Check Out the AMAZING Boxing Schedule Over the Next Month!

If you're a hardcore boxing fan, you don't need me to tell you what an incredible line-up of fights we have going on over the next month, but if you're a casual fan or maybe interested in potentially being interested, this is a great time to tune in. There are 4 pretty big fights worth watching, involving arguably the Top 3 pound-for-pound fighters, as well as some really intriguing match-ups. It is unfortunately something we don't see enough in boxing, as the higher-profile fights happen rarely enough in general, and almost never in rapid succession, so I look forward to enjoying it while I can! Here is what's on tap, as well as my thoughts and predictions.

Inoue vs. Fulton - Tuesday, July 25, 4:45am - ESPN +

I've said many times that Naoya Inoue is the greatest pound-for-pound fighter right now, but after dominating the flyweight and bantamweight divisions as an undisputed champ, he is moving up a weight class. Usually when fighters move up, their first fight in that new division is certainly a bit of a test, but rarely a very serious challenge. Inoue is doing the opposite. He has moved up and challenged the very best in the 122-pound weight class- one of the better pound-for-pound fighters period- in Stephen Fulton. He is fighting for belts right away against another undefeated champion.

You might wonder how much difference a few extra pounds could make, but it can be pretty significant in boxing, especially at the lower weight classes where those few pounds make up a bigger percentage of their overall bodyweight. Just about every fighter cuts weight the day before a fight- meaning, whatever weight at which they fight is not how much they usually weigh. Fighters spend 24 hours dehydrating themselves completely so they can make the agreed-upon terms of the bout regarding bodyweight. Some fighters cut anywhere from 10-30 pounds of water before they weigh in. This gives them an advantage in the fight after they have rehydrated, as they are bigger and usually stronger than someone in that class would be. Since everybody does it though, the cuts tend to cancel each other out most of the time. But not in this case. Inoue is coming up to a higher weight whereas Fulton is cutting. Plus, it is not like Inoue is coming up in weight for the first time. He started off fighting at 108 pounds and that means he has a particularly small frame.

So, when the bell rings, Fulton will be the bigger man. He is also taller, will have about a 3-inch reach advantage and fights well behind his jab so it may be difficult for Inoue to get to him (depending on what strategy Fulton goes with). In many cases, the smaller fighter's advantage can be speed but I don't think Inoue will have one in this fight. Fulton is pretty quick too. What Inoue does have though is smoothness - he is the best combination puncher I have ever seen and sometimes smoothness and flow can make up for any speed or quickness disadvantages. 

Who do I think will win? Vegas has Inoue as a slight favorite but I am not so sure. I want to roll with my guy (which is Inoue) but this might be too tough of a test for him in his first match at 122 pounds. I think it will be a close decision, maybe even one we don't all agree with. The fight is in Japan, which is why it is on TV so early in the morning over here but I don't believe in any kind of home-field advantage in boxing. It can even be a disadvantage for some because of the added pressure. This shouldn't be the case with Inoue though. He is as cool as a cucumber and if he can pull this out and look good, we might be able to start the conversation of him being on his way to all-time greatness. But that is a pretty big "if.” So, as much as I hate to say it, I think Fulton will win this fight but my heart is certainly with Inoue because I just love his style so much and want to see him continue to flourish.

Spence vs Crawford - Saturday, July 29, 8pm - Showtime PPV

Speaking of pound-for-pound best right now, Terence "Bud" Crawford has generally sat in that seat for the last few years, with Errol Spence not being far behind. Both are master technicians, with somewhat of a rivalry and this is a fight we have been taunted with for a long time now. In fact, while I am trying to stay positive, I won't truly believe it is happening until I see both fighters actually walk out into the ring. 

What a fight it should be though! One of the biggest we've had in a while! An undisputed title fight between two knockout artists who have never even been knocked down at any point in their careers and never defeated. If Crawford wins, he will be the first men's fighter in the four-belt era to become an undisputed champ in two divisions. Spence will be his toughest challenge by far and will be the naturally bigger man, with a reach advantage he knows how to use well. He probably has a better resume than Crawford too but will be the slight underdog according to the Vegas odds. That being said though, plenty of smart pundits are picking Errol Spence to win.

