It is always worthwhile having the right boxing tactics for dealing with an opponent who is stronger than you. This boxing tips video will show you exactly how to be successful against strength.
The physical strength of a boxer is often a key factor in a boxing match. However, it is not something that should always govern the outcome.
Physical strength does not necessarily equal punching power, so do not confuse the two things.
Often the thinnest and most wiry of opponents carry the most crunching power.
Physical strength is about being able to push an opponent back, often literally pushing them back.
Here is the video and then afterwards I summarise the 3 boxing tactics that give you the greatest chance of a positive outcome.
The 3 Boxing Tactics to Defeat Strength
- Leave your ego outside the ring. Boxing is not a match of strength, great boxing skill will more often than not lead to success above any other factor. If the opponent looks physically powerful then it is likely that they are. Test the strength in the opening exchanges then be prepared to apply tactics accordingly.
- Be willing to give up ground, but always exact a price. Control your range, be prepared to push away from the opponent but do so whilst throwing punches. Don’t sacrifice ground without landing your shots on the way out.
- Don’t become involved in a wrestling match at close range. Trying to overpower a stronger opponent by wrestling them at close just doesn’t make sense. If the opponent seeks to lean on you or push you back, give the ground in short pushes. Use short range uppercuts and short range hooks and mix it up with pivots to deflect their line of attack.
The interesting thing about stronger opponents is that once they tire their strength can ebb away at an alarming rate. These boxing tactics will help you confuse and tire the stronger opponent.
Comments and questions below 🙂
Cheers
Fran
by 
Thanks for the great advice. My son and I are new to boxing and there is a very large young man who has a little trouble controlling his power. Sparring with him is not enjoyable. We will try to use your advice . This came at just the right time.
Thanks a bunch from Oregon USA
Hi Troy
Yes, can be a problem those type of spars. I hope that your son finds ways of dealing with his sparring opponent, I’m sure he will, kids can adapt really well under such circumstances👍
Have you sent this link to Eubank Jnr? He looks like a welterweight. As always, great stuff. Thanks
Haha. Didn’t do too well did he Phil. Not at all surprised, just not as skilled nor big punching as he thinks he is. Will always come up short against decent opposition.
This is one of my favorite tactics that you have shared, and one that I have made a point of incorporating into my own long-range fighting strategy (specifically, tactic #2).
I like to think that, more generally than forcing your opponent to pay a cost for trying to take your ground, s/he should never feel comfortable standing in range and directly in front of you. No matter your size or strength, that is a dangerous place for an opponent to stand for too long, and it is our job as boxers to make them pay for it if they do!
Thanks again, Fran.
~ Isaiah
Thanks Isaiah – that comment is an excellent way of putting the ‘need’ into words. Great stuff!
Really great and practical practical advice. Thanks you Fran for putting up such helpful tools. It’s amazing how many coaches I have come across who encourage wrestling and coming forward as advice when dealing with a stronger opponent.
Lastly, On average, in terms of DNA sequence all humans are 99.5% similar to any other human. @alex kid – you are entitled to your own opinion. It’s fine, but your painting with a broad brush that is in conflict with all modern data.
Thanks Jon
Strength really does ebb away, so once these tactics take effect on the opponent then pushing the ‘stronger’ guy back becomes much more viable. Thanks again mate.
Thanks once again, Fran. Your advice to “accept it” is just gold. The ego can easily get in the way and stop us working to our strengths. I’ll be more mindful of these tips in sparring.
No worries Jason, thank you for the comment and thanks for having the trust in my advice 🙂
Hey, it’s nice to see your videos still appearing every so often. I downloaded some old (19th Century) boxing manuals describing how Victorian prize-fighters were actually permitted to use wrestling throws, depending on which rules they fought under. I used to do alot of Judo, so this interested me. Their throws resembled Judo throws, and it seems they used them after going into a clinch, unlike modern MMA people who rely on “shooting” in. But I guess it became too dangerous after boxing gloves were introduced, because they couldn’t hold onto their opponent and control his fall. In Judo, the thick jacket enables you to enusure your opponent lands cleanly on his back, to score a point. It’s part of Jigoro Kano’s safety precautions, like the Judo mat. If you’re not fighting a Samurai battle, you don’t actually want to break his neck.
Thanks Frank
I was discussing this very point with a work colleague a little while ago – an experienced Judo player. I think that generally the crowds preferred the exchange of punches rather than the wrestling type throws that used to be part of the sport all them years ago. It was more exciting to them and without being too blunt it satisfied the blood lust – the promoters back then I’m sure were not particularly bothered about the well-being of the combatants, their pockets need to be lined 🙂
Thank you for your continued engagement Frank, I really appreciate it.
Did you know white men are stronger than black men in weightlifting wrestling etc ?
Black or west African men tend to hit harder though.
If you are strong or white you might want to consider a sport that is bias towards your genetics not against your genes.
Boxing is bias towards black genes, (although whites do really well despite this) If Mike Tyson had been trained in wrestling from a young age he would have got totally dominated by white people in the different sport.
Is there any real advantage to even being physically strong in boxing?
With respect, you’ve made some ridiculously sweeping generalisations with this comment. I’d really like to know what source material you’ve referenced to support your arguments. It sounds very 1936 Berlin Olympics.
David they are not ridiculous, you are.
Clearly the hardest punchers in boxing are black or mixed with black – Earnie Shavers, George Foreman, Julian Jackson Hearns
Clearly the best boxers of all time are black or mixed with black – Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roy Jones Jr, Lennox Lewis, Holmes, etc
Sure some white guys hit hard like Marciano or Cooney, some white guys are all time greats like Vitali but the best of the best are nearly always black.
In weightlifting and wrestling the best of the best are nearly 100% white or at least Caucasian
You really think genetics doesnt play a part? You really think in our PC world we are now more accurate in the way we speak than way back in 1936?
Alex
I am no scientist, and I wouldn’t disagree with the list of big hitters that you quote. However, I could offer a view that the reason that black people have reach such heights in the sport of boxing is that more black people have been involved in the sport from the mid part of the 20th century onward. The reason could be socioeconomic i.e. black people tended to have come from poorer backgrounds and boxing provided the route out of poverty – poverty is a great motivator.
I’m not sure also how we would class those from the Latin-American community – there have been some staggeringly hard punchers come from that background – Arguello, Duran, Gomez, Sanchez…the list goes on.
My view is that the genetic differences are purely in relation to skin pigmentation, but as I say, I am no anthropologist or social scientist.
Does strength matter in boxing? Absolutely. The 5 S’s – Skill, Speed, Strength, Stamina, Suppleness. All are important, the ‘skill’ one is the one that leads to big punching in my opinion.
Quite a difficult area of discussion because quite honestly I don’t feel qualified to go into any great depth.
Cheers Alex
There are certain traits west African black people have that whites do not and vice versa, on average longer reach (arms and legs are longer), on average shorter torsos, on average they are more likely to be explosive, on average they are likely to have bigger stronger glutes or hips, so this argument that we are more different between individuals than race genetically while true is VERY misleading. You simply dont see white people walking around with 50lbs of glute muscle, it just doesn’t happen, there’s no white boxer that has a bum as large as Earnie Shavers and no butterbean doesn’t count.
The socioeconomic factor is not something I considered on the same level as you Fran, I always thought that because black people have far less numbers than white people that they were doing disproportionately well due to genetics, but that may not be true it depends how many white or black or mexican etc actually take up the sport of boxing and are motivated when they do so, not the population percentages. Thanks for the update.
Cheers Fran. 🙂