But where better to start than the history of boxing? Understanding its beautiful background is the first step in becoming a fan or good fighter. For starters, it originated in England despite being a beloved American sport. 

Here are the top books in every genre from training to autobiography, to history. 

Boxing Training: 

Even if you are just a fan that will never step foot in a ring, understanding the basics behind a boxer can make watching events much more exciting. Sometimes as fans we understand what is going on but we don’t understand the why behind it. 

Beginners and advanced fighters can benefit from these books by either refining or introduce new skills. As an athlete hearing the same instructions in the same way from a coach can sometimes go right over their head. A new perspective gives an athlete a new opportunity to learn something.

The Art of the Sweet Science: Boxing Training for the Body and Mind by Shah Day

There are many elements to boxing that go far beyond footwork and good jabs. This book covers every aspect and detail that a boxer must know from mindset to physical strength training and most importantly the strategy you need to compete. 

This new book is up-to-date and while old teachings can be useful the sport has evolved. Boxers are faster and stronger with better endurance. That’s why the author starts with training because without the physical aspect you can’t apply your tactics. From there you’ll dive into how to properly apply the training to take advantage of your moves. While mindset is introduced last it is certainly not the least important. Correct execution won’t be a matter of training but instead a matter of mind. 

This book offers the complete package regardless of what level you’re at. 

Reviews

“The Art of the Sweet Science is an absolute must-read for ANY boxing enthusiast. I would also seriously recommend it to all martial artists, as a ton of the info applies to any fighting style. Written by a great authority in the space, it presents its information in a very straightforward, concise manner. The book covers offensive techniques, defensive techniques, footwork, and tons of drills to get you fighting fit.”

“This book is a very good read. Best I’ve read in a very long time. It definitely caters to boxers and fans of the sport, but there’s also a LOT of life lessons that can be implemented in day-to-day life.”

Championship Fighting by Jack Dempsy

One of the greatest boxers of all time Jack Dempsy takes you inside his head when inside the ring. Being crowned heavyweight champion from 1919-1926 Dempsy offers easy-to-understand instruction on technique with detailed illustrations. 

For amateurs and professionals, they can learn proper footwork, applying powerful punches, training methods, theory, stance, aggressive defense, and feinting. Every technical aspect of the fight is covered by Dempsy. This book applies to boxing, martial arts, and other forms of MMA. 

If there is one way to describe this book, it’s the closest thing to a manual on boxing.

Reviews

“This is a very good primer on boxing. It almost always is part of any “Top10” list of boxing books, and often top 3, if not at the very top of the list. It also helps that it is easy to read, and uses the large font. For less than $10 dollars, you can’t go wrong buying this book. If you can read only 3 books about how to box, this should be part of your shortlist.”

“This book is meant to be studied over and over again. Despite being six decades old, these instructions hold up well. It does take some dedication and several reads, but THIS BOOK CONTAINS SOLID ADVICE AND INSTRUCTION. Mine is full of handwritten notes and hi-liter. I highly recommend for someone looking to further their boxing or fighting skills.”

Boxing Mastery: Advanced Technique, Tactics, and Strategies from the Sweet Science by Mark Hatmaker, Doug Werner

Geared more towards seasoned boxers this book dives into the nitty-gritty. Having said that this book can take beginners to the next level when they dive in. From offensive to defensive movements in the ring, to feints, draws, and fakes, this book covers every detail needed to become a master in the ring. 

To go a step further clinching techniques, counter-punching chains, bodywork, and head-hunting are all covered with strategic mentoring and application. These authors offer up drills for speedwork and learning how to generate power behind every move. 

This book doesn’t even end there. Refining your skills and honing in your style starts here. 

Reviews

“I’ve got a decently sized collection of martial arts book by now but so far, this is the one that has given me the biggest boost in actual ability and probably the one that if studied and worked through closely (with a friend ideally – get out some gloves and maybe some focus mitts.) would give me the biggest benefits inside the training halls and on the streets, too. Great buy, even if you’re not a pure boxer, if you do any kind of striking with your hands you’ll appreciate what this book has to offer.”

“A really good guide on correct positions and functions of the boxer’s feet and hands during offense and defense. I wore myself out in 30 minutes doing 10 reps of each punch and only got halfway through the list. The book is a replacement for a personal boxing trainer.”

Boxing Biographies: 

There is no better experience than hearing from the greats in the ring. Going inside Mike Tyson’s head offers up an unfiltered and unforgettable experience. But it wouldn’t be a biography list without reading The Soul of a Butterfly by Muhammed Ali. 

These books will either make you fall in love with boxing for the first time or confirm why you are involved in the sport in the first place regardless of fan or fighter. 

Undisputed Truth by Mike Tyson

This is not a light read by any means. Bringing Tyson’s story back to the days where he was bullied in a poor neighborhood in Brooklynn to reveal how he became one of the most physically imposing and terrifying fighters in the world. He became one of the youngest heavyweight champions of all time and throughout this book you see why when diving into his mind. 

But this biography goes beyond the ring as he talks about his unstable years with addiction and how he came out of that to have a successful acting career and becoming a great father. 

This is a must-read on one of the greats because of his inspiring and raw story. 

Reviews

“Almost as engaging to read as Mike Tyson was to watch, this book really laid bare the way an individual as complex as Mike Tyson thinks. Having watched him in various interviews, I found myself imagining Tyson’s voice reading this book to me as I went; the way the sentences are structured, the language used, and the open and candid nature of the descriptions of the numerous experiences he had throughout his career and personal life, all contribute to an intriguing – and brutally honest – account of the life and lifestyle of the most famous Heavyweight Champion of the World. Highly recommended.”

The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life’s Journey by Muhammed Ali

The man who changed the sport forever. While this book focuses more on the spiritual journey and teachings that guided Ali, it is nonetheless one of the greatest biographies in the genre of boxing of all time. From childhood to adulthood Alli shares his secrets and beliefs that led him to be the man he is today and his success in the ring. 

Like Tyson, he offers a raw transition from after sport and the struggles and blessings that have come with it. Such as meeting the Dalai Lama and bringing awareness to Afghanston’s dire situation. Many have come to read this book to better understand his practice of what he referred to as “true Islam” and how it brought peace to his everyday life and overall journey. 

This book is much more than a biography about Ali. It’s about the footprint he forever left on this world. 

Reviews

“Since Muhammad Ali was arguably the most famous American Muslim, I chose this book in hopes of a better understanding of Islam. In it, he details the highlights of his life and his spirituality in a series of very simple and sincere short stories. I think anyone who has admired him will only find their admiration multiplied many times by reading these “Reflections”. 

“Firstly, let me point out that this is not a book about boxing. Obviously, various bouts are mentioned but only to set the scene and mark the various points in the life of this great man. The book is titled “The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on life’s journey” and this is exactly what the book achieves. It is a poignant and deeply moving collection of memories and interpretations that show Ali not only as a great champion in the ring but also a great champion out of it too.’

Hands of Stone: The Life and Legend of Roberto Duran by Christian Guidice

It’s no surprise that Roberto Duran made the list seeing as he is one of the greatest boxers of all time. Holding four different titles in different weight classes as well as fighting in five different decades, Duran’s life is covered in and out of the ring through interviews with Duran himself, his closest friends, and family. While he may be featured in every history book on boxing, this book takes the most personal and close-up view of Roberto Duran’s life. 

From poverty in Panama to his debut in New York, Guidice covers it all including the controversial title win against Scot Ken Buchanan. From his reckless behavior to his kindest moments and even the possible link between him and the regime of General Noreiga. 

This biography is often described as “gripping” and something that “every fight fan should read.”

Reviews

“This is one of the best biographies I have read. It paints a picture of a great fighter showing warts and all. It also describes the brutality of life in the slums of Panama and what people have to do to survive. Duran himself is a complex character with many faults, but, without a doubt is one of the greatest fighters of all time. He belongs with those “golden age” icons, Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, Marvin Hagler, Wilfred Benitez.”

“This best sums up Roberto Duran in this great boxing novel, which has to be one of the best boxing autobiographies of all time.It covers his early life right through to his retirement, shows Duran exhibiting the best there is in human nature, as well as the brutal, rude, arrogant, animalistic side of human nature. This is the key to this novel’s (and soon-to-be-released movie) success. It proves that to be successful as a boxer at this elite level, you need to be able to “flick the switch” on your emotions, and adapt to whatever the situation is at hand.”

Boxing History

The spectacle today that we see in boxing and MMA is not quite the same show as it used to be when it originated. While many elements of the sport have remained true to themselves, there has also been quite the evolution from the caliber of athletes to technique and entertainment. 

Every fan and fighter should dive into these books to understand where exactly boxing came from and renew their appreciation for the sport. 

The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Boxing by Bob Mee and Harry Mullan

The title is simply the best description of this book. Covering all aspects of boxing A-Z from the early beginnings of illegal big-money fights to the crazy entertainment deals that exist today. More importantly, detailed coverage of the greatest boxers from when it started to today’s heroes in the ring. 

But it wouldn’t be complete without talking about the history of the greatest fights and the promoters who made it all possible. But it doesn’t just stick to the U.S. when it comes to the love of boxing. You get to take a look at what boxing means around the world and what its popularity is as well as how it has evolved over time. 

The factbook of all factbooks when it comes to boxing done with beautiful illustrations makes this encyclopedia a must-read for fans, fighters, and newbies alike. 

Reviews

“Ordered this for my 88 yr old father, who is very hard to buy for. When it arrived, I asked him if he liked it. He said ” I absolutely love it! ” That says it all as I’ve never had a response like that.”

“Excellent coffee table or reference book. I bought it for my brother-in-law’s birthday and he loves it.”

“My dad really is a boxing walking-encyclopedia himself, so I wanted a boxing book that could challenge his knowledge, by including info on lesser-known or celebrated boxers, especially from his “hey-dey”. Mom said he started reading it immediately & did not stop until finished. (Good sign!)”

Boxing a Cultural History by Kasia Boddy

Now more than ever has culture and appreciation of different cultures matter. This book dives into the history of boxing through cultural analysis from sculptures to hip-hop lyrics. Studying past works of poets, novelists, painters, potters, and more, Boddy wastes no time in interpreting the struggle for power and respect while ultimately boxers use just their fists to gain these two things. 

A unique body of work, that explains the history of boxing and how we have arrived at the glamorous and entertainment-filled world through boxing today. Through social and political reforms in history using figures such as Ali, you won’t finish this book without having a new perspective of the sport. 

While this book may not give you the play-by-play from the best fights, it takes a different approach to study the economic impacts and social impacts of boxing in today’s world. Great for history lovers or just fans in general. 

A must-read for those who love to be enlightened. 

Reviews

“This is not a book for detailed fight histories of Joe Louis and Sugar Ray Robinson; it is probably more “cultural history” than “boxing”; it is somehow both heavily-footnoted and fun reading. It turns out that boxing provides a fascinating lens through which to view the past. The author shows boxing affecting every level of society and appearing in seemingly every form of art. It has come and gone from mainstream fashion more than once. As the author puts it at the end of the first chapter, boxing seems to contain a “mixture . . . which has made it for so long and so productively a way to imagine conflict”.

“I was given this–wouldn’t have imagined that I was interested in boxing. After reading the section on Dickens (the reason I was given the book), I started the preceding chapter, then started from the beginning, then had to read the end. Boddy’s writing is so witty and interesting and her bits of information so thought-provoking that I kept wanting to read it to friends. (I had to explain all my references to ‘claret,’ Regency slang for ‘blood.’) Everyone I’ve shown it to has found a different reason for wanting to read it. It’s a bit like an encyclopedia and provides the same pleasure as the Oxford Companion to Food. The illustrations are wonderful.”

An Illustrated History Of Boxing by Nat Fleischer, Sam Andre, Nigel Collins, Dan Rafael

For those who hate to read and read then this book is for you. With beautiful photographs and illustrated art, you can relive the days of Muhammed Ali, Mike Tyson, Jack Dempsy, and more. This makes the perfect coffee table book because you can pick it up and simply flip through anywhere and start learning. 

With a little bit of a focus on heavyweight champions, it really covers the big moments in boxing history that most would know. Having said that it does take a deeper dive into more obscure facts that a true fan would be able to engage on. 

This book while being released a while ago has been updated to fit time and standard. And while Nat Fleischer (founder of Ring Magazine) has passed away, it is his great work and other boxing journalists that bring you the top 10 lists and valuable information. 

Regardless if you know it all or you know nothing about boxing this book is great to read and look at. 

