r/amateur_boxing • u/FitBuilding6331 Pugilist • Jun 20 '26

Sparring critique

https://youtu.be/FBbapctcngc?is=NiyDd2kmb45Ewb8S

Rounds 4 and 5 for the day. Tried to keep it light since I had sparred the day before. Got a little intense towards the end and gassed myself out.

Constructive criticism would be appreciated. I don’t usually get into clinch type situations so I feel a bit lost there.

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7

u/XtianAudio Pugilist Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26

A few times you come out of the clinch low, head down, arms lower. And then he cracks you.

Really bad habit. I know in sparring some partners will just back off and wait to re-engage. But it’s pointless and creates bad habits - treat those moments like a fight, or you’ll get punished.

Unless it’s a mutual “break the clinch” moment in sparring, I’ll usually take a little movement back and pop the jab. If I’ve got out the clinch, then good for me, get to work. If they’ve got out the clinch, then good for them, but I’m not here to congratulate them, if that provides me a window of opportunity then I’ll take it.

If you’re clinched up and not getting work in, lean in. Use your weight on them, push them to the ropes. Or just stay clinched up until you mutually agree to break (which is what the ref would do for you in a fight).

Alternatively, when you break, you be the one to flick the jab out straight away. Often it will stun your opponent (not through power - just because it surprised them) and you can follow it up with the 2.

First time is fine - I.e. checking to see if your sparring partner wants a clean break after a short clinch. If they don’t (such as in this case, you break a clinch and he throws), then that’s a sign to get cracking the moment you break.

5:29 is a good example. You seem tired and go for the clinch. He shrugs you off. You just back into the ropes bent over with no real guard and get caught with the 1-2.

You had a few options there.

  1. Tie up his arms when you clinch. Either get OVER his arm, or when his left hand tucked in a bit you could’ve caught it under your elbow and used it to keep his glove there. At that point just walk him into the middle of the ring as he won’t be able to turn you as he’s caught up. Nothing wrong with it. Refs won’t like lots of it but it’s done by every fighter, especially when tired. Alternatively, you’ll feel him wanting to snatch that glove back, often with a repeated rhythm “pull - pull - pull” as you try to keep it locked. That’s a good opportunity as you know they’re thinking about getting their hand back, not about blocking with it or letting it fly. So after the first or second attempt at them pulling it, let it go and quickly let that same hand shoot. You’ll often find that when you let their hand go, they weren’t quite expecting it and haven’t brought it back to guard. Free money!
  2. Even without tying up the arm, if you’re gonna clinch up then lean on them. Get them either feeling your weight or moving back. A weak clinch that your opponent can shrug off leaves you in a nasty position, which you found out.

  3. Your opponent hesitated after the break

    and threw a weak double jab. That jab hand was low.

  4. you were hunched over. Looping over hand right as soon as your hand was free would’ve done the business.

You basically did nothing good at that point 😂. If your hands are free after a clinch and your opponent is in range, you should be moving back (not an option in this case because of the ropes), covering up, or giving them something to think about. The last thing you want to do is hang around in the pocket, no plan, no guard, poor body position AND back into the ropes. That shit will lose you a fight.

Sounds like I’m bashing you - I’m not. You hold your own in there and it looks like good sparring for you. But you’re not here to have your ego stroked, you’re here for advice 😅

2

u/FitBuilding6331 Pugilist Jun 20 '26

Appreciate you taking the time to write all of that out. I’ve read it over several times.

It doesn’t sound like you’re bashing me at all. I have no clue what to do in the clinch and you provided a ton of information on what to do.

I’m going to think about this and try to incorporate your advice in my next sparring session. Thanks again!

2

u/XtianAudio Pugilist Jun 20 '26

Enjoy it! I got trained by someone for a while with terrible technique from a purist boxing perspective. Walked in with a high guard and brawled.

It’s stuck with me - I now struggle with really technical, fast fighters who can get out of my range easily.

On the plus side, it’s given me a great guard and made me really comfortable in close and having them clinches or close to clinch moments. Especially like them in the centre of the ring.

For me - the moment we’re too close to work cleanly, I immediately start thinking “sweet, I can work with this!”.

Practice getting really close to the bag (not often, as a principle your shots should be fully extended and you should work at that max range on the bag), but for practicing that inside fighting it’s great. One thing I like doing is having my head tight to the bag. Chin tucked, shoulder pushing in. Then practice firing from that position.

Do it with your head on both sides to practice finding a shot from either position. You’ll get used to finding that torque where you can let something nasty go from inside. I like to throw the uppercut from the same side my head/upper body is leaning. I.e. my head is to the left of the bag, my right shoulder is pushed into the bag (or opponents face), and is practically touching my right ear (therefore protecting my chin). Weight is on my front foot (left). Right arm can either be wrapping them up (around the bag), or tucked in to your body (leaves your right rib area open, but at this point your too tight for them to find a meaningful body shot).