The only thing that takes a little bit of the shine off this fight for me is just that it took so long to happen. There has been chatter since as early as 2018. And neither man has fought in a while. It's been over a year for both of them and not against high-level competition so it's hard to know exactly where they are at. There may be some ring rust but I am sure the display of boxing skill will be top notch. Errol Spence may have some of the best basics in boxing and Terence Crawford has more weapons at his disposal. I could see Crawford winning it by stoppage but Spence winning by decision. If I had to bet once again, I would slightly go towards the latter. Spence by decision.

Jake Paul vs Nate Diaz - Saturday, August 5th, - DAZN PPV

So, while you may see some of the best technical boxing ever in Spence vs. Crawford, the same cannot be said of Jake Paul and Nate Diaz. If you don't already know, Jake and his brother, Logan Paul, were popular YouTubers with no amateur or professional fighting experience who decided to get serious about boxing only about 4-5 years ago. Jake made a name for himself in celebrity boxing, taking on an NBA star and some former MMA stars. Many boxing purists hated it as these fights got more attention and made more money than most talented, experienced fighters will ever see. While that may not be "fair" and while the Paul brothers may rub plenty of people the wrong way, I think it is undeniable that they take boxing very, very seriously. If Jake's fights had been sloppy and lackluster, he would have faded away pretty quickly. But they weren't. At least not from his side. Most of them ended in spectacular, highlight reel knockouts. He defeated several former UFC champions before taking on his first boxer (though not particularly experienced) in Tommy Fury earlier this year. Jake lost by decision but I don't think he was necessarily out boxed by Tommy. I think Tommy's speed and explosiveness was too much for Jake to handle and he couldn't make adjustments to solve the puzzle.

Nate Diaz is another veteran of the UFC.  He also has a famous brother, Nick, who was an MMA fighter and boxer too. If you don't know either Nate or Nick Diaz, it will be pretty tough to sum them up in just a few sentences but they are almost cartoonishly angry, badass dudes. They love fighting and seem like they would do it for free if no one paid them. Nate is as tough as they come, won't back down, won't get tired, won't stop coming, and probably won't be stopped.

Despite all of his fight experience though, Nate has never been a particularly great boxer. Some footage of him training for this fight has been leaked and he doesn't look real sharp. I am not sure I totally believe it though. Even if that leaked footage is not a ploy, both Nate and Nick Diaz have had striking success which seems to belie their technical deficiencies (Google "Stockton Slap" if you want to learn more). A bigger problem I see for Nate though is size and athleticism. He's fought in the UFC at 155 pounds and Jake boxes around 185. That might be a lot to overcome at this point in his career. Jake should be significantly younger, stronger and faster but with any Diaz fight, there is always a Stockton Slapper's chance.

Unfortunately, the biggest of all problems might just be Nate's face. It is weathered to say the least. He's taken a lot of strikes and has scar tissue everywhere. What that means is that he is far more likely to open up and bleed as soon as he starts getting hit, even from light punches. As happy as I'm sure he would be to keep fighting with his head gushing blood, the issue is that the judges will stop the fight is a cut gets too big and certainly if it is over his eye(s). This might seem like and edge case scenario but it is actually my prediction for the fight. I think it will be a doctor's stoppage in the later rounds due to a cut. Nate Diaz will be mad, throw his hands up in the air, flip-off people in the stands but the doctor and/or ref will call it and declare Jake the winner. Jake will say he's disappointed and offer to "run it back" for a rematch some time in the future.

It should also be noted that one of the best female fighters, Amanda Serrano, will be fighting on this card too. She is going against someone I know nothing about, Heather Hardy, but Amanda is another great one to watch if you're looking for good technique. Pretty solid at everything and has gotten a lot of notoriety lately, largely due to Jake Paul promoting her and putting her on earlier cards as the co-main event.

Navarrete vs Valdez - Saturday, August 12 - ESPN/ESPN+

Of all the bouts I have mentioned already, this one may actually be the most fun to watch. Two very unorthodox, offense fighters who everyone expects to just go at each other. Emanuel Navarrete's style is pretty crazy. He throws long, looping punches, usually from his hips and his feet just kind of go wherever. I can't imagine any coach would teach someone to box this way but he somehow makes it work at a very high level. He currently holds the WBO junior lightweight title and has won belts at 122 and 126 pounds as well. His only loss was to a unanimous decision vs. Shakur Stephenson, who is looking like he might be one of the very best in the game right now.

Oscar Valdez is more disciplined but he doesn't move or dance like many junior lightweights. He just comes forward on a straight line and is very successful leading with his cross. Everybody knows he's coming but it's hard to stop him. He is also a two-division champ and has just like Navarrete, is 31-1, with his only loss being against, once again, a unanimous decision to Shakur Stephenson!

