Why don't boxers use the cross guard anymore?

[EBK String]

Archie Moore fought until his 50s with it and had over 200 fights and had no brain damage and was still well spoken until his 80's.

Ken Norton beat Ali officially once and arguable won the other fights against him as well, he also gave Holmes hell and arguably beat him. He was one of the most underrated heavyweights of his ear using the cross guard.

George Foreman became the oldest fighter to win the heavyweight title in his 40s using the cross guard. He also has no noticeable brain damage.

Tim Witherspoon only had 15 fights and gave Holmes hell and nearly beat him using the cross guard against him.

 

[patscorpio]

because as michael irvin once so eloquently stated "we are losing recipes"

there's alot...and i do mean ALOT of boxing knowledge that is being lost and not passed down in the gyms

simple answer

 

[EBK String]

because as michael irvin once so eloquently stated "we are losing recipes"

there's alot...and i do mean ALOT of boxing knowledge that is being lost and not passed down in the gyms

simple answer

I been holding my own against much more experienced fighters using it sparring. I've been watching a bunch of old fights picking up all type of game.

 

[patscorpio]

George Foreman became the oldest fighter to win the heavyweight title in his 40s using the cross guard. He also has no noticeable brain damage.

this is why i dont really agree george to wilder in your other thread...george was a student of basic boxing from legendary trainers..his chin was legendary but he still developed a defense behind it..things you cannot associate with wilder

 

[Dallas' 4 Eva]

Boxing is different now than back then. If someone came out today trying to do a cross guard people would call it bad defense and probably shyt on them for it, hell catching punches with your gloves isn't even looked at as good defense anymore, a lot of people will say you should avoid getting hit altogether which is somewhat ridiculous.

 

[Master Teacher]

Boxing is different now than back then. If someone came out today trying to do a cross guard people would call it bad defense and probably shyt on them for it, hell catching punches with your gloves isn't even looked at as good defense anymore, a lot of people will say you should avoid getting hit altogether which is somewhat ridiculous.

People use it all the time in boxing still, Floyd used it all the time, it's an active guard so you have to pick off the shots

This is the exact same thing as this

Boxers are more athletic now, so they keep their hands in position where they can counter punch instead of just blocking, and the black and white picture is standing square not bladed

same guard, it's an active guard, he would go into the shell go into cross guard, high guard, whatever depending on the situation, nobody uses the same guard the entire fight, you have to change guards depending on the situation

Foreman used it this way as well

its used a lot on the inside

People think this is the only cross guard, but he is just standing square not blading his body its the same guard, and this is used to block straight punches, as you can see he is wide open for hooks, so you have to anticipate the punches in order to effective use the guard

Foreman is massive man with massive arms, so he has the physical attributes to use the guard in this fashion because he can cover his entire body with his arms, most people can't do that they have to actively move their arms to deflect the punches

But you can't guard your head and the body at the same time like that

That's why the bladed stance is better, because it gives a smaller target, and you can hide behind the shoulder

in the 52 blocks fighting system they call it skull and bones

 

[Dallas' 4 Eva]

People use it all the time in boxing still, Floyd used it all the time, it's an active guard so you have to pick off the shots

This is the exact same thing as this

Boxers are more athletic now, so they keep their hands in position where they can counter punch instead of just blocking, and the black and white picture is standing square not bladed

same guard, it's an active guard, he would go into the shell go into cross guard, high guard, whatever depending on the situation, nobody uses the same guard the entire fight, you have to change guards depending on the situation

Foreman used it this way as well

its used a lot on the inside

People think this is the only cross guard, but he is just standing square not blading his body its the same guard, and this is used to block straight punches, as you can see he is wide open for hooks, so you have to anticipate the punches in order to effective use the guard

Foreman is massive man with massive arms, so he has the physical attributes to use the guard in this fashion because he can cover his entire body with his arms, most people can't do that they have to actively move their arms to deflect the punches

But you can't guard your head and the body at the same time like that

That's why the bladed stance is better, because it gives a smaller target, and you can hide behind the shoulder

in the 52 blocks fighting system they call it skull and bones

I know it's still used, but it used to be a lot more common. Spence uses a bladed guard a lot. A lot of fighters don't use it anymore is the point I was saying, not compared to the past and it is a very effective defense when done properly.

 

[Master Teacher]

I know it's still used, but it used to be a lot more common. Spence uses a bladed guard a lot. A lot of fighters don't use it anymore is the point I was saying, not compared to the past and it is a very effective defense when done properly.

Fighters really don't fight square anymore, except for mexican fighters and they don't use cross guard

fighters still use the cross card they just do it from a bladed stance instead of a square stance, it looks different because their elbows are diagonal instead of horizontal but its still a cross guard because their arms are across the body, they are just bladed, because they can block with their elbow and catch with their right hand

This is the exact same thing, this is the skull and bones jail house block, or the cross guard, it's not the philly shell, which isn't even a real thing, it's just a bladed stance, and people just called it the philly shell. Bernard Hopkins does not have the same type of defense as mayweather and neither does James Toney

This is the Shell defense Mayweather uses, see his right hand isn't over his left elbow, like in the cross guard

A guard is not a stance, its a guard, you only go into the guard when you are blocking punches, then you go back into your stance

people use the cross guard all the time in boxing today, just not from a square stance they use it from a side stance because it's a superior stand for defense because you only giving them half a target

 

[Yuzo]

how joe frazier used it was he would keep his right arm across his face, sort of like a face bar, and that way he could just march through jabs and if you threw anything other than a jab he would hook with you with the other arm, which he kept on his hip, ready at all times. gene fulmer was the other way around, and as far as i know, the only fighter that kept his left arm across his face and his right arm on his hip. that worked the same way. he would keep that forearm facebar over his face and march through your jab, and, if you tried to throw anything other than a jab, he would let that big sloppy right hand go. that style worked so much better than it should have. it was unscientific, it was crude, it was simple, almost too simple, and it worked. now if you want to use it selectively there are a few reasons why you might want to.

first is if you throw a right hand - and miss - instead of bringing the right hand back up to your head - thats right - you bring it across your face and turn it into a facebar.

that lets you catch a counter right uppercut in the palm of your glove.

or catch it on your forearm.

thats so when you miss right hands you are not falling onto that counter. thats how jaron ennis knocked out jaun carlos abreu.

and you can block a left hook with your shoulder and tricep if you take your head and tuck it into your arm.

heres a little trick. you will see it alot if you watch james toney fight. if you can place your arms over the other guys arms, sort of like a lid, you will seal down his arms and create a clear path to the head because your arms are on top of his arms.

 

[El Coupeacabra]

Big Charlo knocked our JRock with a beautiful cross arm catch and counter

 

[I AM WE ARE]

I teach my son to use it in spurts. Reason being, it throws off your opponent and you can also use it as offense to control the ring

 

[chunky_mcdaniels]

People still use it, particularly off the backfoot or on the ropes.

But you're right, less prolific as a primary, stationary method.