Oliver is a fellow I have known for over a decade and have been training for –wow—five years, I think. He has been respectful of my writing time and has only been seeking two sessions with me a week and getting in the bulk of his work at Loch Raven and at the Baltimore Boxing Club. The session below was at Loch Raven, where Alex has recently taken over for Mister Frank.

When Oliver and I get together I check his deficiencies and try and improve or introduce one tool in his kit. This has generally been my role as a boxing coach. If I’m not coaching a beginner on fundamentals I’m working as a technical advisor for a fighter who is essentially self-coaching or whose coach has referred him to me for that purpose. I’m really not cut out to manage a fighter, can’t yell, suck at taping hands and am not connected.

The following is my critique for Oliver [the short man] and his sparring partner. Oliver has a background in judo and Jujitsu and his partner is a wrestler which explains the head dropping into the pocket.

I will make minimal comments for each video separately. These will not entail all that could be addressed, but constitute what I see as the most important observations for each fighter for each video.

The first video is a jab drill so will be where numerous basic points are addressed. The sparring videos will be more focused, but there is so much to track in a boxing session, I’m likely to get carried away.

Tall: Try throwing that jab while moving to the right against that low lead. Punish his short ass for standing in front of you like that by throwing up to six jabs. You have pulled your head back some since your last session and it looks better. Be careful not to let your head drift forward of your lead foot, or of the knee when bending it.

At 1:17 you finish with a jab to the body for a second time. Always take a cleanup jab or other punch upstairs after jabbing to the body. Finishing with a lead to the body will get you KO’d The way you are throwing it downward as a corkscrew into the wind is perfect. Do not bring the hand all the way back. Just pull it out of his rum keg and as soon as the thumb of the glove is upward from the turning of your hand drive it up into his chin or nose.

Short: You are still pulling your head back over your rear hip instead of cutting in. Go to that rear hip with a clean up punch, not just with defensive head movement. Set up the counter.

At 2:04 you take three steps back! Fade or cut by the third step at the latest, preferably the first, realistically the second.

Oh, yeah, I’m sorry, I got really enthralled with watching this toner dry and missed half the round. Oliver, you need to put more pressure on in jab drills. It is a safe format so go 100% on movement—hunt.

Your rear hand parrys are good but are making you lazy. You are supposed to use that rear hand parry to get in, and eventually use it to stop punches that are being loaded. It’s a good sound tool so take it on the offense.

Tall: In two handed sparring you begin dropping your head in over your knee. At this point that is all you need to work on until you fix it.

Your use of the uppercut against the ropes around 2:20 was excellent. Learn how to do this without dropping your head into the pocket. It will be great for straightening up runts like this.

Short: At about a minute you are all over his neck with your forearms and shoving his head down. Forget amateur boxing. You’ll get disqualified. I liked it though.

That rear hand jab that you use around 1:25 would work better if you were moving to the left. Since you use a low lead you will have to do this after he throws his right.

I hope laying in the corner was for him. That Chinese Zumba instructor isn’t back in town, is she?

Tall: Make that midget come after you and hit him on the way in.

Short: Go after him more, lighten up with the rear hand, and use some jab combinations. More side-to-side cuts, less waiting. The best counter punchers use movement to draw shots not time.

Tall: You are doing a good job with your balance at range and your jab to the solar plexus with the bent knee is sweet. Build on that and then go to the side and beat him up from there instead of leading straight in. Add a rising jab to your arsenal to work jab combos at Range, just like that jab he popped you with at the end. When you get back on the bag practice doing an entire round without letting the bag hit your shoulders or head [the heavy bag] but staying within range to hit the bag at all times. Your main priority is developing punch combinations at mid-range. Right now your are throwing long and short and he is sniping you at mid-range. If you don’t give him close range action he will have to enter and you can snipe him at mid-range.

Short: At about 11 seconds in you feint the lead right and move nicely but neglect the jab instead of throwing it like you did seconds earlier. Instead of sometimes throwing and sometimes placing a single jab, when you feint with that thing make it 1, 2 or 3 jabs, then, eventually one of those lead rights won’t be a feint and you’ll just slide it in because he has grown to fear the jab. The wing block, catch and turn sequence at about 15 was excellent. That is what I want to see. But your feet are really working well under you so I expect you’re about to throw too hard and cut this round short.

Call me psychic, but the 1:41 round-length gave me a clue.

Learn how to spar easier with more movement.

That was sparring, two guys working together.