Floyd Mayweather Jr. Focus Mitt training technique

[J-Luck]

Roy was a phenom. Dropping his hands wasn't his undoing though. Roy Jones Jr went from superwelterweight to heavyweight: an incredible feat. But, he did a very stupid thing. At 35, he went from 175 lbs to about 200lbs of pure muscle. Once he did that, his body went through changes. He won the heavyweight belt, and then made the worst decision of his career: He went back down to 175. He spent millions of dollars to acquire a heavyweight physiqueand ruined it. Not only that, but he lost that 25 pounds of muscle in 6 weeks, which is insane. A lot of people thought we'd see the same Roy in the ring, but many fans knew better. You can't do that to the human body, let alone at 35, and expect to compete at the top level. But he did. He won the first match, but his reflexes were clearly shot, and his reflexes were the cornerstone of his game.

So, even though there was more to it, Roy Jones is still responsible for his own loss. He made stupid decisions out of ego. He had won everything a boxer could dream of, but he decided that he had to do more and more until someone finally caught him. Most of the greats begin to show their age in their mid 30's.

Oh well. The guy is still the best to do it. Sugar Ray Robinson had lost before he was 35 and he had more losses than Roy Jones. And Sugar Ray Robinson is widely regarded as the best ever pound for pound. In years to come, experts will say that Roy achieved more than Robinson career wise.

But I do agree, its not wise to keep your hands down. Even if you are fast enough to react in time, its just showboating.

Good post. I think that most fighters who put their hands down are just trying to get into the other guys head. But, there are exceptions. And, Roy Jones is one of them. Another would be Ali. People swung at them thinking it was an easy shot with the hands down, and due to their masterful footwork and lightning fast hands, they countered in devestating fashion. I think Ali is the best fighter ever, though athletically, it would be either George Forman or Roy Jones Jr.

[Tom Yum]

I have to agree with you, Mike.

I think the mitt holder should keep the mitt steady and tap only an inch into the gloves. The reason why I like that is that last inch of resistance encourages me to really punch through the target and if I do, it makes that oh so wonderfull POP! When I get really tired and am not throwing with the same focus, it only makes a little slapping noise or pushes the mitt for than it snapps.

Another favorite: When the mitt holder gives you half a second to hit the mitt. I miss half of the time. I love the timing it builds.

[xnfx]

I hate mitt feeding like that! The trainer is doing more work than the fighter! All that reaching out and tapping the fighter's gloves gets on my nerves. Make the fighter reach out and hit the mitt - not the other way around.

Does'nt it build good coordination and reaction though?

[xnfx]

Hey Mike,
What style of mitt holding/punching do you use for yourself and your fighters? Can you describe some combos, movements, defensive moves, and points that you target and work on with this? Thanks!