Trainers often use such tools, together with repetition, to teach boxers to
defend themselves, “see” openings, and throw punches without thinking.
Such “automatic” punches are all the more dangerous, because they are
seldom telegraphed.
Training partners take turns throwing the heavy leather medicine ball
into each other’s stomachs in order to psychologically prepare themselves
for body blows while developing the arms, legs, endurance, hand-eye co-
ordination, and leverage.
Exercises, or calisthenics, are usually done to conclude training for the
day. Several varieties of sit-ups, crunches, and leg lifts strengthen the stom-
ach muscles and abdomen. Pull-ups, push-ups, and dips develop the arms,
back, latisimus dorsi, and chest. Some fighters also undergo light weight
training and massage.
There has always been a certain amount of curiosity as to how box-
ers would fare against other martial artists in combat (and vice versa). This
accounts for the public “mixed contests” that have been arranged from the
beginning of the modern boxing era to the present. In 1897, in Carson City,
Nevada, the heavyweight challenger (and later champion) Bob Fitzsim-
mons knocked out Ernest Roeber (wrestling) with one punch to the head.
On December 31, 1908, in Paris, France, heavyweight boxer Sam McVey
knocked out Tano Matsuda (jûjutsu) in ten seconds. On January 12, 1928,
in Yokohama, Japan, Packey O’Gatty, a bantamweight boxer, knocked out
Shimakado (jûjutsu) with one punch in less than four seconds. On Septem-
ber 11, 1952, in New Jersey, Marvin Mercer (wrestling) defeated Cuban
heavyweight Omelio Agramonte in five rounds. On July 27, 1957, in
Bangkok, Lao Letrit (Muay Thai) knocked out Filipino boxer Leo Espinosa
in three rounds. Perhaps the most famous of these mixed matches occurred
on June 25, 1976, in Tokyo, when heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali
faced Antonio Inoki (wrestling). The result was a fifteen-round draw, and
both men were seriously injured.
Loren Goodman
See alsoEurope; Masters of Defence; Pankration
References
Anderson, Dave. 1991. In the Corner: Great Boxing Trainers Talk about
Their Art.New York: William Morrow.
Beaumont, Ned. 1997. Championship Streetfighting: Boxing as a Martial
Art.Boulder: Paladin Press.
Collins, Nigel. 1990. Boxing Babylon.New York: Citadel Press.
Dempsey, Jack. 1983. Championship Fighting: Explosive Punching and
Aggressive Defense. Downey, CA: Centerline Press.
Early, Gerald. 1994. The Culture of Bruising: Essays on Prizefighting,
Literature, and Modern American Culture.Hopewell, NJ: Ecco Press.
Fleischer, Nat. 1959. The Ring Record Book and Boxing Encyclopedia.
New York: The Ring Book Shop.
Boxing, European 51