How to use the Philly Shell on the Ropes

Fighting on the ropes is a dangerous place to be, very few fighters are blessed with the ability to be able to sit on the ropes and avoid being hit. When you are faced with a good opponent, if they have someone in front of them defending on the ropes, it is only a matter of time before a punch is landed – you just cannot make a good boxer miss all of his punches or have your guard manipulated in the process.

In this video I take a look at one of the masters of the Philly Shell defence, George Benton, handled opponents when his back was to the ropes. What were the tactics he used to either defend or get himself away from the ropes.

The first method Benton used was the check hook. When nearing the ropes Benton would pivot whilst throwing the left hook to swivel off and away from the ropes.

Secondly Benton would pivot whilst using the shoulder roll. If the opponent threw a right cross, Benton would catch the right hand with his own right hand in a cross blocking/catch position, the hand moving across to the left side of his face. Whilst doing this Benton would pivot so he was almost catching the right cross on his lead shoulder, deflecting the blow as he turned away off the ropes.

Thirdly Benton could smother his opponent when backing up on to the ropes. He could do this off the parry – parry the opponents jab and instead of slipping the next shot, Benton could dip and step in with the smother, creating space for himself away from the ropes. He could even use the ropes to bump off and then use his lead forearm to push the opponent away to further create more space when backed on to the ropes.