighting there too but at the very least, you can slow down or even stop all of their punches by holding their arms down for a second. And you can take away that momentum and use it to frustrate them at well-designed times. But just like blocking, clinching is not enough. This can be a time for you to rough them up a little bit, dirty boxing style or also change your position. What a pressure fighter, swarmer, brawler, crazy aggro boxer wants more than anything else besides hitting you a lot is to get you on the ropes. That is where they can just pound away and you can't do much to stop them as you are trapped and in some cases, your base is somewhat broken. Rumble in the Jungle not withstanding, you want to get off the ropes. But how? Maybe they are pushing you and they are really strong. Grab them and turn them. But what if they are too strong and won't let you turn them? Use their force against them, pull them to you as you turn them around.

Okay Maybe Some, Give Ground BUT...

...be smart about it and don't let them just drive you back. But how do you do that? I know of 2 ways. First is something like an L-step. Take one step back as they come forward and then step off line, like a knight in chess. They will start to anticipate this and catch you though so you've got to vary it up and not be predictable. The other method is a little bit tougher to physically do but good boxers can use it to perfection. The swarmer comes in but you strike first, disrupting them and stopping their movement, like a jab to the body and then maybe a cross. The swarmer will inevitably throw punches back immediately. That is when you step back out of the way but immediately hold your ground or even pop forward if they don't and land a couple of shots. Then you just keep repeating this process: be first, disrupt, step back to avoid, disrupt/attack again, circle out. It is very tiring but it will frustrate your opponent and often gets them to start making mistakes. Sugar Ray Leonard is a great example here. Against Duran, Hearns, anyone who tried to come straight at him.