Cuban Boxing Fundamentals

[Sinister]

Oh yeah, thanks.

It’s scary how good those motherfuckers look. Imagine all of them going to another gym on open-sparring day.

Russians (or Soviet educated fighters from the Eastern Bloc) and Cubans are definitely very very technically sound, but they do have their weaknesses. Most of them are mental and habitual. Remember back when the lightweight I used to train sparred Akhmadaliev. MJ came out hot and knocked my guy down, but as the round progressed I noticed he was pretty terrible inside and completely uncomfortable whenever my guy stepped into him. So I told Joseph after the 1st round:

"He wants you at mid-range, he's a killer at the end of his punch. When you go inside he doesnt do shit. Lure him in with baiting jabs, once he sets step in, hit him on the inside, then turn him."

When he executes this in the 2nd round you can hear me say "THAT'S IT!!"



MJ had zero ability to adapt. I was surprised as he was the #3 Amateur in the World at the time and had knocked down Conlan in their fight.

 

[StopDucking]

Russians (or Soviet educated fighters from the Eastern Bloc) and Cubans are definitely very very technically sound, but they do have their weaknesses. Most of them are mental and habitual. Remember back when the lightweight I used to train sparred Akhmadaliev. MJ came out hot and knocked my guy down, but as the round progressed I noticed he was pretty terrible inside and completely uncomfortable whenever my guy stepped into him. So I told Joseph after the 1st round:

"He wants you at mid-range, he's a killer at the end of his punch. When you go inside he doesnt do shit. Lure him in with baiting jabs, once he sets step in, hit him on the inside, then turn him."

When he executes this in the 2nd round you can hear me say "THAT'S IT!!"



MJ had zero ability to adapt. I was surprised as he was the #3 Amateur in the World at the time and had knocked down Conlan in their fight.

Why are they neglecting their inside game though?

 

[Sinister]

Why are they neglecting their inside game though?

That I cannot answer. But you can see his is awful. It's like he cannot comprehend not having his optimal range

 

[SandisLL]

That I cannot answer. But you can see his is awful. It's like he cannot comprehend not having his optimal range

This is cos scoring habits am judges had ...
Initially euro boxing was more close to boxing like in British pro boxing.

Then some countries didn't had pro boxing and had well financed am boxing industry.

In am bout easier is to get punches landed scored by judge IF they are long distance or medium distance ....close range stuff more often might be overlooked by judges filling cards.......

 

[Sinister]

This is cos scoring habits am judges had ...
Initially euro boxing was more close to boxing like in British pro boxing.

Then some countries didn't had pro boxing and had well financed am boxing industry.

In am bout easier is to get punches landed scored by judge IF they are long distance or medium distance ....close range stuff more often might be overlooked by judges filling cards.......

That makes a lot of sense. The US actually valued in-fighting, not merely in-fighting to get outside

 

[Dexter]

Oh yeah, thanks.

It’s scary how good those motherfuckers look. Imagine all of them going to another gym on open-sparring day.

It's Russian national team, bruh . 1st session in 2023.
If you are looking for average hobbyists from different striking-oriented sports, it's like that:

 

[StopDucking]

It's Russian national team, bruh .

No, it’s not. It’s a random gym located in a small village in some remote part of Siberia. The village has about 20 high-level boxers despite its small population of 200. It was supposedly founded by veterans from the Rus’-Byzantine War and has been isolated ever since. As you can see from the interview segments, the residents speak their own unique language that nobody understands.

 

[Dexter]

No, it’s not. It’s a random gym located in a small village in some remote part of Siberia. The village has about 20 high-level boxers despite its small population of 200. It was supposedly founded by veterans from the Rus’-Byzantine War and has been isolated ever since. As you can see from the interview segments, the residents speak their own unique language that nobody understands.

 

[StopDucking]

@Dexter Why don't you guys work on your inside fighting though?

 

[Dexter]

@Dexter Why don't you guys work on your inside fighting though?

 

[Sinister]

FWIW, US Amateurs dont value in-fighting specifically, but they do value fighters who are either very aggressive, or precise outside boxers. If you're going to be aggressive you have to be hyper-aggressive, and this has nullified defensive practice. The nuanced inside work I teach is becoming rare.