Reviews

“This book documents the history of boxing with excellent writing by respected boxing journalists. But the highlight has to be its outstanding collection of photos and sketches. The book was originally written in 1959 and its strength clearly lies with its coverage of earlier heavyweight champions like Jack Dempsey and Joe Louis. But the current sixth edition is revised and updated through 2001. The emphasis is definitely on the heavyweights but the lower weight classes are also covered. For serious fans of boxing, this is a must-have book!”

“This book was my first boxing book in the early 60s, and it is a great browsing volume for a beginning or long-time fight fan, especially for the photographs and artwork. Nat Fleischer, the founder of Ring Magazine, passed away some time ago, and it is well updated. “

The post The Best Boxing Books Every Fighter and Fan Should Read appeared first on BrawlBros.com.

Boxing itself has gone through an evolution over the years. It started out as a more brutal sport with where men fought for hours, and the end of a round was signified by a knockdown. Between rounds, they took shots of whiskey and went back out there to hammer their opponents. Then men like John Sullivan, Jack Dempsey, and Jack Johnson introduced new aspects to the game. Men like Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali elevated it to new heights and modern era boxers like Mike Tyson and Roy Jones have shown us things we have never seen before and will probably never see again. 

Throughout all these decades of legends, we’ve picked up and learned many things, one of which, is there are more than just 6 basic punches to boxing. Let’s explore the 6 basic punches and the many variations amongst them. 

The 6 Basic Boxing Punches and Their Variations 

Now the 6 basic punches are what you learn when you first start boxing. You always start with the jab and work your way into learning your power punches. You may stick to this for a few months until you notice more seasoned fighters stepping out of the lines of what you’ve been thought. You may even decide to start experimenting on your own, and good on you trailblazer! 

So for now, let’s cover what people normally start with. 

1. The Jab 

This is going to be your lead hand punch. If you’re an orthodox fighter (right-handed) then this will be your lead left straight punch. The jab is one of the most important punches in boxing. This is because it is the easiest punch to land and one of the punches that are the least telegraphed. Not only does it travel the shortest distance, but it also has the ability to get the most speed and snap on it, when done right. This allows you to land on your opponent, make them lose sight and focus, in order for you to land a power punch next and put their lights out. 

To throw a good jab you want to make sure you do a few things right: 

1. Don’t lean your torso forward when you throw, this will bring your head closer to your opponent’s fist and nullify any distance advantage the jab gives you. 
2. Always roll your shoulder all the way out in order to get more reach and torque on your jab. 
3. Keep your arm completely relaxed when throwing the punch. A good way to practice this is to let your palms loose when punching. 
4. Always throw the jab as fast and hard as you can
5. Bring back your jab to your chin with the same intensity as you threw it out, but only once it completes its entire range of motion. 

The jab is a punch you want to master so try to isolate it in training to improve it. 

2. The Right Hand (Cross) 

Now I’m discussing these for an orthodox fighter, if you’re a southpaw(left-handed fighter) then simply reverse the hand, for you this would be your left hand because your right will be your lead. 

The right hand is a punch that brings with it the entire force of your body with the speed and tenacity of a good jab. It’s a very special punch and in combination with your jab, is often all you need to be steps ahead of the average fighter. A good “1,2” will take you a long way. 

The best way to throw the right hand is to make sure you: 

1. Pivot your foot
2. Flick your hip completely out 
3. Rotate your lats and your shoulder over with the momentum of the hip 
4. Extend the shot all the way 
5. Make sure your shoulder is covering your chin on the way out and in 

When it comes to aiming it, you want to make sure you shoot the punch directly at the chin or the nose. 

Much like any punch, perfect it by isolating, and keep in mind you want to put your body into one fluid motion. 

3. The Left Hook (Lead Hook) 

In my opinion, the left hook is one of the most versatile punches out there and has the most potential to knock someone out from just about any punching distance, and especially on the inside. The trick is to generate enough force with the left hook from anywhere you throw it. 

The key to throwing the left hook with force is to throw it like a literal hook. Rather than cocking back to or slipping to your left to get distance, you want to simply draw a hook with your left hand and then swivel your way with your pivot and hip into your target. Practice this repetitively in order to land the punch harder from a short distance. Try and generate as much power as you can each time. 

4. Right Hook (Rear Hook)

The right hook is a punch that can be thrown in so many diverse ways and is a good punch to mix up with any combination that you want. One of the masters of a good right hook are guys like Mike Tyson, Mayweather, and Adrien Broner, who throws it beautifully after a straight jab shot or as an over the top counter. The right hook is a punch that carries with it A LOT of power but is harder to land than most other punches, especially if you’re on the outside. 

However, if you take the Mike Tyson approach, you will be able to throw it after a slip and generate a ton of power on the way up from the slip, putting the momentum from your legs up into your body, rolling it into the punch. 

5. Left Uppercut (Lead)

Uppercuts in general are amazing inside punches but the left uppercut has the potential to break the fundamental rules and become a mid-range lead punch. It’s a good first punch to shoot in order to confuse your opponent and follow it up with another shot like the right hook. The uppercut is something you want to throw when you know you can land it. Much like any power punch, the torque will come from your hips, legs, back, and shoulders. 

6. Right Uppercut (Rear)

The right uppercut is the punch that can spell lights out for your opponent as it can generate a ton of force going up into your opponent’s brain from the angle they least expect. It’s great being thrown on the inside, or as a slip counter to a jab. 

Each Punch Can be Thrown to the Body 

One thing I didn’t mention is that each punch can be thrown to the body but we’re not going to give them it’s own number count in this case, save that for when your coaches call out your combos. However, one thing that is different when you throw these basic punches to the body, is that you want to keep your head off the centerline when you do it. Throwing a body punch from far to mid-range is a high-risk activity of getting countered, getting or hurt, or getting knocked off balance. 

Always throw body punches with your head off the centerline. 

Variations of Each Basic Punch 

Now that we know the basics, let’s get into some versions of each punch that most coaches frown upon but are very effective ways of throwing your opponent off. 

When I say variations, I don’t just mean the different ways you can throw a jab, I mean an actual different punch, that’s most closely related to a jab. So like the Ali jab is still a jab, he just throws it differently. In this case, we’re going to be talking about all these variations that are actually different types of punches. 

The Upjab 

This is what I call Bruce Lee jab. Rather than rotate your shoulder and your fist over when you throw, you will instead move your arm straight out, headed in the natural upwards direction that it takes when you don’t rotate that punch. This is a punch Floyd and Roy have utilized and it’s more a Kung-fu punch but it works great in boxing as it creates an angle for the punch that can split right through the guard and help you set up other shots. Manny also mastered these shots with both hands. 

Overhand Right 

The overhand right is not a straight right-hand associate. It is in fact a completely different punch. One of the most famous overhand rights ever landed, and one of the most beautiful was Khabib landing his knockdown shot on Conor McGregor. If you want to see what a good overhand looks like, that’s it. It takes a ton of practice but it’s a punch that is a perfect counter over the jab and is great to shoot on guys who carry their left low. 

Underhand Right 

Most guys don’t know about this punch and never throw it because it doesn’t exist as an option in their minds. However, it is a very effective punch and Roy Jones proved that in his fight against Virgil Hill. He said he couldn’t catch Virgil over the jab, so he went under, and broke his rib. This is a punch that works well as an intercepting shot. What you want to do when you throw it is the same thing Jones did, lean into it, and move your head out of the way of the firing range. After landing this under the jab a few times, your opponent will be wary of it, that’s when you can head back upstairs. 

The Straight Hook 

When thinking of this punch, think of Roy Jones Jr. looping shots. That he throws while his elbow is looked out. He did this the most in his fights against Richard Hall. It almost looks like when guys windmill, but with a professional sparkle to it. This punch can be very effective as it is tricky to see coming and can carry a ton of mentum on it. However, it is something you have to practice. It’s very unorthodox and can take time to get right and be able to throw it without getting off balance. It’s also a shot you want to throw when you know you can land it. 

The Overhand Hook 

Here you want to think GGG throwing his hook over his opponent’s guard where he brings it from an upward angle heading down. This is a great punch to get around the guard or counter straight shots. He is not the only one to pull it off. Adrien Broner throws a great overhand right hook over his opponent’s jabs, 

The Huppercut

This is a hook and uppercut mix and as an example, we’re going to go to the king of unorthodox punches: Roy Jones Jr. The best example of this punch is when he threw this very punch to knockout Montell Griffin in the first round of their second fight. 

Drills Pay the Bills 

The only way to master boxing punches is to constantly drill them. Take entire rounds to just work on one punch and perfect it. You want to make sure you never get into the habit of throwing mediocre punches. Always throw punches to the best of your ability and make sure you’re always pushing to try and throw your punches faster, harder, cleaner, and with more efficiency. Boxing is a sport that rewards those that work hard, but also those that work smart. You never want to just hit the bag or shadow box for conditioning, you want to partake in deliberate practice of things. 

Remember, it all works if you work. 

The post Boxing Punches Ultimate Guide, Types of Punches You Didn’t Know Existed appeared first on BrawlBros.com.

How to Improve Your Boxing Defense 

There was one thing my coach told me when I first started boxing that I know applies to everything. It started with a simple question when I asked him “how do I do more pullups?” He simply replied: “do more pullups.” The genius of that logic struck me and I’ve used this logic to improve just about any aspect of boxing or self improvement out there. When you want to get better at something, you simply have to do more of that thing. The same goes for defense. 

Defend as Much As You Punch 

The first step to being a defensive fighter is to practice your defense more. Most fighters focus so much on their offense that they neglect defense all together in training and then wonder why it’s not as good as it should be. The easiest way to improve your defense is to do a defensive maneuver for every punch that you throw. 

As an example, if you’re going to throw a right hand left hook, start by pulling back, then shoot the right hand, left hook, and then move out the way. This way you committed to two defensive moves for the two punches that you threw. What this will do is get you in the habit of focusing on defense and also train the right muscles in your body to improve the speed and efficiency of those moves. 

You can also practice this on the heavy bag by doing the counterpunching drill from the video below. 

Take Entire Rounds to Work on Defense 

Mike Tyson has said that he would often spend hours doing the defensive head movement drill he did with Kevin Rooney. That’s right, you read that correctly, he would spend hours just moving his head. It’s no wonder he had some of the best head movement in boxing history. Maywaether does the same thing when he shadow boxes, he spends entire rounds just working on his footwork, his parries, blocks, and his head movement. 

What you want to do is take rounds off to just work on nothing but your defense. 

Give Yourself Limits in Sparring 

Sparring is truly the best thing you can do to improve just about every aspect of your game. However, this is only true if you go in there to improve your game, and not just to fight. You want to make sure you walk into every sparring session with a goal or weakness you want to improve in mind. What I would often do without telling my opponent, is to not throw any punches the entire round and just work on my defense. Or I would only throw 3-5 shots a round in order to give them something to worry about and make it feel real to them, but in my mind solely be focused on improving my defense, accuracy and timing given the limited shots I can land. 

It’s a Balance Between Training the Body and Mind 

Defense is a balance between the mind and the body, both have to be sharp in order for you to execute it. Your body has to be fast enough to move out of the way, and your mind has to be fast enough to perceive the punches coming, so you must train both aspects of desnefe. 

You train your body with the movements, making them faster and more efficient each time. You trai your mind by having punches thrown at you either in sparring, by your coach during pad work, or even tools like the sway bag or Spar Bar. 

Work the two in unison in order to be replaced when punches come at you. Which brings us to the most important point: 

Stay Relaxed 

The most important aspect of good defense is staying completely relaxed. When you’re anxious you’re more likely to over react to punches and make mistakes. You will find you’re running into punches rather than getting out of the way of them. What you want to do is stay focused and in a flow state in order to be able to perceive the punches coming at you. The only way to achieve this is to make sure that you are practicing it enough to where the mastery of defense won’t allow you to feel anything but confident. 

Boxing Defensive Moves  

The way you defend in boxing says a lot about you. Some fighters block, others move their head, but the best fighters know how to do it all. If you want to be a complete fighter, you want to be able to fight in any of these circumstances.

Let’s dive into the different ways of defending yourself and how to do it right. 

The Block 

The first and easiest to start, but hard to master, is the block. This is simply putting your gloves to your forehead, bringing them forward closer together in front of you and staying tight as you get hit on your guard. To see good examples of this watch Winky Wright in any of his fights, or Floyad Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao in the fourth round after Manny rocks him with a right. What Floyd did next was one of the most successful versions of this defense we’ve ever seen. 

The key when doing this is to tuck yourself in a way that allows you to block both the sides and the front of your head, as well as the front of your body. 

One mistake that many boxers make is they keep their block stationary, and as a result get caught with heavy body shots or hooks to the head. You want to be able to twist or turn at the hips to be able to block different areas that are being attacked. 

