Peek-a-boo fighters have traditionally fared poorly in the boxing ring against strong aggressive men. They do very well against the tall movement-oriented stylist or classic boxer working behind his jab. But against some strong-legged man with big hands like Jack Johnson, Sonny Liston and George Foreman, they fail most of the time.
To understand why they fail against select opponents, we must understand why they succeed, which means looking into what they need, from you, their opponent.
The peek-a-boo or “Philly-shell” boxer needs you to throw punches at his head as he “dips” dropping shoulder and/or knee to one side, then putting his upper leg into that punch and driving the weight through you to the other side of the combat space.
Peek-a-boo style fighters are often of thicker thighs and ass, as these muscles are put to good effect here. The narrow-assed fighter tends to use his calf muscle at the expense of the upper leg, relying more on straight punches thrown with a lead foot step or rear foot push. Coming up out of a dip pays big dividends, if you score, and expends a lot of energy if you miss. Even worse, is if you get stuffed, then it’s like getting blood drawn. Here lies the key to beating the peek-a-boo boxer.
Stuffing the Dipping Hooker
Note, the peek-a-boo boxing style, for MMA or self-defense purposes, can be generalized to include most grapplers, particularly those who shoot for the waist.
Theoretically you should bang the body, but that often has you reaching low, so bang the body as a counter, a straight right to the ribs after he misses with that hook, for instance.
Do not advance and lead, but counter and angle off.
Fades [diagonal draw steps] work better than a pure side step against a dipping hooker. [No, this is not a prostitute who chews tobacco. For God’s sake we have enough trouble in this country!]
Touch his dipping shoulder. Check it with your open hand.
Do not push or press with the heel of the hand, but cup his shoulder and surf. The stronger he is compared to you the more mobility you can steal from him here. Glide away, pushing gently off and down with the palm light on your feet. The harder he muscles in the lighter you glide away. I have always called this goon-surfing, and, if you are a stick fighter dealing with big guys in an open rules environment, you need this there too.
If you are stronger and bigger, just push off with your rear foot and sink him into the ground. This will drain the glycogen from his thighs, and you only expended some lower leg effort.
Move off so that the foot under the shoulder he dipped with is between you and his other foot. Then, when he balances out, straightens up, or shifts his weight to the other leg, stick him with the jab.
Don’t get countered with power.
Counter with power.
Jab and then counter his hook with a right hand. It is just as hard, and expends less energy.
None of this works if you have not developed a sound jab.
Angle off and counter.
If he gets close enough to touch the shoulder either stuff him or surf him.
When he comes up out of the dip punish his ass!
When he misses with a hook sink a straight to the body behind his elbow. You can surf and stuff the head as well. If he points his head at you like a billygoat either stress his neck while angling off with your checking hand, or plant his face in the floor.