I (and pretty much everyone else) expect major fireworks in this fight. Pundits always talk about the excitement that always comes with 2 Mexican fighters going at it but this is more than that. Even for Mexican fighters, these guys are both very aggressive and because their styles are so unique and different, it makes for an interesting match-up. I feel like Navarrate's not going to get away with keeping his hands down against a power puncher of Valdez's caliber but it's possible he will be able to use his length advantage to keep Oscar away. And we have seen Oscar not perform to the best of his abilities. Still, I'd pick Valdez to win by KO late, with both fighters getting knocked down at some point earlier.

But that's not even all for the month. There are some other intriguing fights afterwards featuring big names, big power punchers and some belts on the line:

• Anthony Joshua vs. Dillian Whyte - August 12
• Artur Beterbiev vs. Callum Smith - August 19
• Olexsandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois - August 26

And then this weekend, on July 22, we have former champ George Kambosos fighting again as well as USA silver medalist from last year's Olympics, Keyshawn Davis, taking a step up in competition. While not necessarily marquis matchups, I believe the fights are free on ESPN. Definitely a great time to get into watching boxing and plus, it gets us through that last leg of summer before football season starts up!

Is Your Heavy Bag Swinging?

If your heavy bag is hanging from something and not totally rooted to the ground, you will notice that it moves every time you strike it. The heavier and longer the bag, the less it may swing depends on the way you punch, kick or whatever.

How much should it be swinging while boxing? There are several variables here too, but I can say very generally that the answer is “not too much” for just general boxing training. And it is also likely that if your bag is swinging a lot after punching it, this is due to your punch being more of a push than a punch. Once the punch lands and full extension or rotation has been reached, the goal is to then get that hand back as quickly as possible. Even quicker than the punch itself if you can manage it. Leaving your hand on the bag for an extra millisecond in terms of making it swing. Thus, the bag is actually a good teacher here. It tells you that you aren't getting your hands back fast enough by swinging.

This does not mean, however, that we shouldn't strive to punch through the target. Yes, we want to whip those hands back but only after the punch has reached it's final destination. Only exception here might be a jab to the face, here the snap back is what makes the punch sting as opposed to pure force of the punch. Otherwise, make sure you never shorten the motion of the strike just to not make the bag swing. Again, the punch itself does not need to change, it is the speed that you retract your hand that we want to increase.

Another big factor on how much the bag swings is if you are moving around your bag while you punch. This is not inherently a bad thing to do but it can lead to some bad habits, including the thing I just described involving leaving your hand on the bag too long after your shot lands. I would recommend really having rock solid punch fundamentals before doing this. You can circle around all you want but when you are ready to strike, plant your feet and punch before moving again.

If your movement is straight forward - as in moving closer to the bag behind each punch - you will naturally get more swinging, no matter how fast you get your hands back because your forward momentum is being transferred, driving the bag back. This is not a bad thing either and we can even use it to incorporate drills and develop good boxing habits.

No matter how or why your bag is swinging, I generally advise people to either steady the bag with their own jab after the combo or don't do anything special at all. Just keep on doing your thing unless it is swinging a whole lot. What you DON'T want to do is stop entirely to steady your bag in any way that breaks your boxing rhythm (holding it, kneeing it, kicking it, etc.). Did a video once about this too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8NUErTFuuY

There are also ways you can use/initiate the swing to incorporate specific boxing drills like...

1. Getting your bag to swing back towards you and stopping it with your straight punches. This is a good way to ensure that you get good shoulder rotation and skeletal alignment because if you don't, the bag will likely push you backwards. It also somewhat simulates an opponent coming towards you.
2. Pushing the bag out, getting in to the space it previously occupied and throwing a quick couple of punches as it is moving out, then getting out before it comes back. Good for working on both hand and foot speed.
3. Getting the bag to swing (by pushing or just your own punches) and circle out to find a new angle before throwing the combo. Builds more realistic boxing footwork and coordination as well as better simulates an opponent.
4. Same as #3 but you add some punches to your bag moving laterally. This can be good practice for hitting a moving target but of course the heavy bag will move very differently than a person and doing to much of this, especially early on in training, can lead to some bad habits and slow down the development of your basic punch mechanics. If you are looking for better authenticity in this department, a double-end bag might be a better way to go.
5. While it's not so much swinging, you can use the lean of the bag for multiple drills where the goal is to keep it up and not let it swing back through rapid and strong punches

So whether you are using a bag as a coach to tell you when you aren't getting your hands back fast enough or using it for drills to simulate an opponent or work on specific skills or something else entirely, the heavy bag remains the greatest single training tool for fitness (boxing or otherwise) and does more than just hang there and get punched.