Another big mistake, usually made by newbies, is they completely block their line of sight when they block. When you put your guard up you want to be able to see everything as you will need to mix different forms of defense to truly block everything and deter your opponent from not throwing anymore. 

One at a time – the partial block

The guard is meant as a general form of defense when you’re taking too much of an onslaught, or, when you’re trying to walk down and smother your opponent. There is also the partial block that can be done from your boxing stance that is a superior form of blocking if you’re looking to counter punch. One of the modern masters of this was Andre Ward and I learned this from Azea Augustama.  

This is a simple form of defense that is short, quick, and super effective, mostly for hooks as they can’t be parried. Imagine a left hook coming at you as you’re in a traditional stance. All you have to do is move your glove up to your ear, and let physics take care of the rest. You will see your elbow come out a bit as well when you’re doing it properly. 

Head Movement 

I talk about head movement in good detail in this video, but let’s talk about a few different ways to do it rather than just how to improve it. 

Slip 

The first we’ll get into is the slip. This is the version of moving your head that is for straight punches. All you’re doing here is maintaining eye contact with your opponent and moving your head out of the way of the punch. 

What you want to do though is make sure you’re not moving your head into the other hand. You want to slip the punch away from the other hand. So if a left jab is coming at you, you will move your head to the right, because if you move it to the left it’s a high chance that the right hand is coming right behind it, and it will hurt like hell. If a right is coming at you, move left, all while keeping your eye on the opponent. 

Many newbies make the mistake of looking in the direction they are going, this is a good way to get knocked out. Because some opponents will try to time your slip and catch you with the next punch, and chances are, you’ll have to move your head again or risk getting clipped. 

The most common mistake people make with slips is slipping backwards and left(or right) or simple to the left or right. What you want to do instead is slip into the punch. You want your head to be closer to the opponent when you slip the punch rather than the same distance it was before you slipped it. This will reduce your chance of getting a follow up strike, and increase your likelihood of landing a hurtful counterpunch. So you will be going left and forward, or right and forward instead of just left or right. 

Slide

This is the highest risk defensive move there is and it’s really got to be mastered before you try it in a fight. This is a move made popular by Mexican fighters and it involves the glove making contact with your face. However, when the glove touches your face you simply move your head in the direction the punch is headed. So if someone throws a left hook at your face, it is heading toward your left, so you would just simply turn your head left and slide the punch off your face. This way there is no impact made. 

The best fighter to see doing this is Chavez Sr. and most recently Canelo Alvarez. 

Weave 

We’ve all heard of the “bob and weave.” This is a classic boxing motion that involves drawing a “U” with your head in order to avoid hooks coming at you and allow you to be in perfect position to counter them to the body or head. The key to a good weave is to move when the punch is already in full range, this way your opponent is in full commitment to the punch, and make it much harder for them to stop. This knocks them off balance and leaves them wide open. 

This is one of the main moves that requires consistent drilling in order to perfect and to do fast enough in a real combat scenario. Because It’s much more than just a slip of the head to avoid a knuckle, it requires a certain physical reflex capability in order to make your head and body over faster than a punch. 

The best way to practice this is with a partner, or simply by tying a rope between two points and about shoulder height, then bobbing and weaving forward and back. Start slow and pick up speed as you go. 

Pull 

The pull is a move a lot of old school trainers frown upon but it is quite an effective defensive maneuver, and one made popular by guys like Ali, Roy Jones, and Mayweather. It’s the former part of the “pull counter” move and involves you pulling backward (away) from the punch, while tucking your chin, and then either coming back with a counter or slipping to the right or left and then pivoting or countering. 

Keep it all Fluid and Combined 

When it comes to moving your head, don’t treat each motion as its own isolated motion. Practice moving from one of these to the other in a beautiful symphony. You want to take Bruce Lee’s advice here and “be water.” You want to flow from one motion to another without thinking twice and being able to make punches miss like it’s what you do for a living. Practice these all in unison after you master them individually. 

If you want to see what I mean, watch the legend Pernell Sweet Pea Whitaker. 

Parry 

The parry is my personal favorite because it allows you to direct the moment of your opponent’s punch and it is also the most disheartening thing you can do to them. Nothing breaks a fighter’s spirit like throwing a punch with all he’s got and then watching it being pawed away like it was child’s play. The reason the momentum plays an important role is because it allows you to beautifully set up and counter whatever you want. 

The way you do it is you simply hold your gloves with palms mostly facing your opponent, as soon as they throw a punch, you either make them hit your palm as if its a mitt, or smack it away using only your wrist motion. Don’t use your entire momentum of your arm to do it as you 

If your opponent throws a jab, you can parry it down with your right and then throw the right over it before it has a chance to come back because you killed its path back. 

Another good one is to parry the right cross with your right, and throw your left hook over it. There are a dozen other combinations of this that you can do and it’s a very effective method of defense and should be used in unison with the partial block. It’s a beautiful combination. 

Shoulder Roll 

You can’t mention defense without talking about the method one of the greatest defensive fighters of the last few decades used for himself, and that is the shoulder roll.

If you have seen Mayweather fight then you’re familiar with the shoulder roll. This is a stance where you keep your power hand to your chin, your other hand across your body, keeping your jab hand shoulder close to your chin ready to roll it at any punch that comes your way. The shoulder has a similar function to the parry as it changes the trajectory of the punch that is coming at you, and creates a better opening for you to counter. 

This is another one of those defensive moves that must be drilled to perfection because it is not easy to do and you will eat a lot of shots in practice trying to get it right. Many fighters have tried to imitate the shoulder roll and have gotten their behinds kicked while doing it. It is a hard style and requires work ethic to get right. 

Defense is as Important as Offense

Make sure to drill these moves constantly in practice and work and implement them in your sparring consistently. By the time you get to the fight everything will be on autopilot, and you want to put your opponent in the matrix without effort. The only way to do that is to consistently work on all of these skills.

Practice Makes Perfect 

While it seems like there are only a few moves mentioned here with only a few tips, there are hundreds of ways that we execute them and it takes tens of thousands of hours to master it. The best way to improve is to diligently commit to your defensive work as much as you commit to your offensive work. It all works if you do so get to work! 

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Boxing often gets left out of the martial arts discussion due to the perception of it’s “limited” nature, and mistakenly so. In fact, boxing is one of the martial arts that has the most to offer in terms of a variety of styles. Over the centuries that boxing has evolved, so have the fighters and the styles they use to beat and bewilder their opponents. In this article, we’re going to dive into the different types of boxing styles, what fighters have used them successfully, and how to beat each style. 

The Different Boxing Styles 

Styles make fights, but if you’re going to be a successful boxer, then you want to make sure you are able to fight every style out there. Let everyone else get caught up in the pattern of a style that they are comfortable in. What you want to know is master a bit of each style on top of your own, in order to be able to change the pace and rhythm of the fight depending on the style of your opponent. You’ll have to know how to fight pressure fighters and how to fight defensive fighters. 

In this breakdown though, we will go beyond the typical “defensive” and “offensive” fighters. Because each of those have many different styles within them. What we will do is discuss the actual style, rather than it’s goal, and talk about how to beat these opponents that follow these styles. 

Traditional (Textbook) Style 

The traditional boxing stance is what you will learn at first, and many fighters learn to use it for the remainder of their career and master it. This truly is one of the most risk-free styles out there without compromising offense. It is truly a superior boxing style that is well balanced. Some boxers who epitomized this are Miguel Cotto, Tito Trinidad, and Ceasar Chavez Sr. 

The pro of this style is it makes defense easier and makes it hard for you to get caught off balance. The downfall is it makes it much harder to explode if you’re really trying to put someone out. Because everything is balanced, it makes it harder to use momentums of counters and shift the level of power or speed you deliver. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t deliver fast knockout blows, it just doesn’t allow for too much flexibility due to it’s reserved nature. 

How to Fight a Textbook Boxer 

The best way to fight a traditional fighter is to do non-traditional things. A lot of boxers usually fight their style better than other styles, because they know how it operates from the inside out. With traditional fighters, you want to do things that are outside the box. 

As an example, after the right hook, most boxers expect you to throw your left next to or get out of the way. Instead, throw two right hooks and watch the second one land every time. IT will be too late to adjust their habits at this point. 

Look for other things to do like throw punches in unorthodox angles and put them off balance (literally) in order to make them uncomfortable and incertain in their defense. Get close, push them around, and make it rough. 

Another good thing to do is to bait them into opening up. Plant yourself on the ropes purposely and see what they do the first time. Look for the holes, and the second time you go on the ropes, take advantage of them. 

Philly Shell Boxing Style 

Made popular by a young James Toney, and made famous by Floyd Mayweather, the Philly shell is a very effective style for the defensive-minded fighter and counter puncher. It allows you to cover your chin with one shoulder and your power hand while allowing your lead hand to cover your body, and stay out of the line of sight for trickier and harder to predict “up jabs.”

It’s one of the best styles for counter punchers because it allows for laser-like precision without the anxiety of getting hit. It’s very compact so you can focus on counters without worrying too much about getting hit. It makes slipping and sliding away from punches super easy if you get good at it, the problem is that its efficiency takes away how much you can put into your punches. Whereas the traditional stance is a good balance of defense over offense, the Philly shell is very much a defensive-minded stance and can take away from your offense. This is why it’s only a part of Mayweather’s or Toney’s arsenal. 

How to Fight a Philly Shell Fighter 

The philly shell is a very hard style to fight because they give very little openings and only open up when you open up for a counter. Because of this it can be a game of cat and mouse depending on what strategy you want to take. 

The first way is to get really close and get rough with them. You’re going to have to set shots up by doing pattern combos 3-6 times in a row and then randomly switching it up. For example, you want to shoot the right hook over the top, then left hook the body. Keep throwing this combo back to back while you’re on the inside. Once you notice they’re brushing off the shots good, you know they are getting conditioned to that combo, that’s when you want to throw that same right hook, but this time come up with the left uppercut to the head or the left hook to the head. You want to keep setting up different shots in this manner on the inside, being really aggressive and frustrating them into trying to get you off of them by opening up, and countering them in the process. 

The other strategy is to play a patient game of chess and make your punches count. This takes intuitiveness and boxing smarts to pull off. Basically what you will be doing is a lot of quick strikes and feints to determine how they react to you throwing certain punches. For example, if you notice they are shooting the right over your jab, or doing a pull counter over your jab, then you’ve got the perfect setup for an overhand. Keep getting coutnreed and sliding the jab off, then step short on the jab and shoot the overhand right down the middle before the jab is extended all the way. This way you catch them right at the moment they shoot the right. To see an example of this watch the last five seconds of round 3 in Maidana vs Mayweather 2. 

Peekaboo Boxing Style 

If you noticed that I mentioned Mike Tyson more than anyone else in this book, you knew I was going to cover this eventually. The peekaboo is a style developed by Cus D’Amato and is not a style that is built for everyone. If I have to be honest, it almost seems like it was made for someone like Mike Tyson. A short, but strong guy, who can pack a punch. The peekaboo is definitely for the offensive-minded pressure fighter, but one who looks to take minimal damage on the way in. 

In a phrase, it’s counter punching offensive strategy. The stance can look similar to the traditional; stance, except shoulders and hands, are higher with a slight lean forward and more bounce on your toes and knees. 

The goal is to pressure your opponent with high intensity, forcing them to throw a punch into a counterpunching opportunity for you as you are already on the way in. It’s the perfect style for shorter fighters because, with shorter fighters, there are two moves for you to land a punch against a taller opponent. The step in and then the punch, which is easier for a taller man to see coming. With the peekaboo style, it constantly puts them in a retreat mindset and puts you a step in, forcing them to commit and opening them up for a powerful blow. 

The downfall of this style is that it is a very taxing style. It can gas you out fast so you will need to be in tremendous shape. It also constantly puts you in the line of fire so you have to perfect it in the gym in order to avoid paying the price. 

Ricky Hatton is the only other fighter who’s done it well outside of Mike. 

How to Fight a Peekaboo Fighter 

Most guys that do the peekaboo are confident in their power and their chins. What you want to do is to steal their condense in regards to other aspects of their game early. FRustration will be the name of the game here. Make them miss, make them pay constantly in order to steal their momentum early in the fight. These guys thrive off momentum, they’ve got the personalities of freight trains and just want to break everything in their path. Your job is to kill that momentum. 

What most fighters do when their opponent charges at them is get on their bicycle and start running backwards, matching their momentum in the opposite direction. What you’re doing is falling right in their trap. They will force you to throw a punch off balance, and be able to move much faster forward then you can move backward, and boom, one good connection and you’re off your game. 

