Winky Wright's Defense

[NuTzOnSwOll]

Well im starting this post cuz i want some different insights of what is it he's doing.......attn ssullivan/sinister :icon_chee

It seems like a very basic defence with his hands/arms plastered to his body. He absorbs a shot n then counters right away....simple right ?
However when i try it (im tall with long arms/short torso like him) it doesnt work so good. Body/chest shots are fine though. Its when the shots come up that theres a problem.Absorbing heavy shots breaks my upper base to counter back. Shots to the face ,which my hands n wrists are covering, get blocked but their force still filters through......mostly to my nose. :icon_lol:
Thats when im trying to peek through....n yes my chin is not high

I know he opens his hands to cover more area n yes he uses poofy gloves (im using 16s even more poofy) n i think his southpaw stance helps deflect some of those shots off but is that it ?
Can an orthodox fighter make it work ?
Actually i think Clottey has kinda the same thing goin on n hes an ortho right ?

So lets discuss Wright n Clottey.
Remy Bojansky too but we'll get to that later.

 

[Babba]

I really suck at explaining or giving any kind of insight in comparison to the beforementioned posters, but I can give you my two cents.

I'm a southpaw, and the boxers in my weight class are "usually" shorter than me. I use a winky wright type guard, the thing I think you may want to do, that you aren't doing, is not just letting the blows hit you, but pat his punches down with your gloves, and then counter over. Sometimes it's beneficial to move back slide back, and let the shot deflect off your guard, then explode back with a combo or a single shot to score point.

The fact that you're defending to the body is nice though, so atleast it's not a totally worthless guard for you. You can also open the guard and fire off some left hooks and bait him in at times, but that takes some practice with it.

Good luck and hope for some good advice!

 

[dtravis92]

try curling your wrists in a little more, like have the second row of knuckles on your head. Its hard for me to explain with words. and maybe bring your hands up slightly higher. I wish i could explain it better or give you a video.

 

[nip102]

 

[NuTzOnSwOll]

good stuff

any more ?

 

[NuTzOnSwOll]

ttt

 

[Sinister]

Winky's also not as stationary as people think. He takes subtle steps to the side, or back, he messes up his opponents' range. You gotta do that as well. You can't just be like a BoB dummy just standing there waiting to be punched on.

 

[NuTzOnSwOll]

Winky's also not as stationary as people think. He takes subtle steps to the side, or back, he messes up his opponents' range. You gotta do that as well. You can't just be like a BoB dummy just standing there waiting to be punched on.

These steps ...he does them as they punch ? before they punch ? or after he punches ?
could you elaborate a bit more ?
how does he deal with the lungers/rushers ?

 

[SKizzit**]

I'm sure Sinister could answer this more in depth, but I was told the majority of stepping and angling should be used when you are being pressured. I bet there are plenty of other situations it would work too but this is what I was told, pressure=step around.

 

[Sinister]

These steps ...he does them as they punch ? before they punch ? or after he punches ?
could you elaborate a bit more ?

All of the above. The best example of this is the Jermain Taylor fight.

how does he deal with the lungers/rushers ?

It depends on how smart they are. He dealt with Sam Soliman well enough, who is awkward and sloppy. But he couldn't deal with Hopkins because Bernard wanted to wrestle a lot. And Winky hand-cuffs enough as it is.

 

[Soul Rebel 2]

try curling your wrists in a little more, like have the second row of knuckles on your head. Its hard for me to explain with words. and maybe bring your hands up slightly higher. I wish i could explain it better or give you a video.

This is defiantly a good tip; my good friend taught me that and its helped a lot. That said I'm not one to shell up in front of someone; I've been sparring against a lot of big guys with heavy hands lately and simply shelling up and taking shots on the arms just doesn't work for me in that situation. I absorb the shot and don't get hurt but the sheer weight knocks me off balance and sets up their other attacks, leading to a severe ass kicking.

