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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book from a great fighter, November 11, 2005
This review is from: Box Like the Pros (Paperback)
This book is the best I have read on the subject of boxing training. I have been boxing for around 3 years and love it. This book is a practical primer geared more towards the beginner. But some of the intermediate to expierenced practioners can learn a thing or twelve from Smokin' Joe. He breaks down all the basics from punching, to sparring. Equiptment and training are all covered. He devotes a whole chapter to what training the fighters go through to stay fighting fit. He also tells how to wrap hands, how to eat well, and tells of the necessity of roadwork. It was writen by a legend and is nothing short of a modern classic. This thing will be worth a lot more than you paid for when you get to the gym or the ring. I'm sure it will also make a great collectors item in the future for any boxing historian.
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12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Misleading title in a book that lacks many fundamentals, January 15, 2006
This review is from: Box Like the Pros (Paperback)
The book's main title is misleading. The book will not cover how to "Box Like the Pros". It won't even help much if you are trying to fight in the amateurs. It's really geared towards someone who has never stepped into a boxing gym before, and is now thinking about fighting. The title should have reflected this to avoid confusing buyers.
Now, for the actual book itself, MANY fundamentals of boxing are not covered. For example, it doesn't discuss taking the inside position so that the other fighter is forced to fight on his weak side. It doesn't discuss feinting. It doesn't discuss pivoting. What it does discuss are the most fundamental of fundamentals. How to wrap properly. How to jab, cross, hook, and uppercut. (But no discussion of variations on this, like a shovel hook, jolt jab, etc.) How to keep your chin down, eyes on opponent, etc.
What's missing entirely are a list of drills for the beginner to work on when he/she gets into the gym. This is important because even if there is a good ratio of gym trainers to boxers, Joe should know that MOST GYM TRAINERS DON'T BOTHER WITH PEOPLE THEY DON'T THINK WILL FIGHT. In other words, even if there's one trainer for every five people, an abnormally high trainer to fighter ratio, that one trainer will spend fifty minutes with the most prospective young man/woman, and ten minutes with the other four. Like it or not, that's the name of the game, getting good fighters in and training them. Since most people do not have the talent of a good boxer, the trainers simply won't bother wasting their time that could be spent on a more promising fighter.
The same thing can be said of his training regime. It consists of a few simple calisthenics. He says almost nothing about diet, (Joe does make it all sound so simple that you're going to wonder at the end why everyone isn't a champion fighter), and just glosses over a lot of subjects.
In short, if you want a book that will give you a quick summary on a few vital subjects, this is your book. It does have a listing for various gyms in each state, which is nice for the novice boxer. However much my hat may be to Joe and his vicious body shots, this book is simply not up to the same standards he set in the ring. I would recommend Doug Werner's books for a much more in-depth and analytical look at proper boxing.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Solid book by Frazier, July 13, 2008
This review is from: Box Like the Pros (Paperback)
I'm an admitted fan of Joe Frazier, so I'll preface this review with the warning that I'm a bit biased. However, I thought the book was really good. The intro was done by Frazier, on how boxing has affected his life. The begginning of the book goes into the history of boxing, from as far back as Egypt and Greece. The post-Queensberry history gets the bulk of the attention, of course. The book then moves on to the rules of the ring, including amature and pro rules and weight classes. After that is a small chapter on running, conditioning, and diet, and another small chapter on finding the right gym, a fighter's gym. After that is a chapter that covers equipment rather extensively, and finally we start getting into actual boxing technique. Stance, offense, and defense are each given their own chapters, and herein we find things like combinations and counterpunching. Next we get into an actual boxers workout, and then get a chapter on sparring. The last two chapters are on boxing styles (ring generalship) and advice from Frazier on what ones first fight will be like. There's also an appendix on where to find boxing gyms in the US.
The book had a good tone to it, although I suspect much of it was ghost-written. Still, you could almost hear Frazier's voice as he's giving you advice on how to train, how to throw a punch, why he doesn't believe in weights, and so on. On the down side, some things weren't given much detail. I felt the diet and excercise part were somewhat rushed, and I was currious about how the medicine ball was used as a target, which never got really explained. I also felt there wasn't nearly enough info on combinations. On the other hand, maybe this allows for some freedom when creating one's own routine.
Will this book teach you how to "box like the pros"? Doubtful, but it imparts some advice that the pros already know. It's a very thorough introduction into the basics of boxing, and every now and then you get a piece of advice from a man who has been at the top of the sport that you probably wouldn't get anywhere else.
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