The worst case for these guys is a brick wall. Stop them in their tracks by stepping into them and smothering them. This may sound counterintuitive, but you want to meet them on the inside, land a few good blows and send them on their back foot. They will fight hard to change the momentum to a forward path, your job is to keep smothering them. Put your guard up high and smother them as soon as you see them ready to throw, countering them on the inside and pushing the back. Do this the entire fight and watch them wear out mentally and not be able to fight their way. Your hard opponent will turn to a regular one at best.  

The Mongoose Boxing Style

The Mongoose is a well-balanced style, leaning towards defense slightly. A few modern fighters have used this style successfully like Terrence Crawford (sometimes) and Andre Ward to name a few. You can tweak it to be more offensive or more defensive simply by shifting focus but what it does is create good opportunities for you by distorting the opponent’s range. You put your hands out in front of you slightly more than the traditional style. This creates an illusion of being closer to hit then you are. Then when your opponent overextends, your hands are right there for the counter, without your head being in the range of their punch.  

The mongoose is one of the few animals that can deal with a snake’s speed and outfight it as a result. This is why I call this style the mongoose because it is one of the best styles to deal with fast fighters. The distance management and the smoke and mirrors effect of messing with that distance for your opponent makes their speed stop short and creates opportunities for you to observe that speed without it having to hit your face. The downfall here is it’s hard to really put it all into the punch, but like with any defensive style, a good accurate shot can put anyone out.  

How to Fight the Mongoose Fighter 

The Mongoose is very much like the Philly Shell, they want to keep you at a punching distance and pick you apart. They also keep their hands closer to you so that you misread the distance and try to get to them and miss, and they’re right there to pick you apart. What you want to do is be the guy that lifts the curtain on the illusion by getting up close and elminiting their advantage of having better distance management. 

Another way to beat them is to bait them. Let them shoot the punches first and work on cutting their combinations off. 

The most successful way to beat them will be combinations that involve 3 or more punches. They are working parrying and countering. If you come with fast combinations, they will try to block it but eventually will be overwhelmed and try to cover up or counter, and that’s where you can find your opening. 

The Roy Jones Boxing Style 

Roy has many styles, but what he is best known for is having his hands down, with his right hand slightly up but still below the chin and relying mostly on head movement to do the work for him in terms of defenses. He was so fast that he would blind you with his speed and isn’t worried about coming back at him because even if you did throw, you couldn’t see where you were throwing and he would just use his insane reflexes to get out of the way. A few other fighters did this on occasion but very few did it as consistently as Roy, the only other fighters that come to mind are Nassem Hamed and Sweet Pea Whitaker. 

This style has a huge upside to put you in a counterpunching position because it invites the opponent to swing on you. To most opponents, this is a sign that you’re defenseless. This is the perfect style to practice intercepting counters. However, this style’s biggest downside is that it takes years to master before you can do it without a big risk of getting knocked out. Offensively, it has a huge advantage because the relaxation will increase both your speed and power. 

How to Fight the Roy Jones Fighting Style  

There’s a 99.9% chance that if a guy comes out with his hands down he has ridiculous speed. So the last thing you want to do is to take the bait and think that if his hands are down you’re going to knock his block off, because you’d be falling right into this guy’s trap. Instead what you want to do is to jab them to the chest, hit them in the shoulders, go to the body often and throw off their rhythm. After you’ve got them off balance just a few times, then you can start feinting a ton to see  how they are reacting to your punches. The reason you want to wait to feint is to give them something to worry about. Continue doing work to their torso and let them dip and slide left and right while you learn their timing. Eventually you will be able to know exactly where they are headed after you throw certain punches. 

Baiting them into a counter also works well because it’s hard to move your head mid combo, so that is when you want to catch them. You also want to work on punch delays. Rather than throw the one-two, throw the one, feint the two to see where they move their head, and finish it in the direction they are going. 

The Window Boxing Style 

This was the first style I learned to fight with. Any time we started taking too much damage in the ring, our coach would yell “window!!!!” and it was an automatic reminder to reset, and all of a sudden the punches would be hard to sneak in and we’d be clear of the opponent’s defense. Much like the mongoose, this style creates the illusion of you being closer, but here you put your palms out forward, which makes it easier to quicker parry your opponent’s punches and counter them.  

Like any defensive style, this doesn’t allow you to really put all the mustard you have on your shots. I’ve put down quite a few opponents using it, but it’s harder to get maximum capacity. However, it does help you be more accurate, which is all you really need to stop someone. The closest thing in the professional circuit that I saw to this style is Oscar Delahoya in his prime and Roy Jones Jr when he puts his hands up. 

How to Fight the Window Boxing Style  

Fighting a traditional boxing fight is the way to go against guys who do the window. They are literally looking at the window, like snipers, waiting for you to pop up with a mistake, and then they will shoot to precision. They are not combination punchers for the most part but look to land the perfect one or two shots. They are capable of combos, but will most likely not throw them in the center of the ring. 

The reason you want to go traditional against them, is because that would leave the least room for mistakes for them to counter. 

As you do this, you’re going to want to faint a lot of straight punches and turn them into hooks, as they will try to take the straight. Think of the way Maidana threw a jab to the body at Broner that turned into a left hook to the head on the way and knocked him down. That’s the kind of stuff you will want to do with style while staying tight  

Rollie Pollie Boxing Style 

Rather than try to explain this one visually, I’ll just say this: Heavyweight James Toney. Despite the name, you don’t have to be round or heavy to implement this style. In fact, Canelo Alvarez often uses this. All this is is a style that doesn’t use too much footwork, but relies on torso movement for defense where it almost looks like the torso is on a swivel. This style’s biggest advantage is the leverage it gives you on your shots and the ability to focus on heavy movement by eliminating the focus and energy on using your legs too much. 

The downfall is you have almost no footspeed, so it’s better suited against an opponent that doesn’t fight on their backfoot too much but rather come and get you. 

How to Fight the Rollie Pollie 

Since the weakness is footwork, the biggest thing here will be creating angles with your feet and head movement. Think of Lomachenko and Manny PAcqiou as they circle their opponents mid combination. 

You will want to turn these guys constantly and not give them a straight line to shoot at. What they’re looking for is to get you to commit and shoot straight’s, hook and uppercuts down the line. Never throw more than two pouches before getting out of the way or creating angles because that’s the game these guys play. 

They want you to believe that they are stationary targets in order to catch you mid-combo. They are extremely good at getting in between shots and are master pot shotters. Pounce in and out constantly never settling in as they will beat you at that game. 

The Brawler Boxing Style 

Brawlers usually have one thing on their mind, and that is to take one and give one, or rather, give the illusion of trying to take one while they dish out punishment. This is usually the style of fighters that know they are going to be the harder puncher in the ring 100% of the time. Guys that come to mind first are guys like Arturo Gatti and Joe Frazier. With these guys you will usually find their hands are slightly below their chin or at their chest, pressing forward with head movement, getting ready to clock you by confusing you with side to side movement. Jack Dempsey was the first one to really master this. 

The downfall is that this is too offensive-minded of a style. It puts you in a position to exchange, and if you are the harder puncher that may be good for you, only if you can draw the other guy out into a firefight. However, if you can’t then you may get picked apart with potshots. 

How to Fight Brawler Fighting Style  

If you’re going to fight a brawler, you need to be extremely well conditioned because you will have to fight a perfect fight the entire time. These guys have one goal in mind and that is to take your head off. They will be looking to exchange with you and they are most masterful at that so you want to stay away. 

Your job will be to constantly feint and draw them out into exchanges that aren’t happening. Make them think you’re going for multiple shots and get out of the way before they are completed. Make them miss enough to begin hesitating on the exchanges. This is best done with jabs, feints and lots of head movement. Stick to one shot at a time until they notice they no longer reply to your second to third shot feints.Then you can start posting on more than one punch, and still, not every time. Your goal is to frustrate and wear down these guys, but you want to stay in the safe zone for the entire length of the fight, weather its stoppage or a decision. 

What you don’t want to do is get reckless, especially if you have them hurt. These are the type of guys that go on the attack when hurt rather than defend. A bit like Shane Mosley, everytime he gets cracked with a good shot (in his prime) he looks to crack you right back. 

Fighting a brawler is a game of precision and patience. 

Studying is Important 

One thing you want to make a habit in your boxing routine is the studying of fights. You want to study the greats, as well as your sparring matches, and the fights of your training partners. In act, you want to study every fight you watch. Fights should no longer be for entertainment for you but instead a class in session. Look for gameplans, look for mistakes, look for positives and borrow things from other fighters that you can add to your encyclopedia of knowledge. Rather than be in awe of your idols, think about how you can beat them. Make sure you watch every fight you can get your hands on and analyze it. Look at what the winner did right and wrong, and do the same for the man that lost. These days subscriptions like DAZN and ESPN+, as well as Youtube make it very easy to watch classic and modern battles. Get to work! 

Know and Practice Every Style 

What makes a complete fighter is the ability to fight in any way. In order to beat every style, you have to be able to fight every style. You can have your core boxing style, but you want to be able to fight any way you have to in order to win the fight. That’s what made Floyd Mayweather special. He had his core style, but there was no place in the ring he wasn’t good at, and no style of fighting he couldn’t do. He can walk you down, and he can make you chase, he can counter, and he can attack, he knows how to do it all in the ring and you should do it. 

The way to do this is to practice different ways in sparring. Everytime you go into that ring to fight, set a goal of the kind of style you will work on today. Maybe you will want to work on your pressure fighting and train the peekaboo, or maybe you want to hang back on the ropes and counter off the philly shell. Whatever it is,practice and this will give you insight into the kind of mistakes, weaknesses and strengths each style has. 

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Because of the many videos, he puts out, a lot of people have begun to wonder: “how can I punch like Ryan Garcia.” Well, my friend, it takes a lot of practice for a long period of time, but it can be done.  

In this post, we’re going to break down how to punch like Ryan Garcia, and more importantly, how to punch as fast as YOU possibly can. 

I also discuss some of these tips in my video on hand speed that you can see here: 

Get Hand Speed Like Ryan Garcia 

In order to punch like Ryan, you will have to rewire your body and your mind. You will have to break your old patterns of throwing mediocre punches before you begin to build your body up to throw faster ones. Let’s dive into tip #1. 

Put Everything Into the Punch 

The first thing you want to do is to put everything you have into every punch. Ryan Garcia was quoted himself saying this when asked about his hand speed. He said he puts everything he has into a punch when he knows he’s going to land it. He said he puts all of his “energy” into the punch. If you pay attention to how he trains, he does the same thing, because of this, he doesn’t gas out when he does it in a fight. 

Most of us can punch much faster than we do in practice or in fighting, and that’s without having to train for it, we can actually do it immediately. The reason we’re not throwing to our full potential though is that you’re subconsciously holding yourself back because you’re trying to stretch your gas tank because throwing every punch fast wears you out. So instead of training more intensely and trying to get into better shape to be fast all the time, you end up tricking yourself into thinking you’re in shape by throwing mediocre punches. 

What you have to do is after each punch, evaluate yourself and ask yourself if that was the best punch you ould have thrown. Then throw the next one faster and harder. Then, you want to do that about 20-30 more times until you reach your peak potential. 

Always Throw to Your Full Potential 

Once you learn to throw to your full potential, you want to stay there. Keep throwing to the best of your ability and don’t allow the weakness that tells you to slow down enter your body or mind. If you get gassed keep going, it just means you’re not in good enough shape. That’s what separates the great fighters from the good ones, is the ability to be at their best all the time. 

Eventually, once you learn to throw every punch at its peak speed limit, your body and mind will adapt and allow you to punch faster and faster over time. 

Change Your Strength Training 

This may be controversial to some of you, but if you want to punch like Ryan Garcia, you cannot lift weights, not in the traditional sense anyway. Ryan himself has said that he doesn’t lift and has only been seen doing high rep dumbbells for his shoulders. Traditional weightlifting will tighten you up and reduce the relaxation necessary to throw a fast punch. You have to maintain a lean physique that is loose and limber. Tightening with exercises like bicep curls and isolated movements will only hurt your performance. Especially if you stick to lowe rep heavy lifting, it will kill your muscle endurance and you won’t be able to maintain that speed over the course of a long fight. 

What you want to do is instead focus on high rep calisthenic workout that trains both strength, fast-twitch muscles, and muscle endurance. 

Do Everything With Speed 

You also want to have speed on your mind at all times. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing in training, do it with speed. Whether you’re doing your pushups or doing your sprints, make sure to do them at your maximum speed potential, while still maintaining form. Speed is as much in the mind and the firing of neurons as it is in the body. 

