Manny Steward on the uppercut

[Supremo]

I read a quote from Jonathon Banks somewhere recently where he said that Manny Steward would always tell tall fighters never to throw an uppercut on the back foot and they should only throw it when going forward- why?

Manny steward has obviously forgotten more about boxing than I've ever known but as an ex tall fighter I used to have relative success by throwing a right upper when a shorter fighter was on the way in. Never noticed that I ever got caught with anything in return either. Any ideas why he thought it was such a bad idea? I don't think Wlad only throws it on the offensive either- maybe Banks is talking pish or been misquoted...

[davie]

Possibly the difficulty in generating real power into it going backwards?

I can't see it being a move that would leave a fighter particularly open to counter or vulnerable. The punch is likely to back your opponents up, whether it lands or they avoid it and with you moving backwards, you'll generally be well out of range being the taller fighter and presumably have the longer reach.

I can only think that it just wouldn't be very effective in it's own right as a punch and probably wont lead to any combinations or follow up opportunities if it does land.

That's all I've got on that.

[handsofstone]

I love seeing fighters land the uppercut whilst taking a half step backwards as their foe is lunging in

[littlepug]

suppose your leaving yourself defenceless on your punching hand side as you can only lean back so far

[davie]

Actually (and I can't test this, as I'm lying in bed and not getting up to dance about my room shadow boxing to make a point) but might it have more to do with your foot position as you move away.
I'm trying to visualise backing away from an opponent and throwing the back hand in particular as an uppercut, your going to have to turn into it to generate anything, squaring up which might leave you a tad unbalanced and easy to knock over.

I think it might depend which weight you have your foot on at the time.

Is anyone in a more appropriate position to be throwing test uppercuts than I am, as I'm genuinely intrigued as to whether I might be on to something here.

[Stuarty]

Could maybe leave you a bit square on and open if it didn't connect. Crawford (tall for lightweight) finished the Gamboa (small at weight) fight on the back foot with a kind of hook come uppercut. Great finish to a cracking fight.

[davie]

Could maybe leave you a bit square on and open if it didn't connect. Crawford (tall for lightweight) finished the Gamboa (small at weight) fight on the back foot with a kind of hook come uppercut. Great finish to a cracking fight.

Have you tested that theory?
I want someone to put down the phone, get off the couch and try this out for me.

[Stuarty]

Could maybe leave you a bit square on and open if it didn't connect. Crawford (tall for lightweight) finished the Gamboa (small at weight) fight on the back foot with a kind of hook come uppercut. Great finish to a cracking fight.

Have you tested that theory?
I want someone to put down the phone, get off the couch and try this out for me.

Can't remember to be honest. I only boxed amatuer til I was 19. Never coached. Just thinking out loud.

[Counter-puncher]

I guess its a bit of a shit or bust thing

If you throw the uppercut while backing up against an onrushing opponent and land it clean, it'll have a good effect

If you miss you're in a bad position potentially, depending on how much weight you tried to throw into it you could be offbalance and the split second where your hand is low is also an obvious potential chink in your armour

I hardly ever throw uppercuts, and almost never when orthodox, theres the odd occasion ill use it from the southpaw stance because the angle os very inviting

Pretty sure Ali got clattered by more than one Frazier left hook when he missed an uppercut off the back foot

[Supremo]

Could maybe leave you a bit square on and open if it didn't connect. Crawford (tall for lightweight) finished the Gamboa (small at weight) fight on the back foot with a kind of hook come uppercut. Great finish to a cracking fight.

Sounds like the most plausible explanation but I don't think it's that drastic a rule the you should "never" do it. Throw a lazy jab to draw them in, fire in an uppercut and follow it off with a left hook and Then spin off of grab would be my approach.

[Supremo]

Good discussing and some decent points from the posters on this thread

[ElJefe]

First thing that sprung to mind when I read this was Frazier's knockdown vs Ali. Frazier's left hook landed first as Ali threw a right uppercut while backing off.

EDIT: Just seen that counter-puncher beat me to the Frazier/Ali reference.

[Counter-puncher]

First thing that sprung to mind when I read this was Frazier's knockdown vs Ali. Frazier's left hook landed first as Ali threw a right uppercut while backing off.

EDIT: Just seen that counter-puncher beat me to the Frazier/Ali reference.

Great minds, my friend

[Counter-puncher]

I am positive Ali took at least a couple of left hooks off his uppercut in the third fight too

[littlepug]

Douglas v holyfield a good example ?

[handsofstone]

Froch's right uppercut on Magee was a beaut too

[keirw]

It may be because of the way you have to dip your shoulder into it to generate power, it can leave your chin exposed.

If throwing while your weight is on your front foot you have a better chance of moving backwards to avoid counters than if you were to throw it while your weight is on the backfoot, as this would leave you little room for manoeuvre.

I'm far from an expert on the matter, though.

And I'm not going to test it because if I started shadow boxing in the middle of the yard my gaffer would look to have me sectioned.

[orbtastic]

I remember him hooking up with Lewis after the McCall debacle, the first thing he wanted him to do was be lighter on his feet which was both a mental and physical thing. So he made him wear white boots and shorts...

They specifically got in Justin Fortune because he was small and Manny wanted him to try the uppercut more, but only when the other guy was moving forward onto it. He would keep it in his armoury but largely saved it for smaller guys - He threw a hell of a lot against Tyson, particularly when he was moving forward onto it and being predictable with no head movement. I remember some uppercut bombs against Vitali so it wasn't necessarily reserved for smaller guys.

[Coco]

Meeting a fighter coming in with an uppercut or taking a half step back is different to doing it when you are back peddling

[Supremo]

Meeting a fighter coming in with an uppercut or taking a half step back is different to doing it when you are back peddling

True, think this is more what Banks was probably talking about.