“Boxing intelligence” or “boxing IQ” is a phrase popularized by fight commentator Teddy Atlas to describe great fighters’ instinctive, all-around boxing ability. Atlas saw something in Muhammad Ali that other people didn’t see at the time. He knew that this man was instinctively using his jab better than others.
The term is closely related to “ring generalship,” which means the ability to either see a punch coming and avoid it at the last second, countering with a punch, simultaneously; the ability to gauge the strength and timing of an incoming punch and move your head or body out of the way while countering; or an overall feel for the fight and how it’s going which will tell you when a punch is going to be thrown allowing you to move before it lands.
Why Do You Need Boxing IQ?
Mike Tyson once said, “boxing is not a tough man’s sport. It is a smart man’s sport.” Boxing is a sport for intellectuals; this should come as no surprise to anyone who has observed the plethora of chess-like maneuvers and countermoves it takes to score (or prevent) a knockout.
The ability to think several moves ahead and make split-second adjustments while absorbing and delivering punishment is what makes a great prizefighter. And while we would all like to feign the appearance of such mental acuity and “think” we could give Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao a run for their money, the reality is that most people don’t have the smarts, handspeed, conditioning, discipline, or power to compete with the best.
How to Increase Your Ring IQ
Boxing IQ is one of the few ways to measure how good a boxer you are. It is the ability to think fast on your feet and to improvise during a fight. The ability to plan ahead while also responding to the moves of the opponent at the same time. It requires tremendous focus, poise, quick thinking, accuracy, creativity, and instinct. Boxing IQ is described as “The Trainer’s Secret Weapon” because trainers can exploit it to prepare their fighters for each battle. Here are a few ways to improve your boxing IQ:
Train with People Who are Better than You
If you want to be a competitive fighter, you need to join a gym with other competitive fighters who are actually winning fights. It doesn’t matter if they are a little outside of your weight class. The focus here is self-improvement. They will constantly challenge you when you are sparring, and you can pick up a trick or two in the process. Additionally, you will be able to ask them questions about their winning strategies.
Training with people who match or have lower skill than you will give you a false sense of preparedness and mastery, only to get destroyed in the ring. These people will often have very little value to add to your craft, stagnating your growth as a boxer.
It is also important to practice what you learn from the elite boxers and ask them if you’re doing it correctly. You should also try and not be quick to take offense when they correct you.
Watch Boxing Films and Footage.
Even for people who don’t aspire to become boxers, boxing is a beautiful sport to watch. There are thousands of boxing matches every year around the globe, and most of them are aired on a sports channel. There are even sports channels dedicated to boxing.
Additionally, thanks to modern streaming services, we now have access to almost every historical fight. That means you can watch Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier III, Arturo Gatti vs. Micky Ward, and other legendary fights that we might have never had the chance to witness.
You can learn numerous new skills from these recent and historical fights by observing how the winners use ring IQ to avoid strikes and counterattack. You can also note some of the mistakes that can cost you a fight.
You can also watch tips from trainers and other boxing creators on Youtube. Basically, watch any film that can add value to your boxing skills. It is also important to note that boxing movies do not fall under this category, even ones based on true stories. They are almost always fictionalized with impossible moves and illogical fight decisions.
Avoid Biased Opinions
One thing you should avoid, though, is exclusively watching your favorite fighter. This is because when you are watching someone who really interests you fight, you tend to focus on them and miss the exchanges between them and their opponent. Similarly, you should avoid watching fighters you dislike for other reasons. This will prevent you from observing their actions keenly and picking something valuable from them.
So, the lesson here is to keep an open mind about boxing and avoid biased opinions. Don’t develop too much admiration or hate for a boxer you’d like to learn from.
Strategic Shadowboxing
Any boxer will tell you that shadowboxing is as important as any other training activity you do as a boxer. However, just randomly throwing punches and kicks into the air will not increase your boxing skill. It might be good for your cardio, maybe even for your speed and endurance, but that’s it.
The best way to do it is by imagining you’re fighting an opponent, preferably stronger than you. After watching enough boxing films, as advised above, you will not find it hard to simulate an opponent in your mind and shadowbox with them. This ensures that you are not only practicing your strike moves but your ducking, blocking, and counterattack, which are more important than striking.
Incorporating this into your training routine will significantly increase your boxing IQ because you will always be anticipating your opponent’s next move.
Learn How to Beat Yourself
Before you learn how to beat your opponents in the ring, you need to face your fiercest opponent, yourself. You need to learn your weaknesses and mistakes and focus on them to become a holistic fighter.
One of the best ways to do this is by recording a video of yourself sparring and studying it. Imagine that the person in the video is a different fighter and observe the mistakes that he is making. You can also imagine what you would do if you were to fight the person in the video, watch their weak points, etc.
With this information, you will be able to see your weakest areas and work on them. You can also know how your opponent sees you in a fight, which helps with anticipating their moves. Keep recording more videos as you improve and find new ways of improving the new version.
Handicap Yourself When Sparring
Here you need to set some level of challenge for yourself, especially when you’re sparring with an equal or less skilled opponent. For example, you can decide to limit yourself to five jabs in one sparring round. Once they are over, you cannot attack, and you’ll have to focus on your defense and counterattack.
This is very important because it helps you learn to strike only at the most opportune moments and improves your defense skills. You are also able to practice what to do when the opponent realizes you are shying off from attacks.
Learning How to Use the Ring
All great fighters know how to use the ring to their advantage. The standard boxing ring is only 15 to 20 feet on each side, and learning how to maximize that space could be the difference between winning and losing a fight.
Good defensive fighters are constantly circling the ring, making it hard for their opponent to place a clear hard hit on them while avoiding being cornered, which is one of the costliest mistakes you can make in a fight.
When sparring with a stronger opponent, try to circle the ring and learn how to use its width to avoid their attacks and tire them out.
Move-in Angles
Angles are an essential position in boxing. As any coach will tell you, you should keep off the center-line. If a boxer wants to win a marathon, they must learn how to run at angles. If a boxer is always coming straight at the opponent, they are much easier to hit and will be exhausted from running from side to side all through the fight. When you move in angles, you can accomplish three things: escape from punches, get closer to your opponent, and tire them out.
Study Other Things Outside Boxing
To maximize your boxing IQ, you need to surround yourself with information on other subjects outside boxing. For example, you can read books on philosophy, war, martial arts, etc. While this information might seem inconsequential to your boxing skills, it helps you with strategy, learning about your opponents, and basically training your mind.
In Conclusion
Boxing is not just an art but a science as well. So to start winning in the ring, you will need to start winning in your mind and improve your boxing IQ.