THE big men often do not know how to handle themselves when in a light, so I will tell them.
The greatest mistake that big men make is in spending so much of their time in doing all kinds of work to develop their muscles and wind and hitting powers, and so little in study ing out the tricks of the game. Any big, heavy athlete has an immense advantage, if he wants to become a boxer, right at the start. He has the power; all he lacks is the knowl edge how to use it to the best advantage. I will give him three rules to follow:
Be aggressive.
Do not be careless.
Remember that you have the punch.
Your natural strength and weight are enough to put you on the aggressive at all times. You are not like a little, weak chap who is forced to keep away from his opponent and protect himself.
Your mere weight is bound to give you the upper hand over an opponent if you keep boring in at him. But at the same time you must not let this idea of forcing matters make you careless. It is so easy to fight in a slipshod, careless fashion. And it is just as easy for the other fellow to suddenly reach out and hit you a blow that puts you down and out when he catches you in one of your careless moods.
The idea of “taking a punch for the oppor tunity to give one” is all right if you are careful to see that the punch which you “take” does not land on a vital spot.
As to the next item in a big man’s fighting schedule—his ability to give a punch that will bring down his man—too much attention cannot be given to his education upon this line.
He is built upon lines that give him a natural advantage for sending in a hard blow. He should cultivate his ability in this line, and study out how he can land the hardest blow.
Remember you have weight to add speed to the blow if you only throw it behind your arm.
Do not waste your energy and strength in hitting lightly; study well just where to land the blow, and when you hit do it with all the strength and force and weight you can muster.
Just as your fist strikes your opponent’s body, set your arm rigid and throw your weight against it.
When you have knocked your opponent down do not rush at him as soon as he is on his feet.
Take your time. Feint him once or twice, thus confusing him. Then he will probably leave an opening, and you can administer the knockout without danger to yourself.
l have seen men unduly eager to finish an opponent whom they have knocked down or dazed, rush into the fight, only to receive a wild swing on the jaw and meet defeat just at the moment when the battle was all in their hands —because of failure to defend themselves.
Points for the Big Fighter to Remember
Do not fight on the defensive; be aggressive. Keep cool at all times.
Do not get careless, particularly when you think you are winning.
Remember that your weight gives you a great advantage.
Use this weight to add greater force to your blows.
Put in every blow as if you meant it to be the last.