“The Flash” Hand Speed Drill 

Throwing fast punches isn’t always in the single shots, its also in the combination speed. That’s another thing that makes Ryan Garcia special, is he can fire off 2-5 punches in less than a second. The way to practice this is on the heavy bag with something I call “The Flash” heavy bag drill, I talk about it in more detail in this video: 

What you want to do is basically try and make your combination of punches, sound like one punch. So if you throw a one-two, try to get it as close as possible to sounding like one punch. You then want to continue to drill that combination and try to keep increasing the speed of it. Do it for a round, then switch the type of combination you’re throwing. What you don’t want to do is sacrifice power though so make sure that your shots are still landing with a hard thud on the bag, The goal of throwing faster is to also increase the impact, not decrease it. Having fast pillow fists won’t help you in a fight. If you really want to punch like Ryan, you gotta be able to hit and hurt people. 

Shadowbox With Gloves On 

Ryan Garcia himself says he shadowboxes with weights every day and while it’s worked for him and it can work for many, I never recommend it because I see it teaching fighters bad habits. It also prevents you from being able to really throw your punch all the way out because you have to control the motion in order to prevent injury. 

What I recommend instead is shadowboxing with gloves on. They provide the perfect amount of resistance without hindering your form or teaching you bad habits on the output and input of punches. What you want to do is take 16oz or 18oz gloves and shadowbox for 3-5 rounds. During that time make sure to follow rule number one, which is to throw each punch to its full potential. One that’s updo 1-3 rounds without the gloves and you will see a huge difference. Now that feeling of speed won’t last that day, but if you continue to do this over time, that will become your average daily hand speed.

Another alternative is resistance bands, but I find they assist you to punch on the way back. Something else you can do that’s great is to box underwater, which can definitely aid you in getting faster hands, but it’s not as accessible.

Relax Your Punches

The last and most important key to the puzzle is to kill the stiffness in your body and relax your punches. One thing all fast fighters, including Ryan Garcia, have in common is that they are completely relaxed when they throw the punch. When you relax the hands and your body you’re not inhibiting the flow of the punch. You’ve got to be in complete flow when throwing fast and let the tension escape you. 

The best way to do this is to practice with completely open and loose palms. Throw a couple of punches and just let your palms flail instead of holding fists. Be aware of how it feels to throw in this relaced fashion. Really feel it in your body and notice the queues for it. Then once you know how to do it, all you have to do is close your fist, without reinventing the tension back. Only close your fist, don’t do anything else different, and fire off those punches relaced, and as fast as you possibly can. You will find that your speed will improve in an instant once you learn to relax your punches. 

Work Over Genetics 

A lot of people will see handpseed like Ryan’s and say that it’s all genes. What they do is discount the years of hard work that this kid has put into throwing his punches fast and to his best ability. The only thing that “genetic” about him is that he has the mindset to do whatever he’s doing to the best of his ability and not taking shortcuts. Genes play a role, but according to science they only give you about 1.5% advantage. Your goal should be to be the best you, and

Whether you like the kid or not, one thing you can’t deny is that Ryan Garcia is one of the hottest boxing prospects of today. Outside of his extreme skill, what makes this kid special is that he is a great self-promoter. He’s managed to acquire a following that is larger than 90% of the world champions out there, and this is without ever having to win a title. He’s achieved superstardom outside of the sport while still striving for it within the spirit. One of the things that got him noticed on social media was his insane hand speed. His hand speed and coordination are undeniable and for a guy that fights at 135 pounds, he has a great amount of power that comes as a result of his incredible hand speed. 

Because of the many videos, he puts out, a lot of people have begun to wonder: “how can I punch like Ryan Garcia.” Well, my friend, it takes a lot of practice for a long period of time, but it can be done.  

In this post, we’re going to break down how to punch like Ryan Garcia, and more importantly, how to punch as fast as YOU possibly can. 

I also discuss some of these tips in my video on hand speed that you can see here: 

Get Hand Speed Like Ryan Garcia 

In order to punch like Ryan, you will have to rewire your body and your mind. You will have to break your old patterns of throwing mediocre punches before you begin to build your body up to throw faster ones. Let’s dive into tip #1. 

Put Everything Into the Punch 

The first thing you want to do is to put everything you have into every punch. Ryan Garcia was quoted himself saying this when asked about his hand speed. He said he puts everything he has into a punch when he knows he’s going to land it. He said he puts all of his “energy” into the punch. If you pay attention to how he trains, he does the same thing, because of this, he doesn’t gas out when he does it in a fight. 

Most of us can punch much faster than we do in practice or in fighting, and that’s without having to train for it, we can actually do it immediately. The reason we’re not throwing to our full potential though is that you’re subconsciously holding yourself back because you’re trying to stretch your gas tank because throwing every punch fast wears you out. So instead of training more intensely and trying to get into better shape to be fast all the time, you end up tricking yourself into thinking you’re in shape by throwing mediocre punches. 

What you have to do is after each punch, evaluate yourself and ask yourself if that was the best punch you could have thrown. Then throw the next one faster and harder. Then, you want to do that about 20-30 more times until you reach your peak potential. 

Always Throw to Your Full Potential 

Once you learn to throw to your full potential, you want to stay there. Keep throwing to the best of your ability and don’t allow the weakness that tells you to slow down and enter your body or mind. If you get gassed, keep going, it just means you’re not in good enough shape. That’s what separates the great fighters from the good ones, is the ability to be at their best all the time. 

Eventually, once you learn to throw every punch at its peak speed limit, your body and mind will adapt and allow you to throw faster and faster over time. 

Change Your Strength Training 

This may be controversial to some of you, but if you want to punch like Ryan Garcia, you cannot lift weights, not in the traditional sense anyway. Ryan himself has said that he doesn’t lift and has only been seen doing high rep dumbbells for his shoulders. Traditional weightlifting will tighten you up and reduce the relaxation necessary to throw a fast punch. You have to maintain a lean physique that is loose and limber. Tightening with exercises like bicep curls and isolated movements will only hurt your performance. Especially if you stick to low rep heavy lifting, it will kill your muscle endurance and you won’t be able to maintain that speed over the course of a long fight. 

What you want to do is instead focus on high rep calisthenic workout that trains both strength, fast-twitch muscles, and muscle endurance. 

Do Everything With Speed 

You also want to have speed on your mind at all times. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing in training, do it with speed. Whether you’re doing your pushups or doing your sprints, make sure to do them at your maximum speed potential, while still maintaining form. Speed is as much in the mind and the firing of neurons as it is in the body. 

“The Flash” Hand Speed Drill 

Throwing fast punches isn’t always in the single shots, it’s also in the combination speed. That’s another thing that makes Ryan Garcia special, is he can fire off 2-5 punches in less than a second. The way to practice this is on the heavy bag with something I call “The Flash” heavy bag drill, I talk about it in more detail in this video: 

What you want to do is basically try and make your combination of punches, sound like one punch. So if you throw a one-two, try to get it as close as possible to sounding like one punch. You then want to continue to drill that combination and try to keep increasing the speed of it. Do it for a round, then switch the type of combination you’re throwing. What you don’t want to do is sacrifice power though so make sure that your shots are still landing with a hard thud on the bag, The goal of throwing faster is to also increase the impact, not decrease it. Having fast pillow fists won’t help you in a fight. If you really want to punch like Ryan, you gotta be able to hit and hurt people. 

Shadowbox With Gloves On 

Ryan Garcia himself says he shadow boxes with weights every day and while it’s worked for him and it can work for many, I never recommend it because I see it teaching fighters bad habits. It also prevents you from being able to really throw your punch all the way out because you have to control the motion in order to prevent injury. 

What I recommend instead is shadow boxing with gloves on. They provide the perfect amount of resistance without hindering your form or teaching you bad habits on the output and input of punches. What you want to do is take 16oz or 18oz gloves and shadowbox for 3-5 rounds. During that time make sure to follow rule number one, which is to throw each punch to its full potential. One that’s up to 1-3 rounds without the gloves and you will see a huge difference. Now that feeling of speed won’t last that day, but if you continue to do this over time, that will become your average daily hand speed.

Another alternative is resistance bands, but I find they assist you to punch on the way back. Something else you can do that’s great is to box underwater, which can definitely aid you in getting faster hands, but it’s not as accessible.

Relax Your Punches

The last and most important key to the puzzle is to kill the stiffness in your body and relax your punches. One thing all fast fighters, including Ryan Garcia, have in common is that they are completely relaxed when they throw the punch. When you relax the hands and your body you’re not inhibiting the flow of the punch. You’ve got to be in complete flow when throwing fast and let the tension escape you. 

The best way to do this is to practice with completely open and loose palms. Throw a couple of punches and just let your palms flail instead of holding fists. Be aware of how it feels to throw in this relaxed fashion. Really feel it in your body and notice the queues for it. Then once you know how to do it, all you have to do is close your fist, without reinventing the tension back. Only close your fist, don’t do anything else different, and fire off those punches relaxed, and as fast as you possibly can. You will find that your speed will improve in an instant once you learn to relax your punches. 

Work Over Genetics 

A lot of people will see hand speed like Ryan’s and say that it’s all genes. What they do is discount the years of hard work that this kid has put into throwing his punches fast and to his best ability. The only thing that is “genetic” about him is that he has the mindset to do whatever he’s doing to the best of his ability and not taking shortcuts. Genes play a role, but according to science they only give you about 1.5% advantage. Your goal should be to be the best you, and the only way to do that is to make sure you are always the best you that you can be and always striving to do everything to your full potential. 

only way to do that is to make sure you are always the best you that you can be and always striving to do everything to your full potential. 

The post Ryan Garcia Speed, How to Punch Like Ryan Garcia appeared first on BrawlBros.com.

It Starts With the Stance 

One thing about Mike is he had a very unique stance thought to him by the great Cus D’Amato. Cus taught the peekaboo style which was made famous by Mike and Floyd Patterson. This way of fighting favored punchers and fighters that wanted to be exciting but effective defensively. It was the perfect mix between aggression and defense, but it is also the best for generating power punches. 

This stance allows you to get more leverage from your feet, and put more back and shoulder into your punch than a typical boxing stance. 

For this you want to do a few things: 

1. Chin Down
2. More Squared Up 
3. Shoulders High
4. Leverage from legs and hips by bending your knees slightly

This stance is power-friendly and is the start of punching like Mike. 

The #1 Rule for Punching Like Mike Tyson 

If you’re going to punch like Mike, and there was only one thing you could do to try and do it, it’s going to be this: throw every single punch to the best of your ability. That means with perfect form, as fast, and as hard as you can. The thing is, most people can only do this for a minute before they gas out and go back to being average. Mike spent 8 hours a day in the gym, and not once did he ever throw a bullshit punch in practice. He worked on getting in good enough shape to be able to throw hard for as long as necessary. If you ever watch Mike train, he never threw a lazy punch, that’s part of the reason his punches developed the way they did. He designed his body and his mind to be able to throw as hard and as fast as possible, with perfect form, EACH time out. 

This is what you have to do in order to achieve your hardest and fastest punching potential. You have to constantly push your limits of how hard and how fast you can punch and stay there. Never throw a BS punch in practice. 

The difference between the greats before us and the come and go contenders, is that the greats were able to be excellent for the entire fight, not just in sports. That’s what made Mike an animal in his prime. 

So when you’re training, evaluate each punch you throw, and ask yourself if you did that to the best of your ability. Eventually, your brain will begin building the right neural pathways to make it a habit for you to throw your punches as hard/fast as possible. This will also train your body to do the same, and over time you will develop the muscles and the density that are built for speed and power, and if you keep pushing, you will eventually reach your maximum potential, which is where Mike Tyson was at. 

Form 

The form is important, but we’re going to assume you know the basics of turning your hips and pivoting. The only thing you want to do differently with a Mike Tyson Punch is rolling the shoulder over, rather than out when you throw it. It should be just about hitting your ear when the punch is at completion. This will sacrifice some distance, but it will give you a much more compact, dense punch when landed, and put more of your lat and shoulder into the punch, which spells lights out if landed with speed. 

A Ton of Shadowboxing and Heavy Bag Work 

Cus D’Amato has always said that shadow boxing is where you build habits, and Mike said the heavy bag is where his punching power was developed. 

When it comes to shadow boxing, it’s the one exercise that truly gets you ready for a fight. In a fight, you will miss more than 50% of your shots. When shadowboxing you miss all of your shots so this will teach you how to throw with speed and power without losing your balance. You want to make sure to always follow the rule above when shadowboxing. 

You want to do a minimum of 5 rounds a day at full capacity of punches. 

