Perhaps you have heard of something called fighting on the outside or fighting from a long distance. However, this does not exist.
What will indeed happen if you try to fight from at a long-range or go backward is that you will run out of space and get beaten up along the ropes in the ring. Even if stepping back can effectively help you avoid punches, it won’t end the fight or make you an immediate winner. You still have to fight your opponent.
In fact, if you step back, your opponent will move towards you, and if you step back again, he will continue to move until you are at the ropes with no way out.
How can you get away from your opponent effectively?
The only way you can get away from an opponent without having to back up until you are cornered at the ropes is by implementing faster footwork and doing lateral movements.
Nonetheless, Expert Boxing says that doing faster footwork does not work, since it relies on many things you can’t control, such as a slow opponent, your endurance, and other details. However, moving laterally can be beneficial if you want to get away from your opponent.
When we say moving laterally, we mean circling around him. This way, you will always have enough space to move around without someone chasing you.
Why should you circle around your opponent rather than try fighting on the outside?
As we just said, lateral movements ensure that you will never run out of space, no matter the direction you decide to go to. You can even go backward if it is absolutely necessary. Additionally, by moving laterally, you will stay in punching range and punch back counter punches.
Another reason to circle around your opponent instead of going backward is that you can hit your opponent with a jab this way. Also, targets that move laterally are harder to hit. Expert Boxing describes it as “the hand you move away from will be out of reach (…) and the hand that you move towards will be out of angle”. When you move sideways, your opponent will feel that you are taller, farther, more elusive, and more threatening with long point-scoring punches. If you circle your opponent more forwards, he can feel that you are closer, ducking under his punches, and more aggressive and trickier. Overall, more threatening.
One way to move sideways effectively in boxing rather than fighting on the outside is to turn your body entirely sideways and take backsteps. It is like jogging backward while going around your opponent.
Practice the 2-direction switch
There are two different kinds of 2-direction switches: right-left or left-right and right-right or left-left. In the first case, you should use it to escape your opponent. If you throw a right first, you can escape towards your left, and vice versa. In the second case, if you want to escape towards your left, you can go left first and then left again. Your opponent will probably not think that you would repeat the left.
In conclusion, can fighting on the outside really work?
Some expert boxers believe that fighting on the outside means to keep moving in the ring, either forward or sideways. Also, practice the tips we gave you in this post while shadowboxing, or when you are training with the heavy bag, Your goal should be to avoid taking steps backward, and you need to train your body and mind not to react like this automatically.
What do you think about fighting on the outside? Do you usually escape backward from your opponent, or do you move sideways? Tell us in the comments!