Its only recently that I remember my friends advice about bending the wrists and its helped a lot in standing my ground but ultimately at this point I'm following the philosophy that if I'm ever forced to abandon an active defence (slipping, catching, parrying etc) and have to shell up then I want to get the fuck out of there and get back to my comfort zone. In cases where I'm with guys my own size and can handle their power I do feel more comfortable shelling up and standing my ground where I like to attack with low kicks.

 

[NuTzOnSwOll]

try curling your wrists in a little more, like have the second row of knuckles on your head. Its hard for me to explain with words. and maybe bring your hands up slightly higher. I wish i could explain it better or give you a video.

do u mean curling my hands in ?
kind of a like... I'o

with the o = my head
' = my fists/hands
I = my arms

 

[NuTzOnSwOll]

All of the above. The best example of this is the Jermain Taylor fight.



It depends on how smart they are. He dealt with Sam Soliman well enough, who is awkward and sloppy. But he couldn't deal with Hopkins because Bernard wanted to wrestle a lot. And Winky hand-cuffs enough as it is.

i'll check them out.

Whats your take on Clotteys defense ?

 

[fightingrabbit]

Its not easy to fight Winkys style, as lackadaisical of a style as he makes it seem. In fact, nothing felt more awkward or constricting than putting my gloves up in front of my face like that. But i'm sure its all due to lack of experimentation with the style.

Things i noted with this double guard..i believe you've got to be in a wider stance so your legs can absorb the blow and your body can sway away from the punch. If you just have your hands up without good footing, blocked punches will put you off balance with ease like Soul Rebel mentioned.

Also something i noticed is you have to always be aware of how tense or slack your guard is. Its quite crucial actually. If you have your hands held too tensely to your face, The force from your opponents punch can still jar your cranium up pretty good, as i think Nutsonswoll says happens to him. What you have to do is have your guard held sturdy with some give, so that it can take the edge off the punch, block the blow and simultaneously deflect the shot. Too tense is bad, but too loose of a double guard and a fierce one two will split it easy.

The best analogy i can give is, instead of turning your arms into a solid brick wall in front of your face, try to turn your arms into a rubber wall guarding your face. You'll absorb the blows more effectively, deflecting them in the process. And also your opponent wont get the satisfaction of solid impact. If anything it will have a tiring effect on him.

 

[Nagel]

This is a good post that I'd like to share here:

Southpaws are interesting I've been digging in my library and watching a lot of southpaw fights lately. What southpaws do you like? When talking about defense for southpaws the first two guys that spring to mind would have to be Whitaker and Wright. You should try and get some of their fights and see what they do to prevent themselves from getting tagged with jabs as both men are almost never hit with jabs - let alone anything else for that matter. People talk about things like handspeed, or chin, or power but how often do you ever hear them talking about how aware a fighter is? Whitaker and Wright are two of the most aware fighters I have ever seen. There is rarely anything their opponent can do that they aren't aware of. This may seem like its not very significant but this in itself is actually the basis of all defense. You can know all the moves and techniques any so and so in the gym can sell you but without that heightened awareness none of it will actually work. Awareness is actually the most important trait to have in boxing.

I remember Wright saying in an interview once that he can sense when his opponent is getting ready to attack and when he isn't. When you watch his fights you can see him clearly doing this. When his opponent is in what he would classify as attack-mode he will stop coming forward with his jab and inch back slightly and bring in his guard. He doesn't keep his right glove glued to his temple at all times. He doesn't need to. He only brings it in back to block only when he knows his opponent is getting ready to attack him. Winky has both of his hands at about chin level. This is so that 1. it makes it easier for him to punch as the hands aren't being committed to blocking all the time (even when there are no punches to block) and 2. it allows him to see his opponent clearly. With your right glove at your temple how much of your vision do you cut out? You're literally blocking all of your peripheral vision out if not more. How are you going to see what your opponent is doing? How are you going to know when he is in "attack-mode"? How are you supposed to avoid punches that you can barely see?