 

[Lucas Coradini]

FWIW, US Amateurs dont value in-fighting specifically, but they do value fighters who are either very aggressive, or precise outside boxers. If you're going to be aggressive you have to be hyper-aggressive, and this has nullified defensive practice. The nuanced inside work I teach is becoming rare.

Btw how that video platform thingy you were talking about coming along? I'd love some inside game oriented stuff.

Brazil doesn't have a professional boxing culture (despite having Acelino Popó doing great years ago) so this is the kind of stuff that is rare to develop here. I try to use stuff like basic principles to get angles, such as that drill you shared here were a boxer have to keep his nose pointed towards behind the ear of the other boxer, but it would be nice to learn some more in depth stuff from you.

 

[Dexter]

Punching while moving series.

Lesson 1:


Lesson 2:


Lesson 3:


Lesson 4:


Lesson 5:

 

[Lucas Coradini]

^this reminded me of a standup comedy show I watched that the guy would say that russians talking in russian would always sound sweet and calming, in opposite to russians speaking in english, which always sound like they're threatening to cut your throat. I might just let this playing again later when I'm going to bed, top notch ASMR.

And thanks for sharing. Lots of drills that I plan on incomporating with my students!

 

[Lucas Coradini]

Hi, folks! So I stumbled upon this 2014 video of cuban trainer Ismael Salas talking about how Angelo Dundee changed his approach on training professional boxers:


So basically he was having a hard time trying to train his thai fighters the same way he was used to train people in Cuba: more emphasis on partner drills done in an interval training setting, a la escuela de combate dirigida, and on the physical fitness component of speed endurance.

Here's an example of two boxers from the brazilian national team doing it


It's a pre-established sequence that must be executed at the blow of a whistle (or any other beep). If the goal is speed endurance, the actions must be done at maximum speed.

After he noticed his boxers were all getting tired after the 4th or 5th round he consulted Dundee and he told him that he should focus more on general resistance, instead of speed endurance. He also mentions that in Thailand the boxers debut doing 10 rounds already.

I've also heard from other people that professionals never do partner drills, the training is basically shadowboxing, heavybags, mitts, and a ton of speed bag and other endurance oriented types of training. The only thing pros would do with other boxers would be sparring, obviously varying the intensity/volume depending on when it's done in relation to a fight.

Curious to know where my fellow trainers feel about all this.
@Sinister @Dexter @DoctorTaco

 

[DoctorTaco]

Hi, folks! So I stumbled upon this 2014 video of cuban trainer Ismael Salas talking about how Angelo Dundee changed his approach on training professional boxers:


So basically he was having a hard time trying to train his thai fighters the same way he was used to train people in Cuba: more emphasis on partner drills done in an interval training setting, a la escuela de combate dirigida, and on the physical fitness component of speed endurance.

Here's an example of two boxers from the brazilian national team doing it


It's a pre-established sequence that must be executed at the blow of a whistle (or any other beep). If the goal is speed endurance, the actions must be done at maximum speed.

After he noticed his boxers were all getting tired after the 4th or 5th round he consulted Dundee and he told him that he should focus more on general resistance, instead of speed endurance. He also mentions that in Thailand the boxers debut doing 10 rounds already.

I've also heard from other people that professionals never do partner drills, the training is basically shadowboxing, heavybags, mitts, and a ton of speed bag and other endurance oriented types of training. The only thing pros would do with other boxers would be sparring, obviously varying the intensity/volume depending on when it's done in relation to a fight.

Curious to know where my fellow trainers feel about all this.
@Sinister @Dexter @DoctorTaco

Personally, I love partner drills for all levels of boxers. One of my trainers is a pro boxer and when he’s getting ready for a fight we do a lot of partner drills specific to sharpening his A game, developing his B game, and trying to counter our opponents game plan.

Latest one I got from my friend Adam in Virginia who’s a god damn savant was “echo sparring”. You throw the same combo at your partner twice in a row. This allows them to make corrections and try again immediately. The striker can also focus on fixing their form, balance, range, and position

Sparring drills and games, Dutch drills, footwork partner work, I don’t think these are things someone can grow out of.

I think guys get to a certain level and their coaches don’t hold their feet to the fire about continuing with drills. Guys get a little fuzz on their peaches, win some fights and they start slacking off on drills. Still game as hell in sparring, pad work, bag work, etc but they use drill time to socialize and fuck off. Coaches turn a blind eye bc coaching a bunch of drillers is tiring and we’re fuckin beat already most of the time. If one less kid is doing it then it’s one less person I need to watch to correct.

