ON THE ROPES

ON THE ROPES; by brian zeley

SKILLS NEEDED TO FIGHT ON AND OFF THE ROPES.

How many times have you seen an amteur boxing trapped
along side the ring ropes?

How many times have you seen a boxer with someone
trapped on the ropes throwing a volley of punches that
hit arms or miss the target?

How many times have you seen an amateur boxer
trapped on the ropes get a standing eight count even if
scoring blows are not landing?

There are skills required to force an oppnent agaisnst the roped,
skills required to land effective punches when the opponent is
against the ropie, there are skills required for boxers not to get
trapped.

Referees need to be flexible in their calls. Giving a boxer a
standing eight count because they are against the ropes is not
always the correct call. It may demand no call or a caution
for being passive

SKILLS FOR THE TRAPPED BOXER
The most important thing of course is getting off of the
ring ropes in a timely and effective manner with the potential
opportunity to catch your opponent. The classic case heavyweight
champion JAMES Cinderella Man BRADDOCK when he won
the title from MAX BAER.

One of the most serious cases for a trapped boxer was the case of
BENNY KID PARET when he fought his last fight against
EMILE GRIFFITH.

The Braddock and Paret cases are the extreme examples.

The first priority for the trapped boxer:
LEARN TO SPIN LEFT OR RIGHT, then be READY to COUNTER THE OPPONENT.

The first priority for the boxer trapping an opponent
on the ropes is to learn how to cut the ring off to force
an opponent into the ropes followed by good boxing skills to be
able to land effective scoring blows.