Author's note: here is a video presentation based on this article:
During his prime, especially when Cus D’Amato was by his side, Mike Tyson was a devastating body puncher. His body punching arsenal worked in complete synergy with his peekaboo movement and helped keep his offense unpredictable, thus enabling him to confuse his opponents.
The importance of attacking the body.
In boxing, attacking the body is a science by itself. Hurting the opponent's body is an important but often neglected part of combat arts. But why, you may ask, is it important to attack the body?First of all, punching the head is very effective and can result in spectacular knock-outs. In high level competition though, knocking people out is not always possible. The truth is that some people can take punches to the head and some people can take punches to the body but very few individuals can take both. Due to this, attacking the body is worth the effort and can help beat tough opponents who can take a lot of punishment.
We must also emphasize here that body punches have an accumulative effect. As old school boxing coaches often say: “You need to consistently invest in body punches early in order to collect interest in the later rounds.”
Body punching is also a good way to compromise your opponent’s footwork as fighters tend to slow down when they get repeatedly hit to the body.
It is also often said that if you want to “torture” your opponents, you should punish the body. Unlike punches to the head, it is very difficult to recover from body punches. Fighters remain hurt for the rest of the fight.
On another note, attacks to the body force opponents to drop their guard and this keeps them confused by having to anticipate attacks from all levels. Body-punching creates openings in their defense.
Four types of body punches
Generally there are 4 types of body punches: jab to the body, straight cross to body with the back hand, hook to the body and uppercut to the body.The problem with body punches.
Although body punches can be very effective they have the same problem with uppercuts: in order to land them, fighters have to drop their guard and this exposes their head to counters.In order to be effective in landing attacks to the body and stay safe at the same time, boxers need to distract their opponents with fakes or set-up punches in order to minimize exposure to these counters.
Ideally, fighters should launch body punches and move their head at the same time. They can do so by changing angles or levels during and after the attack.
The importance of body punching power.
Not all boxers can be effective body punchers. Landing these punches is one thing but doing damage is another. The latter is a combination of technique, proper use of leverage and natural sports-related attributes. We must also note here that some fighters can endure a lot of damage to their body. One such fighter is Floyd Mayweather Jr. who also had a very effective and underrated body-punching game.The mechanics of Tyson's body punching power
In Cus D'Amato's method of boxing, power comes from the ground. As you will be able to examine later in the videos listed below, Tyson's knees are always bent and one knee is usually loaded with power before launching each attack. Every time he throws a punch, his weight shifts to a knee so he can be in position to throw the next punch with tremendous force.Speed and power are important but there is always the element of surprise.
Confusing the enemy: the element of surprise.
"The punch that hurts you, is the punch that you don’t see coming."
This is an old school saying and it is particularly true when it comes to attacking the body. It is difficult to see body-punches coming and this is one of the reasons that they can be very effective. Especially when they are used in combinations.
Landing body punches
There are three ways to land body punches:
- Closing the distance with other punches.
- Countering opponents’ punches / making them pay for missing.
- Cutting off the ring and/or applying clinch or head-to-head pressure.
Why Tyson's body punching-combos work: the importance of studying videos.
It is important to understand that all videos provided below are not highlight videos. They are study videos.
There is a difference. You will not necessarily learn anything from a highlight video of knockouts as most of these knockouts are the result of unpredictable circumstances like fatigue, damage-taken or pure luck.
On the other hand, these study videos are the result of pre-planned training scenarios within the context of Cus D’Amato’s peekaboo system. They are proof that the techniques or combinations work and as several variations of the move are provided, different scenarios can be examined.
These videos come hand in hand with my striking combination system (as inspired by Bas Rutten’s system of keeping combination notes).
Combination Syntax
The Speedforce striking combination syntax © is a way to document successful combinations in 1-3 lines instead of paragraphs.Combo syntax example:
(jab), right slip, (jab), right slip+jab-left hook.
Explanation: opponent jabs, you slip right, opponent jabs, you slip right & jab simultaneously, no delay left hook.
Moves in parentheses indicate a move(s) performed by the opponent, commas (,) indicate a series of moves in succession, the plus (+) sign indicates moves that take place at the same time and the minus (-) sign indicates moves that follow fast without delay.
Note: This syntax is also provided here to help fans write their own combos.
That being said, let’s start analyzing Mike Tyson body punching tactics.
a. Basic body punching combinations
The end goal in Mike Tyson's body punching combos is simple: to close the distance and land specific sequences of moves.
These combinations include at least one body-punch and a punch preceding or following the attack to the body.
Most of the time, Mike Tyson would throw a punch to the head to make opponents lift their guard and then hit the body or vice versa. Here are his basic combinations:
1. Multiple left hooks to the body
2. Attacking the body on one side, attacking the head on the other side.
3. Attacking the head on one side, attacking the body on the other side.
4. Attacks to the body to a series of machine-gun rapid punches to the head
5. Attacking with the same hand: head to body
6. Attacking with the same hand: body to head
7. Attacking with the same hand: hook to the body, uppercut
Let's provide some examples:
1. Multiple left hooks to the body
Why this works: opponents usually expect left-right-left combinations, not attacks with the same hand. This tactic catches them off-guard.Combination examples
Tyson loved attacking with hooks, pulling back his hand after the punch while loading energy to his hips, releasing and attacking again with the same hand.
2. Attacking the body on one side, attacking the head on the other side.
Why this works: a hook to the body helps to close the distance and connect while the body is changing levels and twisting to the other side in order to prepare for an attack with the other hand. This puts a boxer in perfect position to launch hooks, uppercuts and straight hands.