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Should You Train Like Rocky?

This 4th of July, one of the cable channels was doing a Rocky movie marathon (as they should) and of course one of the most memorable parts of all those films - except for Rocky V, which is not recognized by this blog - are the training montage scenes. Showing Rocky getting into shape before the big fight, accompanied by some of the greatest cinematic music ever written. To many of us who grew up with these movies, this was how we were introduced to boxing. 

I think it is impossible to be a normal, reasonably-healthy human being with a pulse and watch these training montage scenes without getting pumped up. They are AWESOME! But should you train like Rocky? First, here is a breakdown of literally everything he does in Rocky I, II, III, IV, and Rocky Balboa

• Jogging
• Alternating single-hand push-ups
• Clapping push-ups
• Speed bag
• Being hit in the stomach with something
• Sit-ups
• 1-handed push-ups
• More running
• Hitting metal with a hammer
• 1-arm chin-up
• Sit-up with twists
• Jump rope
• A split second of mitts
• Dumbbell lateral lifts
• Frog jumping and duck walking with a big piece of wood across his neck and shoulders
• Overhead presses with barbell
• Sit-ups and some guy hits him in the stomach
• Dumbbell reverse flys.
• Chases chicken
• More speedbag
• Back-to-back med ball hand-offs
• Bag work with no gloves
• Sprinting away from children
• Hurdles a few park benches
• Sprints vs Apollo Creed
• Bouncy footwork drills with Apollo, mainly a rhythmic Ali shuffle
• Some double-end bag work
• Some shadow boxing
• Swimming. Butterfly stroke.
• The tiniest bit of sparring
• More speedbag
• More jump rope
• More jump rope again
• Hanging sit-ups with punches at the top
• Chopping wood
• A couple hooks on the mitts
• More speedbag
• Uses a pulley to bring down heavy weight
• Leg lifts to Dragon Flag
• Slip line with uppercuts
• Weighted twist
• Sawing a big log
• Double lever press lifting people in a carriage
• Jogs up snowy mountain
• More jogging
• Pull-ups
• Bench press
• Squats
• Travelling push-ups with med ball
• Hammer swings
• Tiny bit of bag work with gloves
• Punches meat again
• Dumbbell  walking uppercut swings
• Keg slams
• Clean and press

In all 5 of those movies, I would say about 75% of Rocky's training is running. Except for Rocky Balboa, the training sequence in every film culminates with him finishing some running task. Climbing the stairs in Rocky I, climbing the stairs with lots of kids running after him in Rocky II (plus he catches that chicken earlier), beating Apollo Creed in a beach sprint in Rocky III and climbing to the top of a mountain and screaming "Draagggooooo!" in Rocky IV. He's a lot older in Rocky Balboa so the jogging is slower and instead, the montage scene ends with him doing a barbell clean and press.

There are several cinematic reasons for doing this, finishing the montage with a running scene (particularly going up something, like stairs or a mountain). It is symbolic, it looks good, it looks like work, showing somebody moving faster is an easy way to demonstrate progression and it is something a non-boxing actor can do. 

I don't know that it will necessarily make someone a better boxer though. Jogging is cardio training, for sure, and to some degree, there is a toughness element as well. Just keep moving, don't stop. In the old days, jogging was a big part of a boxer's training regimen. Certainly not 75%, maybe not even 25%, but every boxer did it. The real Rocky, Rocky Marciano, would run about 10 miles every single day, including Christmas. These days, many fighters do less distance running and are more about sprints/tempo runs. Shorter bursts of more explosive energy with active rests is more analogous to what a boxer faces inside the ring, versus slower, steady-state plodding. Running, or "Road Work" as people like to call it, certainly has benefits but if you want to be a better boxer, you don't actually need to it at all. As I mentioned earlier, there is something to the toughness and discipline that can come from consistent running but you may be able to get that from other places. I personally, do not run anymore at all because of old knee injuries and my boxing skills and endurance has not changed at all. If I were training a younger healthier person for a fight, I would have them do tempo runs instead. I made a video with some examples right here:

