it's called measuring the distance (or feeling out / drawing a reaction, but I don't think Barber has advanced to that stage yet), I don't understand how ppl wouldn't get that, watch a fucking boxing match FFS
I could make a heavily edited 'hilight' of Lennox Lewis pawing at air, would some shertards start a thread saying 'why does Lennox's jab suck?'
(never mind Lewis,
count how often Tua punches air in this fight,what do you think he's doing, and why?)
yes Barber's striking is technically bad and the fact she couldn't find her range is a reflection of that (incidentally she started to connect a bit better in round 3, and this was her first fight back after knee surgery) and her kicks were especially horrific (but again - she was losing the fight, throwing a 'hail mary' shot with 10 seconds to go is actually a good idea even if it looked utterly ridiculous) but it's weird ppl don't get the idea of feeling out the space and just see 'lOl wMmA fIgHtEr, PuNcHiNg AiR bAd'