Combination examples: Right hook to the body to left hook
3. Attacking the head on one side, attacking the body on the other side.
Why this works: An attack to the head makes opponents raise their guard and focus on head attacks.
This leaves them open for
attacks to the body.
Combination example: Left hook, right hook to the body
4. Attacks to the body to a series of machine-gun rapid punches to the head
Why this works: opponents usually expect a punch to the head
after a punch to the body. Attacks to the
body should make them lower their guard.
This leaves them open for
attacks to the head, especially when they have to deal with machine-gun
punches, left and right, going from the body to the head.
Mike loved attacking with punches in bunches. He was able to do so with
machine-gun-like speed. The videos below are just beautiful to watch.
Combination 1: Left hook to the body, right hook to the body and a series of punches
Combination 2: Right hook to the body, to multiple left and right punches
Here is a video of Mike training these techniques on the heavy bag:
5. Attacking with the same hand: head to body
Why this works: opponents usually expect left-right-left
combinations and an attack to the head makes them raise their guard.
This leaves them open for
attacks to the body.
Combination 1: Right uppercut, right hook to the body
This particular combo was not a common attack by Tyson but it is certainly worth mentioning.
Combination 2: Left hook, left hook to the body
6. Attacking with the same hand: body to head
Why this works: opponents usually expect left-right-left combinations and an attack to the body makes them raise their guard. This leaves them open for attacks to the head with the same hand.
Here is Cus D'Amato explaining how this works:
"Remember it is always better to throw the punch when you can’t hit him and he can’t hit you. That is what the science of boxing is all about. Remember from the side you can let that punch go with the worst kind of intention because you know he cant hit you back so you can throw the bomb with all the power you can generate." - Cus D'Amato Footage from a rare documentary from the early 1980’s that includes footage of Mike Tyson, Teddy Atlas, Cus D’Amato, and more (Watch Me Now by Michael Marton)
Combination 2: Right hook to the body to right hook
7. Attacking with the same hand: hook to the body, uppercut
Why this works: Attacks to the body make opponents lower their
guard.
This leaves them open for
attacks to the head, especially uppercuts. This is because in order to
block a punch to the body boxers have to open their guard creating an
opening for the uppercut.
The following two techniques (hook to the body to uppercut with the same
hand) are Tyson’s most famous combos, often referred to as the “Tyson
punch”.
Combination 1: Left hook to the body to a left uppercut
Combination 2: Right hook to the body to right uppercut
In order to train these two very effective techniques, I created the following mitt-work drills:
Basic drill
With slips.
With roll-unders.
Note: Working on muscle memory is the main objective of these drills, not perfect form. These mittwork sequences are hard and make athletes spend a lot of energy but in order to train for power, athletes should train on the heavy bag.
b. Using angles: attacking the body, moving (bumping) left, 3 variations
When fighting head to head without control (no underhook, overhook or neck tie), Tyson would either bump left or right in order to attack at an angle. When he bumped to the right he would (most of the times) attack with hooks or uppercuts. When he bumped to the left though, he would often attack to the body first. In the video below you can see three examples:
- Right hook to the body, right uppercut
- Right hook to the body, left uppercut
- Left hook to the body, right uppercut
Here is a video about bumping right AKA the Weldon reset by the great Kenny Weldon.
Why this works: This topic has been extensively analyzed in the video below.
Original article.
c. Closing the distance
In order for boxers to land punches they need to be able to reach punching range. They do so by using range-finding techniques.
There are many tactics that Tyson used in order to close the distance. His favorite ones were the jab, the jab to the body and leaping left hooks.
Here are some examples:
1. Jabs
Jab to a left hook to the body
Why this works: A jab makes opponents block and lift their right elbow up. This leaves them open for a left hook to the body.
Jab, right hook to the body, left hook
Why this works: The most common attacks after a jab are either another jab or a right hand to the head. A right hook to the body is often a good punch to land after a jab. The combination requires good mobility.
Even if fighters miss with the body punch they are in good position to launch the follow-up left hook.
Jab, right cross to the body, left hook to the body
Why this works: The most common attacks after a jab are either a next jab or a right hand to the head. A straight right to the body is also an easy punch to land. A fighter can also change levels going low with the right to the body and this helps launch left hooks, especially leaping left hooks.
Jab, (opponent covers), right hooks to the body, right uppercut
Why this works: A jab is a great way to block the vision of fighters and force them to lift their guard up. In this example, Tyson launches a jab and as his opponent covers himself, Mike attacks with a series of right hands and a right uppercut.
2. Jabs to the body
As you can see in the following examples, jabs to the body can be very effective defensively as incoming punches to the head just slide above. Here is how they can be effective in combination with body punches:
Jab to the body, right hand to the body
Why this works: Opponents expect a punch to the head after a jab to the body. Fighters need to be ready for incoming uppercuts.
Jab to the body, right hand to the body, left hook
Why this works: The most common attacks after a jab to the body are either a next jab, a left hook or a right hand to the head. A right hand to the body is often the easiest punch to land. And it helps get leverage for the follow-up left hook.
Jab to the body, right cross to the body, (left hook), roll under, left hook
Why this works: When launching right hands, a common counter is a left hook. As you can see in the video above, Tyson was ready to roll under and counter-attack with a left hook.
Jab to the body to jab
Why this works: A jab to the body can distract opponents and create an opening for a jab to land. This combo has to be executed as a 1-2 not a 1,2.
3. Leaping left hook to the body
As analyzed here, Tyson was very effective in landing leaping left hooks. In the video above you can see him doing the same, this time with a leaping left hook to the body.
Why this works: The punch would often land as opponents were expecting Tyson to land his usual leaping hooks to the head and they would just raise their guard high whenever they would see him change levels for the leap.
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