Survival Instincts

It just seems to me that there's a lot of guff that is talked about in surviving a round when hurt in boxing.

People rip into Khan's for fighting back, and say that it's obvious you just have to hold on and that all the experienced fighters would do it, yet there are plenty of guys such as Marquez who pretty much never hold on yet no one ever criticises him for it, because he does survive it, yet he pretty much does the same thing as Khan in terms of he just fights back even harder.

It seems to me that there is a lot of bull that is talked about what guys should and shouldn't do when they're tagged.

So basically my question to you is what SHOULD a guy do when you're tagged? Just curious to see the answers. =)

Marquez i've never seen truly hurt in a fight, he gets dropped quite often but his powers of recovery are so great he can afford to fight back as he still has his legs which Khan doesn't possess.

Naturally each figher knows themselves how hurt they are, and I don't think I've ever seen Marquez on queer street to the extent that Khan has been (i.e. verging on unconscious). I think in those situations it is the ability to think clearly and know your situation that determines whether you hang on or fight back or whatever. To this end I don't really think it can be taught because in those situations you are just going to revert to type.

Off the top of my head someone like Holmes had the best powers of recovery and knew what to do when he was almost out of it. Others like Khan or even Bruno just aren't wired to react like that. Some fighters can make it work by fighting back after getting knocked down, I've seen a lot of Floyd Patterson's fights and he often got straight back into the thick of it after getting kncoked down, but like with Marquez these were usually flash knockdowns, so he probably knew within himself that he still had it in him to fight and move in a co-ordinated manner. When people like Khan get knocked down it usually has a more detrimental effect on their senses, and so by fighting back, they leave themselves more open becuase the co-ordination is not there.

Never seen Marquez on really really shaky legs where he can't even walk around. Marquez gets clipped but like most people have said he recovers quickly. Mayweather was the perfect example against Mosley on how to survive, Mosley catches him with a absolute peach and as Mosley tries to pull his hand back Mayweather grabs it and holds on. Doing that saved him from taking another shot. As soon as Mayweather was hurt his hands went up to protect himself he wasn't going to try the shoulder roll to get out of it.

Khan has too much heart for his own good, sometimes you need to throw a round and stay in the fight.

khan's heart should be commended, but it's losing him fights. he simply has to cover up and hold until he recovers.

nigel benn however was at his most dangerous when hurt.

i think he panics as do some others do and loses his game plan.

Listen Alex I don't know if you have ever been in a ring before but holding is a technique just like jabbing or weaving.

When Khan tries to trade instead of holding it shows inexperiance and lack of boxing generalship. Holding when you are not hurt or knackered is against the rules but if you know how to utalise it when in trouble shows boxing knowledge that comes with experaince.

A lot of boxers do the same as Khan when they get hurt, stand and trade. Not the best idea usually but some can get away with it. A guy like Gatti could get away with it because he had a solid chin and genuine power, which is a real deterrent if someone is coming in finish you off. The problem for Khan is that when he's hurt he turns into a slugger with little movement, average power and a weak chin, when that happens top level guys will walk through his wild swings and finish him off.

In response to the original post there is no right or wrong thing to do when hurt, it depends on the boxer and the opponent. Should Mayweather have held on against Mosley instead of trading with him? Certainly. He doesn't have the power to KO Mosley with a single punch so standing in front of him swinging while on jelly legs is an awful idea. However, when a genuine puncher is hurt sometimes swinging for the fences is the best bet as the opponent will make mistakes himself when coming in to finish them off. Gatti, Benn, Corrales and I'm sure a few others did some of their best work when hurt themselves as they planted their feet and had the power to back it up when hurt.

As nathan says, if your heads scrambled, and you are truly relying on instincts then its fight or flight and i don't think there's much a guy can do to dictate it. Sometimes though, guys know their legs are shaky but their minds are still thinking clearly... then its down to the best technique for the circumstances which can be learnt, but as others have said, there's no 'one size fits all' here

Survival instincts are certainly not a myth in boxing. They can be crucial. Look at Ali in his fights with Cooper when he was knocked down or against Frazier and Foreman. How he managed to hang on at times was the mark of a great champion.

Gordy wrote:Survival instincts are certainly not a myth in boxing. They can be crucial. Look at Ali in his fights with Cooper when he was knocked down or against Frazier and Foreman. How he managed to hang on at times was the mark of a great champion.

er.. against Cooper the Bell rang and he walked back to his corner on jelly legs, against Frazier he got decked but got up at 2 and looked clear eyed and and held on the Frazier with relative ease, likewise against George I don't ever recall him being on queer street. Not really good example of survival instinct, but of having a good chin/powers of recovery. Survival instinct is hard to judge- the better the fighter's chin, the less you ever see it. People critise Hearns' survival instincts, but Leonard 1 aside, he definately learned some- when he was hurt against Kitchener, and Leonard in the rematch he held on like an effing limpet! The arguement of being at your most dangerous when hurt being a form of survival instinct holds water IMO, but as alluded to by others, you need to be a strong puncher to pull it off, and even then it requires a bit of luck. Whoever mentioned flight or fight probably has it right- when the adrenallin is pumping and your brains a bit scrambled, your probably not in fully control of your actions

Dont buy into Khan showing too much heart when he gets hurt. I think he loses all ability fight when hurt. You see any fight on the street and when one guy gets hurt all he does is throw loads of punches.

Each fighter to their own but holding is definitely the best way IMO. I thought Brook did very well in his last fight as he looked in very bad shape at the end but hung on.