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Pocket Boxing is an incredibly useful part of any fighters game, from a clincher to a wrestler to a straight boxer, the pocket has valuable avenues for all.
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The main key to success for a pocket boxer is how they enter, how they position themselves, and how they exit. The positioning determines the outcome of a pocket exchange.
Watch how Max moves, taking new angles and positions, keeping tight to the shoulder of Ortega to use his physicality to move him into his shots and tracking his head with his jab. Ortega stays back on the backfoot, so he can’t pivot and accepts it. He lost the position battle.
This shows how necessary good positioning is and how you can’t place yourself on your back foot if you want to be good defensively positioned well in the pocket. Max shows the importance of placing yourself in good angles for your shots and how to use your physicality.
DP goes 2-3 to obstruct Gaethje’s vision, takes a slight angle, goes rear uppercut, hook, takes another stance switch angle, and goes 2. Then evades the hook of Gaethje with a weave and counters. Note how DP is always balanced, taking new angles and obstructing Gaethje’s vision
A good pocket boxer always takes new angles and positions themselves in a way to a) exit easier b)!create flowing combos based on manipulating the opponent. Watch how Poirier took away Gaethje’s vision in order to take the new angle. A win in position = won exchange.
Watch how Shabily (red) slips Vart’s jab with an uppercut, giving him superior positioning. Out of the tie up, Vart realizes he has inferior position, so he switches stance to land a big jab. Positioning and angles in everything within the pocket.
Being defensively aware is key too. Both are great in the pocket here. Yan comes in with a jab into rear uppercut, prompting a pre-emptive weave to counter JR’s possible hook, but JE doesn’t throw and weaves also underneath Yan’s own hook. Both are incredibly defensively aware
Being pre-emptive when in the pocket and entering is key. Both showed the ability to do that here, and both came away unscathed because of it. Gaethje will preemptively weave into the pocket to be aware defensively before he starts throwing offensively or to enters the clinch
Yan folds over his lead hip to disguise his entry into the pocket (Volk does this well too). Rivera slips, lands the overhand, smothering Yan’s attempt at gaining a dominant angle. Instead of taking a bad angle, Rivera ties up, rips uppercuts, smothering Yan’s hooks, and exits.
Watch how Mendes is defensively responsible to deflect Jose’s good entry and then countering his exit.
You don’t have to strictly use a guard or a weave in the pocket to defend responsibly either. Watch how Aldo moves his head to counter Mendes.
Good pocket boxers are defensively aware enough to recognize when they’re vulnerable, like when Yan is trying to take a dominant angle, and JR take steps to stop it, whether through pivoting (seen in Aldo) or through tieups (Gaethje/Rivera/Yan).
Watch how a good pocket boxer manipulates a guard. Poirier pulls Gaethje’s lead guard hand down, letting him land the hook, then pivots to take a new angle while pushing on Gaethje’s guard, stopping any counter and limiting the exchange. Manipulating entries is key!
Watch how Mads enters, feinting a takedown to get Aimable to reach, so he can come over the top with a hook. Aimable keeps reaching, loses his stance completely, and abandons any balance. This means Mads can freely punch as Aimable gave the superior pocket position to him.
All good pocket work stems from a few things, positioning, manipulating your entry, and defending responsibly.
Thanks for reading!
Thanks for reading!