What you should practice in order to stop getting hit with jabs and sneaky right hands (which you just can't allow yourself get hit with since the great southpaws never let themselves get hit with lead rights and you want to be one of them) is to number one pick up as many southpaw fights to watch as you can. In particular I would recommend Winky Wright since he seems most in keeping to the style you describe yourself as having. Study how he reacts to his opponent. I am telling you will see an instant pattern in the way Winky Wright defends punches its very methodical and simple. And most importantly get your trainer or someone else in the gym get in the ring and throw jabs at you. Let it be known that he is only allowed to throw jabs but he can't tell you when he is going to throw them. You have to figure that out for yourself. This will help you develop and sharpen your awareness of when an opponent is getting ready to attack and when he isn't. Just work purely on blocking the jabs. Further on you can have your partner throw his jabs and right hands at you. This kind of training will make you very aware of opponent's leads. In time I promise that you will be able to block every single lead in the same way Winky does. Its not magic its just simple boxing.

little tip is to inch back just slightly as your opponent jabs which will take off much of the force on his jabs as jabs tend only to strike into their target by a few inches. If you take away a couple inches the jab will graze you and be unable to sink into the target. Winky does this. He will also lean slightly back with his body to further take away some force from punches like jabs.

Just remember that you have to see the punches coming. And if you're gloves are blocking your eyes: you won't.

 

[NuTzOnSwOll]

Its not easy to fight Winkys style, as lackadaisical of a style as he makes it seem. In fact, nothing felt more awkward or constricting than putting my gloves up in front of my face like that. But i'm sure its all due to lack of experimentation with the style.

Things i noted with this double guard..i believe you've got to be in a wider stance so your legs can absorb the blow and your body can sway away from the punch. If you just have your hands up without good footing, blocked punches will put you off balance with ease like Soul Rebel mentioned.

Also something i noticed is you have to always be aware of how tense or slack your guard is. Its quite crucial actually. If you have your hands held too tensely to your face, The force from your opponents punch can still jar your cranium up pretty good, as i think Nutsonswoll says happens to him. What you have to do is have your guard held sturdy with some give, so that it can take the edge off the punch, block the blow and simultaneously deflect the shot. Too tense is bad, but too loose of a double guard and a fierce one two will split it easy.

The best analogy i can give is, instead of turning your arms into a solid brick wall in front of your face, try to turn your arms into a rubber wall guarding your face. You'll absorb the blows more effectively, deflecting them in the process. And also your opponent wont get the satisfaction of solid impact. If anything it will have a tiring effect on him.

interesting.
u too Nagel.

 

[Sinister]

i'll check them out.

Whats your take on Clotteys defense ?

It's a lot like Winky's, only not as good.

 

[dtravis92]

do u mean curling my hands in ?
kind of a like... I'o

with the o = my head
' = my fists/hands
I = my arms

If you have your hands flat against your head the force is just going to go through and your wrists are most likely going to smash against your nose.

Thats what your wrist should be like so it should look like this against your head

If the wrist was straight then you would end up hitting yourself.

 

[Da Speeit]

Winky's also not as stationary as people think. He takes subtle steps to the side, or back, he messes up his opponents' range. You gotta do that as well. You can't just be like a BoB dummy just standing there waiting to be punched on.

Exactly.

Winky is a very effective fighter, or was (he is my favorite boxer of all time, but ill be the first to say he's not really elite anymore) because he mastered the basics, and adapted them to his build.

He has very long arms, and a very broad build, so fighting like Mayweather doesnt really fit his build; he would be very easy to hit.

He really frustrated Shane because Shane was right there in front of him, shane FELT like he could hit him, but he couldnt.
Winky wouldnt slip and be drawn into a counter, but he'd sidestep carefully and avoid the power.

He tried that with Williams, but he just couldnt time him.

 

[Da Speeit]

It's a lot like Winky's, only not as good.

Joshua moves too much, and he's always retreating. That style only works if youre on the balls of your feet and moving laterally.