Proper sparring is important, as is intensity. But even there there’s room to get creative. I had a small ring and my team got good on the ropes. They got too comfortable playing there and so I started running rounds where the goal was to get your opponent to touch the ropes. If they did, they’re out and I throw a fresh body in there. They’re sparring normally but now the focus is on this tug of work- who can put who on the ropes. I’ll give a punch minimum for someone to throw before I’ll end the round (60-100, nothing unreasonable), we’ll do man with the golden fun sparring where I’ll dictate a target and weapon, let’s say left uppercut to the head. If someone lands it then their partner is out and they find someone else to spar.

 

[Lucas Coradini]

Personally, I love partner drills for all levels of boxers. One of my trainers is a pro boxer and when he’s getting ready for a fight we do a lot of partner drills specific to sharpening his A game, developing his B game, and trying to counter our opponents game plan.

Latest one I got from my friend Adam in Virginia who’s a god damn savant was “echo sparring”. You throw the same combo at your partner twice in a row. This allows them to make corrections and try again immediately. The striker can also focus on fixing their form, balance, range, and position

Sparring drills and games, Dutch drills, footwork partner work, I don’t think these are things someone can grow out of.

I think guys get to a certain level and their coaches don’t hold their feet to the fire about continuing with drills. Guys get a little fuzz on their peaches, win some fights and they start slacking off on drills. Still game as hell in sparring, pad work, bag work, etc but they use drill time to socialize and fuck off. Coaches turn a blind eye bc coaching a bunch of drillers is tiring and we’re fuckin beat already most of the time. If one less kid is doing it then it’s one less person I need to watch to correct.

Proper sparring is important, as is intensity. But even there there’s room to get creative. I had a small ring and my team got good on the ropes. They got too comfortable playing there and so I started running rounds where the goal was to get your opponent to touch the ropes. If they did, they’re out and I throw a fresh body in there. They’re sparring normally but now the focus is on this tug of work- who can put who on the ropes. I’ll give a punch minimum for someone to throw before I’ll end the round (60-100, nothing unreasonable), we’ll do man with the golden fun sparring where I’ll dictate a target and weapon, let’s say left uppercut to the head. If someone lands it then their partner is out and they find someone else to spar.

The echo sparring sounds great, I'll definitely experiment with it. Thanks for sharing!

So, as the trainer of a 35 years old female boxer we decided that the time have come for her professional debut. She was a professional Muay Thai fighter who made the switch to boxing in 2022, and since then we managed to get her to be the best 105lbs female boxer in Brazil, as well as double national podiums at 110lbs. Because of her age there's not much of a chance to make it to the national team, so it was an easy decision on our part.

I'm also living in Costa Rica now and differently than in Brazil their focus in much more in pro than oly down here. She's flying here next month.

Since then I've been researching about different strategies to get her in the best technical/physical shape possible for the pros and I always appreciate the input from the sherbros

 

[DoctorTaco]

The echo sparring sounds great, I'll definitely experiment with it. Thanks for sharing!

So, as the trainer of a 35 years old female boxer we decided that the time have come for her professional debut. She was a professional Muay Thai fighter who made the switch to boxing in 2022, and since then we managed to get her to be the best 105lbs female boxer in Brazil, as well as double national podiums at 110lbs. Because of her age there's not much of a chance to make it to the national team, so it was an easy decision on our part.

I'm also living in Costa Rica now and differently than in Brazil their focus in much more in pro than oly down here. She's flying here next month.

Since then I've been researching about different strategies to get her in the best technical/physical shape possible for the pros and I always appreciate the input from the sherbros

That’s exciting man, congrats to you and her. If you ever are looking for work in the US I know a good female pro who trains out of LA and NYC, she’d be happy to introduce you to some women that size for sparring

 

[SandisLL]

@Dexter Why don't you guys work on your inside fighting though?

Close range inside fighting in am boxing usually means that your guy should score KO ( with am gloves ) or TKO or RSC...in order to win vs boxer who is capable better to show long / medium range punches landed and will have gas tank enoght to rack up speed before end of fight ( last round ). This reality. While called soviet am boxing in 1950 ies was boxing where KDs and KOs were worshiped and nothing much different from british pro boxing in 1930 ies...