James,

I recently discovered this guy on you tube and his fight breakdowns for MMA are spot on. Linked below are his breakdowns of Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran. From a boxing perspective how is he? Should I start to incorporate his insight so I imitate Hearns fighting style? Thanks.

-Sean

I have a very high opinion of this analyst's work.

Sean, you should use Duran's continuity of motion in stick-fighting—the elbows—and, since you have stronger legs and hips than Hearns, and are interested in MMA, combine their styles in such a way as to fit your body type. The analysis between 44-56, about Duran circling his hands instead of pumping them back, is economy of motion and chaining hand position, very similar to using blind spots in staging strikes around and under shields in gladiatorial combat. Duran did this savagely with Davey Moore.

When we first started working together I told you to look up some Hearns videos. The problem with that is you probably saw what Hagler did to him and said, "That went well?" I like the idea of you adopting his choppier right hand and the lazy jab. We will work on these two together the next time we meet. In the mean time loosen your shoulders as much as you can and try and keep your elbows against your ribs whenever possible to facilitate force transfer from your legs and hips. For a boxer, your bottom half is over developed, so we need to increase the efficiency of your upward force shift. Close elbows and loose shoulders will help you achieve aspects of both of these boxing styles, keeping in mind that you have a hybrid body type.

Fighting Smart: Boxing, Agonistics & Survival