The next step will be to get on the heavy bag. One thing that you will notice about Mike when he hit the heavy bag, is it was far from a cardio boxing workout. He really focused on perfecting each movement every time he engaged. Whether it was a punch he threw or head movement before and after, he would do it, re-evaluate, then do it again. He would also have the feedback of his coaches. 

It is important to hit the bag to your full potential as your muscles and bones will build density from the impact, which will make your punches harder.

Strength Training 

Mike was said to always say that his body was “built to absorb punishment” and if you look at his fights, it’s absolutely true. When he would get hit by a heavyweight, he would brush it off and return a knockout blow in exchange. This is because everything from his neck down was built like an armor plate. However, this also meant that he has more mass, pure muscle mass, to put into his punches. The man was like a tiger, a walking muscle machine. 

The thing is, he didn’t have bodybuilder’s muscles. His strength training routine consisted of ZERO weight lifting in his prime. according to Mike Tyson’s workout, his strength training consisted of the following; 

500 dips

500 pushups

500 shoulder shrugs

2,000 situps

500-2,000 squats

30 minutes of neck bridges

When talking about Frank Bruno’s physique, he said that “lifting weights had as much to do with fighting as cheesecake.” Now while he may not be the best at analogies, he certainly got the point across, because cheesecake doesn’t have much to do with fighting. 

This workout will turn you into an animal because it gives you functional strength. Just about every movement is a compound movement and it builds muscle connectivity. This is good for both building strength and muscle endurance, which is necessary for fighting. Unlike powerlifting, which only builds strength. 

Mike Was More Than a Puncher 

One thing you want to keep in mind when wanting to learn to punch like Mike is that it’s far from what made him special, it was just one of the many things that made him special. Many guys in heavyweight boxing can punch. The difference with Mike is that he did EVERYTHING well! His style was impetuous, his defense was impregnable and he was ferocious! Seriously though, he was a masterful boxer who had an incredible defense, incredible counter-punching ability, and his speed, power and IQ were unmatched. This only downfall was he wasn’t able to maintain the level of discipline that got him to develop that style and punch the way he did. 

It All Starts With the Work 

If you want to punch like Mike there is going to be a level of effort that you’re going to have to put into it. You’ll have to be adamant about your boxing training and your strength training and be in good enough shape to do it simultaneously. Mike was a result of a lot of hard work and dedication in order to become the man he became. Sure it helped that he had mass, but many men do, and many men aren’t Mike Tyson.

The post Mike Tyson Power, How to Punch Like Mike Tyson appeared first on BrawlBros.com.

People often assume that being began takes something out of you. I’ve heard many of my friends tell me “you don’t look like a vegan” because for the most part, they expect to vegans to be skinny and lack muscle. This would be the equivalent of me saying every fit meat eater doesn’t look like a meat eater, because most traditional dieters, are out of shape, to say the least.

Veganism is poked fun at at times; and vegans are typically mocked. The stereotypes against vegans are bad and you don't realize it until you take the plunge yourself.

Sure, meat has energy and protein, but it's not the only source to fuel your strength, or protein.

If you really believe that meat-eating is the only thing that makes you strong, or manly, or tough, then check out these 10 plant based warriors and find out why you've got it all wrong.

Nick Diaz (26 W-10 L-0 D, 1 NC)

A high-volume volume punching machine, MMA fighter Nick Diaz is a proud vegan and probably one of the biggest names in the sport who took on the diet.

A legendary fighter in his own right, Nick Diaz participated in some of the most exciting fights in the sport, the man is anything but dull, whether inside or outside of the octagon.

As most MMA aficionados would agree, there's no major Nick Diaz fight without a degree of controversy, a layer of insults, and a ton of trash talk that throw his opponents of their game.

Born and raised in the mean streets of Stockton, California, Nick Diaz knows how to make a war out of a fight; and he definitely knows how to bring a spark that can excite the crowd.

Not surprisingly, Diaz is one of the few guys with a solid cult following among the older die-hard MMA fans. The man can get anyone bloodied in seconds, period. And he's a vegan of all things.

In his prime, the vegan Nick Diaz can make a mincemeat out of his opponents(the puns). All thanks to his ultra-aggressive, high-octane level of fighting style that never fails to gain the respect of the fans and the haters.

As a fighter, Nick Diaz's fighting career started in 2001 when he joined the IFC Warriors Challenge. He made an impressive debut in his first fight by stopping Mike Wick via submission. And then in his second fight, he captured the IFC welterweight belt by defeating Chris Lytle.

Not bad for a vegan.

Diaz would later contend for some other major titles, although he lost in most of his title fights, he successfully claimed the Strikeforce welterweight belt by defeating a tough opponent in Marius Žaromskis.

As he waded deeper into the sport and rose through the ranks, Nick Diaz fought in several major MMA fights and tournaments under different promotional banners. These include the UFC, Strikeforce, Shooto, EliteXC, IFC, DREAM, PRIDE, and WEC.

Through the years, Diaz also fought some of the best in his generation, engaging in exciting cage wars against the likes of Robbie Lawler, Anderson Silva, B.J. Penn, Georges St-Pierre, Carlos Condit, Paul Daley, Scott Smith, Frank Shamrock, Evangelista Santos, Takanori Gomi, Marius Zaromskis, Diego Sanchez, and K.J. Noons. My personal favorite was his fight against Robbie Lawler.

Nate Diaz (19-11-0)

MMA star Nate Diaz is the younger brother of Nick Diaz, a fellow vegan and his biggest influence in taking the "no-meat" diet since they were teens.

Nate Diaz is most recently known for beating Conor ‘The Notorious’ McGregor at UFC 196 in 2016, the brash, trash-talking multi-titlist UFC poster-boy who rose to superstardom by virtue of his high energy style, punching prowess, and personality.

Diaz was actually a late replacement as McGregor's original opponent, UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael dos Anjos, backed out due to a foot injury. So, coming into the fight, McGregor was the heavy favorite; and UFC’s most marketed fighter.

With barely two weeks left heading to the fight, the build-up came with plenty of references to food, eating, salads, and meat. And more of it was coming from the McGregor's camp in an attempt to mock Nate Diaz's vegan diet and get into his head. The Irish fighter even compared himself to a lion and Diaz to a gazelle about to be eaten alive inside the cage.

But it was Diaz who turned out to be the real animal in the cage.

In front of 15,000 fans, he submitted McGregor with a rear naked choke in the second round, after rocking him with a left hand. Diaz did not only strip the Irish fighter of his aura of invincibility, but he also gifted himself a quick access to the sport's stratosphere amongst the newer MMA fans.

Personally, I don't think diet has anything to do with your fight ability, Diaz's triumph was still heavily celebrated by many vegans online, with the internet being filled with plenty of "I told you so" remarks.

Even Diaz and his brother Nick can't help but say their piece, saying that the victory settled the discussion on whether a vegan can actually win optimally inside the octagon.

In an interview with UFC host Megan Olivi, Diaz shared that when he's preparing for a fight, he's always in an all-raw vegan diet to shed weight and be in fighting shape.

Nate said that it was his brother Nick that influenced him to become a vegan. He recalled that when he was 16 or 17 years old and while competing in martial arts competitions, there were a lot of times when he stopped eating meat.

As a young fighter back then, his motivation was simple: because it works. After he witnessed how it was helping his brother Nick, he thought it would be good for him to cut down on meat too.

Diaz's MMA career started in 2004 at the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC). He fought for the lightweight championship but lost to the formidable opponent and title-holder Hermes Franca. He later joined the UFC, and aside from McGregor, he fought some of the best competitors in the sport, including Benson Henderson and Rafael dos Anjos.

Diaz faced McGregor again for a rematch in 2016 but lost via a majority decision. Despite this, his first victory over McGregor already made him a legitimate UFC star, a fitting highlight to a career journey that saw him start from the rough neighborhood of Stockton to the glitzy world of stardom.

After a long hiatus, Nate Diaz is slated to fight again in UFC 230 against Dustin Poirier. The fight is booked on November 3 this year. Sadly, some troubles seemed to be brewing and fight fans are keeping their fingers crossed that it would actually happen.

Jake Shields (32-10-1, 1 NC)

An explosive former UFC phenom and title contender, 39-year-old American Jake Shields is a tough submission grappler who is probably best known for blazing through a 15-fight unbeaten streak until his loss to legendary UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. The event was held in front of a record crowd of 55,000 fans at UFC 129 in Toronto back in 2011.

A known vegetarian for most of his life, Jake Shields is also a long-time supporter of animal rights group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). In one of the interviews with the group, Shields explained his diet, saying that one can still get protein without eating meat.

In a Bleacher Report interview, Shields elaborated that he simply doesn't like eating animals and being a vegetarian just became his way of life.

A native of  Mountain Ranch, California, Shields is one of the most committed vegans. He trained under the famed Cesar Gracie Fight Team and is known for having a strong wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu backgrounds. Using a hybrid of both styles throughout his fighting career, he later proclaimed himself to be the progenitor of what he calls American Jiu-Jitsu.

Shields has always been one of UFC's solid, top-ranked fighters for years. Although he has never won a UFC belt, his career that now spans nearly two decades saw him winning titles in almost all of the major MMA promotional organizations. These include Shooto,  Rumble on the Rock, Strikeforce, and EliteXC.

As an MMA fighter, Shields holds some notable wins over some of the biggest names in the sport, including Dan Henderson, Yushin Okami, Robbie Lawler, Paul Daley, Tyron Woodley, Demian Maia, and Carlos Condit. That’s a hell of a resume.

In 2014, Shields was released by the UFC after losing a fight against Hector Lombard, which was actually his first defeat in almost three years. He would later take his act to the World Series of Fighting (now called Professional Fighters League or PFL), an MMA promotional outfit run by kickboxing legend Ray Sefo.

Shah "Sugar" O'Malley (10-0-0)

A 23-year old American MMA fighter, Shah "Sugar" O'Malley is a top bantamweight prospect who remains undefeated in his first 10 fights under the UFC banner.

O'Malley was a long-time vegan, although he recently claimed he stopped the diet.

Prior to becoming an MMA fighter, O'Malley was a trained boxer and kickboxer. He later entered the octagon fight game and trained in the LAB, a popular Arizona-based mixed martial arts center under famed trainer and Jiu-Jitsu expert John Crouch.

A Montana-native, O'Malley turned pro in 2015 and turned heads with his knockout win against David Nuzzo in a fight promoted by the Legacy Fighting Alliance. The scintillating performance earned him a spot in Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series where he impressed the UFC boss with a stunning first-round knockout victory against Alfred Khashakyan.

As expected, O'Malley was eventually signed by the UFC and made his fight debut in 2017 with a unanimous decision victory over Terrion Ware. He followed this up with a streak of impressive victories, some of which delivered via knockouts.

If he keeps winning, O'Malley is touted to join the rank of the current crop of promising fighters in the sport.

Mike Rashid (1-0, 1 KO)

Aside from being a die-hard vegan, American Mike Rashid is many things. He is a bodybuilder, boxer, fitness guru, businessman, actor, and author.

If some still need convincing that veganism makes one skinny and weak, then they ought to see Mike Rashid.

Sporting a super-shredded and stellar physique, Rashid is a quintessential image of a man who takes fitness and strength seriously; and you can bet that he takes it to the next level, too.

Rashid was a two-time Golden Gloves champ and who started boxing at the young age of 12. In his late 20s, he pursued his interest on power-building and later became a WBFF pro power bodybuilder.

Rashid said he finally ditched meat and started taking the vegan diet in 2017. Besides the fact that it never gave him pleasure to eat animals, Rashid shared that he just came to a point where eating meat was not helping him anymore. He realized that becoming a vegan is what's best for his health. In one interview he said the inflammation in his body started disappearing and made his workouts less painful on his joints.

Currently, Rashid enjoys a successful fitness instruction career. He runs a gym, a supplement, and clothing line. He also dabbles in acting and writing e-books.

Just recently, Rashid turned pro in boxing and made a smashing debut by knocking out Darious Taylor in just less than a minute. He is back in the ring in November.

This guys is living his best life and making the most of his potential.

Timothy "Desert Storm" Bradley (33-2-1)

Nicknamed "Desert Storm," Timothy Bradley is a retired American professional boxer and current ESPN boxing analyst and commentator. He was a five-time world champion who won titles in light-welterweight and welterweight divisions.

A native of Palm Springs in Southern California, Bradley is best known for defeating legendary fighter Manny Pacquiao in a controversial bout in 2012. The Filipino pugilist would later avenge the defeat two times, costing Bradley his only two losses in his career.

