Turning an opponent, spinning an opponent are great skills to possess in boxing, even better though is to add a punch to the end of the turning or spinning. This is because by turning your opponent you have moved them to a position of weakness whilst you are in a position of strength. They say in boxing it is not the punch which is the hardest which hurts you, but the punch you don’t see coming. By turning your opponent, you are putting them into a position you can see them, but they will momentarily lose sight of you, this makes it a great time for you to get your punches in. I like to call this the spin and shoot and legends such as Willie Pep were especially great at using the spin and shoot move.

The video below explains how to perform the move, there is more than one way to perform the spin and shoot. You can roll under your opponents punch and get your head under their shoulder and use your head to turn them around and then throw your punches, or you can tuck your chin near to your opponents lead shoulder when fighting on the inside, use your rear hand around the opponents waist to spin them around, quickly followed by your punches.

Mike McCallum is the other fighter shown in the video clip, McCallum was known for his technical genius and learnt under one of the greatest boxing coaches in history – Eddie Futch. The spin and shoot is not a beginner skill, turning your opponent and then following up with a punch combination is an advanced skill and should be practiced thoroughly in sparring and drill work before you try to attempt this in a competitive fight. Learning this skill though will undoubtedly make you a much more trickier fighter to come up against. There is also a third way to turn or spin your opponent and that is when they are leaning on you, trying to wear you down with their weight, in this instance simply pull on their elbow with your back hand and this will turn them around, don’t pull too hard as you want them to remain in range for your follow up punches.