[sschmitz511]

After watching a bit of Mayweathers fights, I found his style of blocking and defense very interesting. I looked his style up, which I found of was called "the Philly Shell." I found the following information on the MMA/Boxing forums, SherDog.

"Philly Shell"

basic things to note:

- Left hand held just above the waist, around stomach-height, held across the midsection (sometimes held at 90 degrees but not always) so that your left fist is nearly touching your right elbow

- right hand held high, you should be easily able to hold your chin between your thumb and pointer finger. Your elbow should be a couple of inches from the right of your belly button and very tight to your body

- Bury your chin in your left shoulder and roll it slightly forward

- your stance should be very "Sideways" (for boxers this is the norm but MMA guys may not be familiar with it so much - not saying you should use this in MMA of course hah), and you should carry your back foot somewhat in the bucket (slightly sideways)

- Very mobile stance, keep a "thumbtack under your heels" (i.e. don't plant your feet but you're not exactly on your toes either, there should be enough room for a thumbtack to fit under there). That isn't to say this style is restricted to outside fighting, James Toney makes great use of it on the inside, but it is primarily a defensive/counter-punching style and movement/footwork are both integral to good defense

- Keep your head in line or slightly outside of your opponent's left shoulder to further frustrate their attempts to establish the right hand when you're in close. This also works to put "pressure without punching" on your opponent, which will make them feel obligated to punch at such a close range. With your head outside of their left shoulders, slipping the jab is a small, easy movement, and their right hand is often not a viable shot in this position, so you're relatively safe. Still, being so close to them, they'll often feel obligated to throw leather (even in a less-than-ideal position like the one they're now in) which means more countering opportunities as they over-reach and get frustrated

some benefits I've noted with my limited experience with this style:

- jabbing from the waist (well not quite but it's from way down low) is very sneaky and will often catch your opponent and throw him off as it is a punch coming from below his field of vision. The punch you don't see is the one that hurts you, so a stiff jab can do some damage here as well as score consistently

- Left arm, being held so low, acts as an effective "shield" against body attacks (i.e. any efforts to hit that spleen as was discussed recently in another thread)

- inside fighting makes their body accessible to your short left hook. It won't be an overly powerful punch because you'll be somewhat crowded, but a) you'll score and b) body punches are about PLACEMENT not power, so don't think it won't hurt 'em. If you can create distance well with your left shoulder in addition to your "body shield" low-left, combined with effective use of the shoulder roll, it means you have little to worry about from their right side at all (where your left hook will be digging) other than the uppercut

- very solid defense if you can manage the shoulder roll, advanced head movement and right hand parry (however, often the shoulder roll will leave the punch glancing off of the crown of your head. It won't hurt, but it MAY score. Some of the advanced head movement tricks i.e. turn your turn away from a punch to move your chin out of range actually make the punch look more damaging that it is so be mindful that you will be undamaged physically, but it may hurt you in the judges eyes)

- big countering opportunities. The shoulder roll defense is used best to defend your opponent's cross and then twisting back with a right hand of your own (or an uppercut if you're in close) followed by a left hook to the body (as their right hand may be slow coming back, you could hit the liver and freeze them)

possible weaknesses to exploit (stuff that I've found that works when faced with these guys):
- If faced with this style, work their left shoulder HARD. Slam hooks and stiff jabs into the meat of their shoulder (doubling up from shoulder/head works nicely for either punch), being mindful of their right hand (turn your punches over fully to force your shoulder up to cover your chin against the cross). Try to keep outsider of their left shoulder (they'll be trying to same so it can end up you two jockeying for that sweet spot) so that it is aligned with your own left hand. This puts their "sneaky" low left in plain sight, right infront of you, forcing it to be your focus (considering the right hand is now less of a problem because you're so far to their left side) so you won't get caught and suprised by it. If you want to throw a right hand, that's fine and definitely does it's damage, just be wary of their shoulder roll/right hand counter - it's their bread and butter.

Eventually after a round or two of concentrating blows on that left shoulder, you'll "numb" their shoulder and blunt it's effectiveness, possibly even totally shutting out their jab and hook.

When you're working their shoulder, you aren't scoring, so these need to be power punches or they'se just a waste of your time/effort. Your goal here is DAMAGE, not points

- Use a consistent jab to occupy their right hand. They may not be as quick countering your jab with their left because it has to travel further than normal, so exploit that. Just watch out for the right hand parry/straight right hand counter. Mix in feints and hooks off of the jab to overload their right hand's workload and you'll land with some regularity

- Target the body often and with BAD INTENTIONS. Dig the straight right to the body lots! You'll either hit their body (awesome), or worst case scenario is that you'll whack their low left arm, which only helps build up the damage you're trying to do and slow them down even more

- counter their jab with your right hand. It's a bit toughter to roll their shoulder to absorb the right hand when they're retracting the jab with the same arm, not to mention the right hand parry/straight right hand is a great often unexpected parry in itself

I also found the following video on the subject as well.

YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

And I found a video from the man himself, Floyd Mayweather Jr.

YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.


Any other information will be added as well. I will also ask my instructor to put on some gloves and let me go over this technique with light contact, and I will let you guys know how this turns out.

[sschmitz511]

Also found a nice picture of it being used by Mayweather.



Ignore Floyd's face, lol.

[SOUL_FIGHTER]

If your trainer doesnt have a recent boxing background, he probably wont be able to help you unless he looks at that thing you posted. Most old school boxers dont bother with that stuff. Most gyms focus on basics, especially for people just working their boxing.

Also, this only works for boxing. Not MMA, not the street, it might work in Muay Thai if your opponent sucks. When I spar people who use this, I just throw a head kick - it's right there, and if I miss, I hit the meaty part of of their shoulder.

I also dont like this because I look stupid doing it.

[JollyRoger]

I agree with Soul. Philly Shell isn't something that is taught unless your trainer is very dedicated to helping form your personal technique, which is something only professional fighter's trainers do, and only if they themselves know the best way to utilize it. Most amateurs are encouraged to build their own style and refine it on their own with a strong sense of basics, as most amateur level fighters will be reprimanded for something like a philly shell guard or a hitman stance.

The only reason I would assume the philly shell is if my jab arm is just too tired to guard properly.

In any case, what makes the philly shell work for Mayweather in many cases is his great footwork and world class training, talent, and experience. If blocking like him was easy we'd see more fighter use it as effectively, but we don't, that's why he's unique. Copying his personal style based on his success with it doesn't necessarily mean it'll work for anybody.

[Juno]

Is it a seperate style, does anyone know, if the right hand was in front of the face to catch punches, with the palm out? I'm trying to think of boxers who did this... I guess Joe Frazier.

Mike Tyson's peak-a-boo stance is something to look into, as well.
-Shane

[streetdawgfightr]

Good topic, thanks for posting sschmitz511.

+ rep

[JollyRoger]

Originally Posted by Juno

Is it a seperate style, does anyone know, if the right hand was in front of the face to catch punches, with the palm out? I'm trying to think of boxers who did this... I guess Joe Frazier.

Mike Tyson's peak-a-boo stance is something to look into, as well.
-Shane

Joe Frazier, George Foreman, and most notably Archie Moor used this type of block. I think most people refer to as the cross arm block, where the left arm cradles around the waist and the right reaches up towards the left shoulder with palms out protecting the head. It definitely an Old School block style though, most current boxers don't utilize it.

[QuantumxShaman]

That's a very interesting defense technique. Thanks, for posting this, Sschmitz.

This style is a tad bizarre, but I applaud its originality and ingenuity. Though, I'm not particularly fond of power-hooking with my left hand.. I'll reverse it up. :P