Bradley is a vegan who is known for fasting and taking a strict plant-based diet before a fight. He said it helps keep his body cleansed and it keeps him in shape. He started the practice in 2008 upon the advice of his nutritionist.

In his first fight with Pacquiao, Bradley disclosed that he followed a vegan diet that consists mainly of fruits, tofu, nuts, and plenty of vegetables.

In an interview, Bradley pointed out that not eating meat makes him feel light and energetic. As a fighter, he said, it made him feel superior to any other warrior that he faced.

Not eating meat, according to Bradley, allows him to save more energy because when someone eats meat, it takes the human body to consume more energy when breaking down the animal-based food.

Bradley also shared that the vegan diet makes him feel calm and clear-headed unlike when he's eating meat.

Bradley's career started in 2004 and officially ended in 2017 when he finally announced his retirement.

Since his boxing's debut, Bradly racked up 31 consecutive victories and grabbed the junior welterweight title by upsetting British boxer Junior Witter in 2008. Bradley said it was during his fight Witter that he started becoming a vegan.

After the Witter fight, Bradley would later claim the WBO light welterweight title by beating Kendall Holt in a title unification fight in 2009. He followed up this victory with two more wins in the same year against solid competitors Nate Campbell and Lamont Peterson.

Marking his debut fight in HBO television in 2010, Bradley fought and defeated Luis Carlos Abregu, a previously unbeaten Argentine boxer.

A year before his bout with Pacquaio, Bradley fought and defeated top welterweights Devon Alexander and Joel Casamayor.

Although still reeling from a career-shattering fan backlash from his victory against Pacquaio, Bradley suited up once again and engaged in an ultra-vicious fight against tough Russian fighter Ruslan Provodnikov. The fight, punctuated by knockdowns, was a complete brawl. While Bradley went home with the victory, both men endured a grueling 12-round ring war and they left the ring concussed, bruised, and battered. The hellacious nature of the bout earned it the consensus Fight of the Year in 2013.

Recuperated after the punishing fight with Provodnikov, Bradley entered the ring once again opposite Juan Manuel Marquez and defeated the legendary Mexican warrior via a split decision.

Already considered as one of the top ten best fighters in the world pound-for-pound, Bradley faced Pacquaio again in 2014 and suffered the second defeat in his career. Before the year ended, he earned a victory against Diego Gabriel Chaves.

In 2015, barely removed from his loss to Pacquio, Bradley recovered and outpointed Jesse Vargas and knocked out Brandon Rios to collect two decent victories. In the following year, Bradley capped his trilogy with Pacquiao, a fight he lost and the last bout in his storied career.

During the long hiatus after his last fight with the Filipino boxing icon, Bradley spent time as a boxing analyst and commentator. In 2017, he finally announced his retirement, explaining that watching a bloodied Pacquaio in a fight that he covered for ESPN in Australia finally convinced him that he's done taking the same punishment and walking out of the sport is the wisest thing to do.

David Haye (28-4-0)

David Haye is multi-titlist British professional boxer who won championship belts in the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions. Considered as one of England's best, Haye boasts of a  career that spans 16 years and marked with 32 ring wars, 28 victories, and only four losses.

Haye has been a vegan for years and is known for following a plant-based food diet while preparing for a fight. He said that it's where he gets his strength from and the diet simply makes him feel better and younger.

At one point, Haye claimed that meat being a better source of strength is a myth, saying that apes are plant-eaters and they are definitely twenty times stronger than humans. Although I will say, our genes are a little different than theirs. You won’t exactly get Gorilla strength from eating your veggies, but you can expect to have more endurance.

With some of the setbacks of his career caused by injuries, Haye said that his vegan diet helped him recover fast. Aptly, he stressed that his road to recovery always leads back to the plant-based diet.

Haye disclosed that he eats five meals a day and what's always in the table are beans, lentils, some rice or porridge, and plenty of split pea and quinoa. He would also take celery juice, sweet potatoes, bean stew, avocados, plantain, some protein shakes, and a good serving of vegetable and salad.

Haye grew up in the town of Bermondsey, a once rough industrial area in the London Borough of Southwark, England. He started boxing at the age of 10 and trained in the now famous Fitzroy Lodge amateur boxing club in Lambeth, South London, a proud charitable club that produced world champions like Haye, Dave Charnley, and Cornelius Boza-Edwards.

As an amateur boxer, David Haye held a record of 83 wins and 13 losses. He was a competitor in the 1999 World Amateur Boxing Championships, reached the qualifier bouts for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and grabbed a silver medal in 2001 World Championships held in Belfast.

In 2002, David Haye turned pro and made an impressive fight debut by knocking out Tony Booth in the second round. From 2003 until 2006, he fought 18 times and won all fights either by knockout or technical knockout. Within that time-frame, only Belgian fighter Ismail Abdoul survived the distance.

In the same three-year period, Haye incurred his first defeat in the professional rank courtesy of then 40-year old Carl Thompson via technical knockout in a fight for the IBO world cruiserweight title. He would claim, however, the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) English cruiserweight title and the EBU European Cruiserweight Title.

In 2007, Haye knocked out Tomasz Bonin, a highly ranked Polish contender at that time. And in an ambitious but career-defining move, Haye went on to fight tough French fighter Jean-Marc  Mormeck before the end of the year. The bout was a unification title fight with the WBA, WBC, and The Ring and lineal cruiserweight titles at stake. Haye floored and knocked out the Frenchman in the seventh round to earn all the titles and had staked his claim to become the best in the division.

In 2008, Haye fought and knocked out fellow British Enzo Maccarinelli in the second round to get the latter's WBO title and finally solidified his position as the undisputed cruiserweight champion of the world.

With no other best competitors to face in the cruiserweight division, Haye moved up in weight and debuted in the stacked heavyweight division by stopping Monte Barrett in the fifth round,

While Haye had an amazing run in the cruiserweight division, he is probably most remembered for his fights in the heavyweight class when he literally fought as David against the "Goliaths" of the division. 

An unnatural heavyweight as shown by his small size compared to his opponents, Haye slayed and outpointed the fearsome giant Nikolai Valuev to claim the WBA title in 2009, knocked down John Ruiz en route to a ninth-round TKO victory in 2010, and halted Audley Harrison in three rounds without breaking a sweat in the same year. But his disappointing loss in 2011 to another giant in Wladimir Klitschko also made a mark. In the following year, Haye stopped Derek Chisora in the fifth round in front of the raucous crowd of 40,000 fans in London. Which was a fight that carried with it al lot of bad blood, including a press conference brawl prior to, which Haye also won.

Haye took a hiatus after the Chisora fight and came back three years later in 2016 and knocked out Australian fighter Mark De Mori in the first round. He then fought and stopped Arnold 'The Cobra' Gjergjaj in the second round to cap a successful comeback year.

In 2017, David Haye lost to Tony Bellew and was defeated again in the rematch early this year. Due to recurring injuries, he finally decided to hang up the gloves and bow out of boxing after 16 years of a colorful and successful career in the sport.

Cam F. Awesome

If there's a thing about Cam Awesome, it's how he lives up to his name.

Awesome is a decorated American heavyweight amateur boxer and was a captain of the US boxing national team. He was a five-time USA boxing national champion, a four-time National Golden Gloves champion, a 2012 US Olympic team trial champion, a 2015 Pan-American Games bronze medalist, and a 2016 USA Boxing Elite national champion. He also fought in the Olympic qualifier tournaments and holds the athletic director position in the USA Boxing board of directors. 

Awesome is no doubt one of the most talented and accomplished amateur boxers in the US national team, but if there's anything that most would remember about him aside from the name and credentials, it would be his rebirth, or sort of, after a dark period in his career. 

In 2012, then still known as Lenroy Thompson, Awesome was banned by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for not making himself available for the drug testing and failing to report his whereabouts prior to the Olympics qualifying tournament.

It was widely reported that the setback of the ban hit Awesome hard, pushing him to binge on fast food, constantly munching McDoubles, McChickens, and plenty of Chinese food. He admitted that his eating lifestyle was horrible and he gained a lot of weight. At that time, Awesome ballooned up to 270 pounds and spent time working as a personal trainer.

With his boxing career sidetracked, Awesome thought he would just stick to becoming a trainer. Until the irony hit him. There he was handing card to overweight clients asking them to trust him to keep them in shape when he himself needed some working out.

And then came his personal epiphany.

In an act of personal quest to redemption and to get out of the stigma of the USADA suspension, the Long Island New York-native ditched his birth-name and legally changed it to Cam F. Awesome. He also rededicated his life to boxing, and from then on, he turned to vegan diet as a show of personal commitment to clean living. 

In an interview with food coach Ami Mackey posted in the Daily Beet, Awesome shared that he was inspired to take the plant-based diet when he saw how a 45-year, 225-pound man with a knee brace he coached in his gym easily dropped weight in months and recovered and emerged with a shredded muscle, all thanks to a plant-based diet.

As a cancer-awareness advocate, Awesome also believes that plant-based foods can also actually prevent the development of certain types of cancers. 

In his personal blog, he confirmed that he finally decided not to eat meat and other animal products and that he was back in the competition as a motivated and re-energized man looking forward to making it to the 2016 Olympics Games. 

And yes, the renewed Awesome came back with a bang, declaring himself as the "Taylor Swift of boxing." He quickly dropped down to a fighting shape of 220 pounds and racked up wins after wins.

In the following years leading up to the Olympics, he retook his position as the best heavyweight talent in the national team. Although he won in the US Olympic team trials in 2015, he lost some fights and was eliminated in the qualifiers.

In 2016, Awesome, who is already a longtime resident of Kansas City, claimed his fifth USA Boxing national championship title at KCI Expo Center by beating Blake Davis in front of his adoring hometown fans.

Awesome also now dabbles in public speaking and stand-up comedy.

Jon Fitch (32-7-1-1 NC)

Jon Fitch or Jonathan Parker Fitch is a veteran MMA fighter based in San Jose, California and was a vegan since 2011. He joined the latest of MMA fighters who chose to turn to the plant-based diet.

Fitch was a former UFC title contender, former WSOF and PFL welterweight champion, and currently fights under the Bellator banner.

In the events leading up to Fitch's fight with B.J. Penn during the UFC 127, his being a vegan was actually pretty much part of the pre-fight discussions. From walking over 200 pounds, Fitch reportedly shredded his weight to just over 170 pounds.

MMA fighter Kenny Florian (now retired) aired what everybody seemed to be unfairly concerned about--that Fitch switching to a vegan diet just made him lose his weight advantage coming into the fight.

In response to the critics, Jon Fitch took the time to write and explain his newfound diet in the UFC 127 Fight Journal.

Jon Fitch said that the whole thing started for him as far back as 2009 when he was training for the fight against Paulo Thiago in the UFC 100. At the time, he decided to just eat organic food and saw tremendous results in his body.

Fitch claimed that by cutting down on meat, he found himself recovering quickly and getting more energized than before.

MMA fighters turning vegan is nothing new, but the stereotype against the diet seems to be deeply rooted. And Jon Fitch proved everyone wrong.

Although the highly competitive fight ended in a majority draw, both men scored takedowns in the first two rounds and both also recovered and stayed out of trouble. It was the third round, however, that seemed to make the difference as Jon Fitch showed to have gained control of the fight.

When the dust settled, two judges scored a 28-28 deadlock while the third gave it to Fitch at 29-28.

Fitch as a vegan was just as strong and tough as everybody in the fight game. As a fighter, he started in the light heavyweight and middleweight divisions before dropping down to the welterweight class when he entered UFC, a promotional outfit where he fought most of his fights in his career.

Fitch had an eight-fight winning streak since his entry into the UFC, tying  Royce Gracie's record. He could have surpassed Gracie when he fought Georges St-Pierre in 2008 for the UFC welterweight belt, but he lost the fight. 

Fitch stayed with the UFC for more than seven years, fought 18 times, and amassed a record of fourteen wins, three losses, and one draw. 

When he went 1-2-1 from 2011 up to 2013, having a draw with B.J. Penn, losing a fight to Johny Hendricks, winning against Erick Silva, and then losing again to Demian Maia, his UFC career looked in jeopardy. Although ranked ninth at the time in the welterweight division, Fitch was released by the organization.

On March 2013, Fitch signed up with the  World Series of Fighting where he lost his debut fight to Josh Burkman. He fought six times more for the WSOF from 2013 up to 2016. Along the way, he captured the vacant Welterweight Championship by beating João Zeferino and successfully defended it against Jake Shields.

In 2017, the WSOF rebranded itself as the PFL. Under the new banner, Fitch fought only once, winning the fight against Brian Forster. He finally left the promotion as a champion and signed an exclusive deal with Bellator just last March this year. Fitch made his Bellator fight debut last May with a win over Paul Daley.

