Breaking Rhythm

Marcos Maidana was one of my favourite boxers when he was fighting, Maidana was a warrior who would always bring his all and he was involved in some terrific fights. My most favourite fight involving Maidana was the war with Victor Ortiz which is the fight which put Maidana on the map.

Maidana was known as a heavy hitter with a come forward style but one of the methods he used to set up his hard shots was what can be described as breaking rhythm which I take a look at in the video below.

The first way Marcos Maidana would break rhythm was by holding the right hand before throwing it, this acts almost like a feint and Maidana is looking for a reaction from his opponent, once his opponent reacts to the right hand feint, Maidana would then throw his right hand and catch his opponent out. Often he could hold the right hand and if an opponent was looking to counter, they would be opened up by Maidanas feint and he would then shoot the right in, countering the opponents counter.

Another method used was doubling up the right hand – Maidana would throw his right hand and step forward as he did so, he was now in an almost southpaw stance and would immediately throw his right hand again like a southpaw jab. Both of these methods serve to disrupt an opponents defensive timing and it could also lead opponents into a power punch. For example Maidana may feint or hold the right hand and the opponent would roll under thinking they are avoiding the right hand but Maidana is just waiting for you to come up from the roll as he hasn’t actually thrown the punch, once you’ve come up from the roll Maidana is standing there waiting to unload a big right hand on you so he has effectively walked you into a punch.

Watch the video below for a demonstration on breaking rhythm by Marcos Maidana.