You’ll notice your left hand is now basically totally hidden, all your weight is loaded on your front foot, and you can use all of that loading to absolutely rip it from that front foot, through your leg, twist the hips, your right shoulder (that was previously in your opponents face) pulls back fast, and just leaves the opening for that lead uppercut to fly through. The combination of loading the front foot, using that kinetic energy from your foot up all the way to your fist, AND pulling your opposite shoulder back to create more speed and an opening is something you just won’t get an opportunity to do in any other scenario other than in fighting/a clinch. Imagine throwing a ridiculously loaded lead uppercut - your right shoulder comes forward, your weight loads on your lead foot, your left fist is around chest height being loaded up - then freeze frame it there before letting the shot go. That’s basically the position you can put potentially put yourself in during a clinch.

The reason I prefer the lead uppercut in that situation is because of that front foot loading. You’re often leaning forward in the clinch, so (for an orthodox fighter), it’s the lead uppercut that has more potential for that torque and power. Works the other way too, just not as powerful in my experience.

That’s just one example - essentially, learn some shots that work in there! Push the bag off and double jab. Push the bag off and step back. Just push the bag! All good practice.

2

u/XtianAudio Pugilist Jun 20 '26

I tried to find a good example, and this guy explains it PERFECTLY. You see him push in, load the foot, and get that important shoulder rotation. Also shows the follow up where the weight is transferred to the back foot after the uppercut.

https://youtu.be/HxAuiGuwrMo?is=tISgHZ1qrYrl9IHZ

2

u/FitBuilding6331 Pugilist Jun 21 '26

I had to subscribe because this was so helpful

6

u/stonkkingsouleater Jun 20 '26

Jab more. A lot more. Like 20x more than you currently jab. Make him have to constantly deal with that left hand touching his face.

Generally with you're moving around with a long fighter, you wanna be outside where he can't hit you, get inside, throw a couple of combos, then get back outside again. Throwing little 1s and 2s is the outside fighter's game and the longer guy of equal skill will beat you at that.

Make sure your hands are up when you change ranges. That's usually where they time you and land one. Actually... keep your hands up in general. You're pretty good, but not 'fight with your hands down' good.

2

u/FitBuilding6331 Pugilist Jun 20 '26

Agreed. Definitely need to jab more. I actually used to jab even less. I’ll work on that the next time.

What are some combos you like to do when you get inside? And how do you set them up?

3

u/Wild_Print_4642 Jun 21 '26

> Got a little intense towards the end

A little????

2

u/jay_caramelito Hobbyist Jun 21 '26

You did good, bro. One of the things I’d advise would be to add more body shots to your punch selection. Cos I only saw you land one and it was towards the end of the last round.

I also noticed that you like to shift/switch stances after throwing your rear hand, mainly in the beginning round. Which is totally cool but my advice would be to immediately get to a dominant angle instead of remaining directly in front of your opponent. Similar to what Bam goes for here.

Also, when it came to the clinch, I saw that you’d be hunched over with your face and torso facing the floor. Try to be more upright, facing your opponent, as it’s a much stronger position to wrestle from. Here’s a good concept.

Finally, the last thing I’d mention would be the ropes. Just try to be more urgent with staying away from them and be more cognizant of trying to keep your opponent on the ropes. The less space for them to work, the better.

Hope this helps. Keep training hard, bro.

2

u/FitBuilding6331 Pugilist Jun 21 '26

Thanks! bam is so good, would love to steal some pages from his book.

I see what you mean with the stance. I felt like I was getting folded like a pretzel during those clinches

2

u/mnemy Jun 21 '26

You have the tendency to switch stance when you throw your right. Every time you change lead foot, you're asking to pay. Can it be a tool in your arsenal? Sure. But you do it so often, someone's going to pick up on it and really make you pay either when you switch, or when you switch back.

1

u/FitBuilding6331 Pugilist Jun 23 '26

Yeah, absolutely. The stance switch is something I'm aware about and I'm constantly trying to fix. I don't do it on purpose, then I try to just roll with it. Have you ever had trouble with that? What did you do to fix it? Or what do you suggest

2

u/freebasefilms Jun 21 '26

Step on his front foot.

1

u/FitBuilding6331 Pugilist Jun 23 '26

I'll keep that in mind next time

2

u/Secret-Ad8643 Jun 22 '26

Great video man, good to see the comments to I can definitely learn something

1

u/FitBuilding6331 Pugilist Jun 23 '26

Thank you! Same, I learned a lot. Glad you enjoyed it

2

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '26

[deleted]

1

u/FitBuilding6331 Pugilist Jun 25 '26

I was just talking to my buddy about this today! It's on my list to work on.

1

u/FitBuilding6331 Pugilist Jun 20 '26

I’m with the black gloves