Throughout his career, Jon Fitch faced some of the best in the sport, including Yushin Okami, Demian Maia, Georges St-Pierre, B.J. Penn, Thiago Alves, Erick Silva, Jake Shields, and Diego Sanchez among others.

Herschel Walker (2-2)

Herschel Walker's name is almost synonymous to his diet and numerous pursuits in life. A former professional football player turned MMA fighter, Walker has made quite an influence in the fitness world with his unorthodox dieting method.

Walker is a hulking athlete who typifies what dedication to fitness and training is all about. A known v, he expounded the extreme one-meal-a-day diet that consists of vegetable, soup, and bread, with over a thousand push-ups and sit-ups thrown into the mix. It pretty much sums up the Herschel Walker diet. For a man who was engaged in several rigorous sports, it is incredible that he's been doing it since he was still in college. That's more than 20 years!

As a football athlete, Walker has already cemented his legacy. In 1980, he led the University of Georgia (UGA) football team to the national championship. They have beaten opponents one by one and they remained undefeated all throughout the season. And the guy was just a freshman when he brought his team all the way down to the Sugar Bowl. For his amazing feats and athleticism, Walker was awarded the Heisman Trophy two years later. In 1999, he was finally inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Walker's college football career was beyond remarkable. He left UGA as an all-American legend with a bunch of records, not only in his school but also in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and Southeastern Conference (SEC).

After his UGA days, he joined the United States Football League (USFL) and played for the New Jersey Generals. As expected of Walker, he set a few more records and even won the Most Valuable Player award in only his first season.

In 1986, he moved to the NFL and stayed in the league for 12 seasons. He played for the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, and the New York Giants. He finally retired in 1997, leaving behind a remarkable career topped with amazing records.

Outside of football, Walker was also engaged in many excellent pursuits, and remarkably, he was always successful. While in college, he also dabbled in a track-and-field. While playing pro football, he was also part of the US bobsleigh team that saw action in the 1992 Winter Olympics. He even danced with the Fort Worth Ballet at least once.

Walker was also into martial arts. He is a fifth-degree black belter in taekwondo. As if his plate is not full enough, he also runs a Savannah-based company called Renaissance Man International.

In 2010, Walker made one of the incredible stories in MMA history. Fighting for the defunct promotion Strikeforce, he entered the cage at the age of 47 and knocked out Greg Nagy in the third round. He fought again in 2011 and stopped Scott Carson in the first round.

Its Not the Diet, It’s the Mindset

While the flawed notion that the vegan diet makes one weak would not go away soon, the appreciation of its benefits by many successful professional fighters and athletes dispels the deeply misguided stereotypes.

The rise of these tough men on top of their respective sports effectively smashes the walls built on fears and misconceptions about plant based diets.

Through the years, more people are ditching meat on their dinner tables. And while opinions will stay divided and some issues can still be polarizing at times in many ways, the truth remains that meat is not the only source strength and skills topped with a warrior mindset are much more important.  What a plant based diet will help you with, however, is being overall healthier in your training.

Drop me a comment below and let me know what you think.

Brawl all day!

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It’s no secret that Floyd Mayweather is one of the most successful athletes of all time, and there is no doubt as to how. If you know anything about Floyd, you know his mantra is “Hard Work, Dedication!” It is through that hard work and dedication that Floyd has received everything that he has in life. That includes his money, his cars, his girls, his lifestyle, and most importantly, his “TBE” status. The good news is, Floyd’s approach to his craft, is applicable in any field, so let’s talk about how you can have a Floyd Mayweather work ethic in anything that you do.

Work When You Don’t Feel Like it

A lot of people out there wait until they feel good to get something done. However, the reality of being human is that most of the time, you’re going to feel lazy. Biologically we are wired to be lazy, and for our ancestors, it was a survival mechanism. The key was to conserve as much energy between meals as possible so that you can save it for the hunt.

The bad news is, our biology hasn't caught up to the way the world works today, and those of excellence have to find ways to push themselves. On the many of HBO’s “24/7” or Showtime’s “All Access” episodes, Mayweather is seen dragging himself to the gym when he is exhausted. He trains after speaking events, press tours and goes for runs in the middle of the night.

Often he can be found in the gym training at 3 in the morning. In one episode, he discussed how he would rather be watching movies in his theatre, but he has the discipline to push himself.

No matter what day it is, no matter how you feel on that day, show up to work and give it 100%.

Work Overtime

One of the things that Mayweather was known for is working at all hours of the day. Floyd spends more time training than most people spend working at their desk. A grueling regimen of 60 hours a week of non-stop training has helped  Floyd be as good as he is.

Most fighters, believe it or not, train about 20 to a max of 30 hours a week, Floyd often doubles that. When looking at those numbers, it’s no mystery why Floyd’s numbers(record/earnings) look as good as they do. No matter what Floyd has got going on, he always puts in his work for the day. He constantly puts in the extra effort.

Which brings us to our next point…

Rise Above the Standard - Do More Than Everyone Else

A lot of times, if you aren't successful in your craft, it comes down to either laziness or ignorance of the facts, both of which you're in control of. Every industry, sport, and activity has a standard. Having been around boxing his whole life, Mayweather knows what other fighters do and the typical standard that they all follow.

Most fighters do similar training protocols that come with an X number of rounds on the bag, X number of rounds of sparring and X number of miles run. Floyd, however, looks at the standard and tries to double or triple it.

Instead of sparring rounds, he usually does non stop sparring matches, same with hitting the bag. He can do a circuit of back to back heavy bag, pads, jump rope, the body bag and speed bag with minimal breaks in between. Very rarely does he train with the standard 3 minute round/1 minute break format and when he does, he outdoes the standard procedure.

All you have to do is apply that same mentality to any sport or field you are in. For example, it has always confused me when sprinters get destroyed in competition. You knew what you were facing before you got on that track, the best times have already been set and you have competed against these guys before, so if you're not beating their records, don't even show up.

Don’t Worry About How Others are Doing it, Experiment, Then Do it Your Way

One thing Floyd Mayweather has always done well is he did things his way. He never concerned himself with what other great’s routines looked like or what other gyms were doing. As time went on he developed his own training regimen that works for his personality. As an example, he wakes up at 2:30 pm, and then gets to work.

Despite the fact that most boxing greats stressed the importance of waking up early and getting ahead, Floyd has found ways to get ahead in a way that works for him.

Also, the first thing most fighters do is run their miles as the first part of their day. Mayweather doesn’t agree with that logic, so he saves his running for last, usually running as late as 3 am. His thinking is that he wants to be the sharpest for his sparring as that’s what most trains him for the fight, so he does that first.

It doesn’t matter when you do it, as long as you get the work done.

We live in a generation where we Google everything before we do it. Whether it’s a workout, a diet plan, a business plan, routine etc. people these days are all googling their way to success, but lost is the art of discovery.

These days people fear opportunity cost and time forgone, not realizing that experimentation is what leads to not only self-discovery but the ability to blaze your own path. You may, in fact, find something that works much better for you than someone else’s advice on what’s worked for them.

Never Complain, Never Cry - It Doesn’t Work

One of Mayweather’s popular quotes outside the typica,l is “Never Complain, Never Cry, Just Work.”

Despite what you think about Floyd Mayweather, there is wisdom that came from his years of perfecting his craft. I’m sure this simple little gem that says “Never Complain” came from one simple realization: complaining doesn’t work.

We all do it from time to time, but instead of helping us, it’s actually draining us. Some people think that they are “venting” or getting things “off their chest” but in fact, we are actually priming ourselves to be negative and to not want to take action. It’s more of a preliminary excuse, which puts your mind in a defeatist attitude, and sets you up for failure.

Floyd always primes his mind for success and positivity, and complaining does the opposite.

Find Your Own Motivation

One thing about Money Mayweather is he never cared about the status quo. Many criticize his lifestyle because it doesn't necessarily fit into the mold of what society is used to. He, however, does not care one bit what society may think. His motivations are different from most people’s, but it is what keeps him going.

Floyd is motivated by money, hence the change in the nickname, and that’s what keeps him going. He is also motivated by everything the money brings: the girls, the cars, the private jets, the $1,000 plates of food, and all the other luxuries money can buy. Most people are told that these are “empty” motivations and will never help you succeed.

Well, we are here to tell you that those people are wrong. It doesn’t matter what motivates you, as long as you are motivated, and remember, your motivations are never static and can always change. At some point in his career, Floyd had enough riches to retire, but he also wanted to leave his stamp on this world as “TBE.”

We are all motivated by different things, decide what motivates you and let it push you to get what you want out of life.

Affirmations for Mental Toughness

One thing that is often preached, but seldom done, are affirmations. This is because most people think that affirmations are “corny.”

However, what most people don’t realize that guys like Floyd Mayweather, Muhammad Ali, and Conor McGregor aren’t just being cocky or talking trash, they are also practicing positive affirmations. They are constantly brainwashing themselves and priming their subconscious mind to perform on an elite level. Everytime you watch Mayweather shadow box, you can see this method in action. As he is hitting the bag, he says things like:

• “These fighters can’t beat me”
• “I’m the best ever”
• “I do everything great”
• “Never complain, never cry, just work”
• “No one has been at the top longer than me”
• “I’m going to stay undefeated”
• “I can’t be beat”
• “I always find a way to win”

This technique has been proven to help reprogram the brain and even Mike Tyson has been quoted saying that Cus D’Amato used to put him under hypnosis and read affirmations to him.

Implementing this can help you train your mind to build up mental toughness, self-belief, and self-confidence. Science has proven over and over again that being confident while doing something, actually makes you better at doing it. When you lack confidence, you perform worse, even if it’s at an equivalent skill level.

Implement positive affirmations as part of your daily mental training and you will train your subconscious to pursue patterns of behavior that align with those affirmations.

Talk Yourself Into A Corner

Speaking of trash talk, one of the things that Mayweather does, along with fighters like Ali and McGregor, is he talks himself into a corner. He goes out there and makes tremendously confident, some say arrogant statements, and puts himself in a position where he has to live up to it. This is actually a healthy thing to do if you are a person who performs better under pressure.

What happens is, you put your pride and your ego on the line by being public with your thoughts of grandeur, and then the pressure is on by all your peers for you to live up to it. This will serve as extra motivation to get accomplished what you want to accomplish. Because one of the biggest motivators is the avoidance of embarrassment and fear of failure.

One of the funniest moments on HBO’s 24/7 show was when Mayweather was seeing jogging at night and doing his usual self-talk and he says “I talk a lot of s***, now I gotta back it up.”

Surround Yourself With Positive People

While a lot of haters will say that Mayweather has a lot of “yes men” around him, the truth is he is just surrounded by people that support him and help him spread his positive message. Regardless of the reason, everyone around him wants to see him win. We constantly see his crew helping cheer him on during fights, training and even helping big him up while everyone is back at the “Money Mansion.” Floyd has earned the respect of his peers and surrounds himself with positivity. He has had multiple fallouts in the past, and it is usually in an attempt to remove any negative thinkers from around him.

Having positive thinkers around you can help encourage you and open up your mind to the possibilities. Eliminate the mental blockers and negative thoughts by surrounding yourself with a positive crew, it will energize you to work harder.

Know When to Rest, Work Smarter

One of the things that Floyd has said over and over again in regards to his longevity is this:

“As I get older, I have to learn to work hard, not smarter. I make sure I get my rest, instead of going out to the club, I go home, get a massage and go to sleep.”

One piece of advice Floyd has had for younger fighters, like Adrien Broner, is that the partying you see him do, is for the cameras. He doesn’t actually party daily and in fact, does not drink or smoke and only goes out for promotional purposes. As he got older, he knew the importance of preservation and prefers spending time with the family and resting at home after a good meal.

Hard work is important, but it must be sustainable. Just make sure you are working productively when it's time to work and don’t squander time. However, don’t overdo it and know when to stop as burnout, injury or health complications can offset months or years of hard work and have the opposite effect on progress.

Know when to rest, and always look for opportunities to work smarter, while working hard.

Hard Work, Dedication

At the end of the day, any success comes out of what you’re willing to put in. Floyd isn’t the only one who says he works hard, every person that has ever seen him train says he is the hardest working fighter they have ever seen. He was able to be the best without genetic gifts like Tyson or Jones. It was pure sweat that got him to be TBE.

Just remember, talent is overrated and anything can be accomplished if you dedicate yourself. Use some of Floyd’s tactics above to set a pace for yourself.

"I truly believe in my just busting my ass and dedicating myself to my craft and seeing what the future brings” - Floyd Mayweather

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