In a distant second to running, Rocky spends the most of his training montage time doing some form of a strength exercise. Push-ups, pull-ups, weights, core, old school lifts. How much these things help your boxing depends quite a bit on you and how much strength you already have in each department. My personal belief for strength training- and what I would have anyone younger I was training for a fight do- is almost all bodyweight exercises, in addition to the boxing, of course. Unless you specifically want to bulk up, I don't think weights are necessary and note that bulking up will not help you with your boxing. You may still want to do it and that is totally, 100% fine, it just will not make you box any better and you could even tire more quickly, carrying around the extra weight, particularly in the upper body. Here is a blog post for more info on the subject - https://theboxingmanifesto.blogspot.com/2022/11/the-power-of-bodyweight-exercise-how-i.html

Then I would say jump rope comes next for Rocky. He does it in every movie except in Rocky Balboa. Jumping rope is great. You should do it too! You don't need a lot of time either. 5 minutes of jump rope a day is beneficial, and you can extend it as you get better and better. How does it help with your boxing? A couple different ways. It keeps you light on your feet, on the balls of your feet, which is the place you want to be while boxing. There is also a rhythm and timing and coordination aspect to it that is transferable. And then finally, jump rope is an interesting exercise in that it is intense and will tire you out but you are largely turning off most of the muscles in your body. This is a critical skill to learn in boxing and anyone who comes from a weight-lifting background generally struggles with it. Boxing is a explosive, using those fast-twitch muscle fibers to generate as much acceleration and deceleration as possible. But that's only in very specific muscles. Other muscles should be almost totally deactivated. Why? Because they can actually hold your punches back. I have spoken about this a lot but just as an example, if you try to throw a quick jab or cross and your shoulders are fully engaged, your body will get tighter and lack the elasticity to really whip those punches for maximum sting.

Then there is the speedbag. Rocky does this for at least a second or two in every movie training montage. Sometimes he is really bad at it at first and then he gets better so we see progression, although I've always wondered how he keeps forgetting how to do it in each film. Anyway, speedbag training can help you with rhythm as well as muscular endurance and is a perfectly fine thing to do if you want to train in boxing. Will it help you get a whole lot better at boxing? Absolutely not. It is meant to be more of a supplemental, complimentary training tool. It looks really good in the movies because when someone learns how to do it, the bag moves super fast and this naturally appears impressive. Wrote a much more detailed blog post about it earlier as well:  https://theboxingmanifesto.blogspot.com/2022/03/what-about-speed-bags.html

Finally, at what I would say represents less than 5% of Rocky's montage training is actual boxing/punching something. He does do a little bit of it in every movie but it is sometimes literally for about a second. The most we ever see Rocky boxing is versus the meat in Rocky I. Other than that, we get a couple punches on mitts here and there, some lackluster bag work, a few shadowboxed punches, and sparring is not really touched at all. At no point, do we see him doing anything remotely defensive at all. There is a big reason for the lack of boxing in the movies and that is probably obvious - Sylvester Stallone is not a boxer. He is an actor. A physically strong actor with a lot of love for boxing but if they want to show him training and looking as awesome as possible, they can't really spend a lot of time on boxing technique, speed or power. They also do show plenty of this in the fight scenes so perhaps the movie didn't want to overdo during the training scenes. And finally, it might be difficult to show boxing skill progression to a layperson, whereas showing an impressive physical feat may communicate "Getting strong now" better.

In reality, by far- by a million miles- the best way to get better at boxing is to actually box. Punching hanging haunches of meat might not be a great idea but bag work, mitt work, shadow boxing, even sparring if that is your jam and your technique is highly developed, are all highly effective. The more you box with proper instruction/coaching, the better you get at boxing. But that also doesn't mean at the same pace the entire time. The concept of over-training is important in boxing as well, just like it is with lifting weights. Overloading speed, power and endurance drills all improve your boxing skills as well as fitness. It is even more critical that you approach all training with the mindset of getting better. I've written numerous posts about that subject as well. Here is one:  https://theboxingmanifesto.blogspot.com/2022/03/are-you-comfortable-boxer.html

So does this mean that if you have all day to train, you would be best served by boxing all day? Ah, a good question. And no, not necessarily. If you have all day to train, you may very well burn out just training in boxing. This is where you can mix things up and even add in some of Rocky's routine. But do you have all day to train? Most people do not. Most of us are lucky to make an hour or so. In that case, you are going to be best served by spending almost all of that time in boxing. Works every muscle, is both cardio & strength training simultaneously, and most importantly it is 100% the absolute best way to get better at actually boxing!