Henry Armstrong vs Barney Ross
Henry Armstrong was one of the fighters I wrote about in my book Forgotten Legends of the Ring. When you look at his career and his achievements it is astonishing that more people in the sport of boxing do not know much about Armstrong.
Armstrong achieved feats which will never be matched again – a world champion at Featherweight, Lightweight and Welterweight all at the same time! 181 fights and possibly the greatest pressure fighter of all time, when you rank boxers by the best ever, I personally would rank Armstrong at no.2, well it is between him and Muhammad Ali sitting behind Sugar Ray Robinson.
When Henry Armstrong became Welterweight Champion in 1938 by dethroning another future hall of fame fighter in Barney Ross, the fight film shows us three skills you can easily add to your game by watching Armstrong on show against Ross.
- The Leaping Left Hook
This punch is probably more synonymous with the likes of Mike Tyson or Joe Frazier but Armstrong also employed it to good effect in his fight with Barney Ross. Armstrong, who was only 5’5 would stalk his opponent and often lead with the leaping left hook. By leaping in with the hook he could close the distance and also it would act as an almost surprise move for the opponent as you tend to expect the jab first not a left hook and one from distance too. This worked well for Armstrong because of two reason, one was his natural style of moving his head and rolling on the way in so he was setting himself up with the momentum. Secondly because of his shorter height, the rolling and leaping came from a lower starting point which can be difficult for taller opponents to fully see when it is coming.
2. The Push and Shoot
Something I have made a video on in the past, with Henry Armstrong’s marauding style of fighting, constantly on your chest and throwing punch after punch, the push and shoot was an excellent move to employ. Armstrong would get in close and then use his lead shoulder to shove you backwards, by shoving you backwards he had created just enough space to follow through with a power shot behind it and begin his usual barrage of punches on you before again getting in close to you and work on wearing you down under his constant pressure.
3. The Left Hook Feint
I’ve touched upon Henry Armstrong’s left hook in the first point above, what Armstrong could also do is by throwing numerous left hooks or leaping left hooks – which could become predictable, Armstrong would slip in the left hook feint by getting into position to throw a left hook. The opponent would think a left hook is coming but instead Armstrong would simply catch you out with the overhand right delivered from the same position as he would use to throw the leaping left hook. Feints are great to set traps, gauging an opponents reaction and preventing yourself from becoming predictable.
Watch the video below to see all of this in action.