Boxing Tip #18 - Inside Boxing Drill

Sometimes when you're boxing, you want to get inside your opponent's reach and stay there.  It's usually because you're boxing someone a lot taller than you or maybe you just like the close in game.  Whatever your reason, if you're going to fight inside, then you need to practice fighting inside.

Often you don't have someone to spar with that likes you snuggling up close and pounding them in the ribs or launching vicious hooks to their head.  What's a poor guy to do when he can't find someone willing to take a beating?

Luckily, you have ole faithful - your heavybag - hanging there just waiting for some attention.  Here's a quick and easy drill you can do that will help you improve your inside boxing abilities.

The Aim

The aim of this drill is to perform some type of entrance drill to close the distance to the bag and then stay there for the duration of the round.  The key is that you can only stay inside if you're throwing punches.  If you quit punching, you can't stay inside, you have to perform an exit move, get outside, and then wait for an opportunity to come back inside.

To Perform the Drill

Start your round timer, and begin moving around the heavybag.  When you visualize it, cross no man's land, and plant your lead shoulder against the heavybag.  For as long as you are inside, this shoulder has to maintain contact with the bag, unless you are throwing a hook or uppercut with the lead hand.  You should be leaning slightly into the bag as if you are keeping your opponent from pushing you back.  Your hands are up and you are very tight protectively watching for hooks and uppercuts.

Punches you should be concentrating on throwing are:

• short hooks - both left and right
• uppercuts - both left and right
• alternating hooks - left, right, left
• combinations of all of the above both to the body and to the head

If you stop punching and/or visualizing blocking, then move back across no man's land, take a breather, and then find a way to enter again.  Continue this for the duration of the round.

This little piece of boxing history - Mike Tyson vs Trevor Berbick for the heavyweight title - notice how Tyson gets inside and throws tight hooks and uppercuts - especially at the end of round 2 before the knockout.  This is basically what you're trying to achieve.

Do you have any inside boxing drills you do to develop these skills?