As I heard the sad news that one of the city?s greatest fighters to walk on Broad Street, Bennie Briscoe, had passed away, all I could think of was how even though I wasn?t alive and around for the great golden age of middleweights in this city. During the countless hours that I have spent in the gyms all over the ?City of Brotherly Love,? it was never hard to find some of the older guys swapping stories about the roles that they themselves played in making that time so special. Eventually, the same great list of names would fill the gym along with stories on just how great every fighter on the list truly was.
Nothing really took hold of me in terms of what I could relate to until the one day I walked into the old Joe Hand Boxing club underneath the ?L? train on Howard Street. As I came down the steps into the gym, I saw the first trainer who used to help me when I first walked into that gym to learn the ?Sweet Science.? Willie ?The Worm? Monroe noticed that I was holding a copy of The Ring magazine that listed the 80 greatest fighters that the ?Bible of Boxing? had covered over their first 80 years of existence.
He told me to go straight to the pages that honored Marvelous Marvin Hagler. Once I reached the pages, Monroe pointed with his finger at Hagler?s record, 62-3-2 (52), and proudly stated, ?I?m the last man who truly defeated this great legend.? Let?s just say it was one of the best history lessons this writer ever received, straight from the source. Can?t get any better. After that day, I was able to always add a little something extra into the stories that would be told during my time in the gym. I was able to hang, thanks to ?The Worm,? since I was always able to add to the conversation, ?My first trainer was the last guy to beat Hagler.?
As I matured within the sport both inside and out of the ring, I started to notice the difference in what fighters would be doing in terms of how they fought. It would get to me that it seemed like the main points the guys in the gym and the general public would say about Philly fighters was that they had heart and were brawlers. Every time someone in the media spoke, it was in reference to Philly guys being tough and that you could beat a guy from Philly with skill.
I know this next statement may shock you but it was as if these so-called media types had never ever stepped into the same gyms throughout my great city. Had they been to the Joe Hand, Front Street Gym, James Shuler?s gym, Torres Gym or the Shepard Recreation Center (this list of great Philly gyms is endless), they could have made educated statements about Philly fighters.
So here goes; after my travels to every major city in this country and to at least two or three gyms in each city (I know it?s weird that I check out the local boxing gyms while on vacation), I?ve found that no other city produces such different styles and techniques on how to fight from within its city limits the way Philadelphia does. Part of this is due to the aforementioned history that this city holds. See, each of the great fighters from the golden era and beyond had his own style and way of dishing out beatings. Naturally, they passed down their secrets.
We often hear about the geographical location of a fighter being the cause for his specific fighting style. For example, if you are from Mexico, you will likely move forward and dig to the body, while not being scared to take and dish out punishment. If you are European, you will have good fundamentals and probably sport a high guard. Nothing is truer in Philadelphia, where not only do you wield that Philly attitude but the location of where your home gym is also dictates how you will be taught to fight.
Each neighborhood in this city holds its own keys to building a Philadelphia fighter. While I trained at Joe Hand and several other mainstay gyms in Philly, I got the fundamentals that I needed, which would help me survive and dish out my own punishment in other parts of the city. These classic gyms like Front Street and Joe Hand helped fighters understand how to stick and move, how to hit and not get hit, or in North Philadelphia terms, swim without getting wet. In North Philly, there are two types of fighters you will see. You will get a fighter with faster hands and solid movement that allows him to box on the balls of his feet with balance and precision. Fighters like Meldrick Taylor, Eugene Hart, and Willie Monroe possessed the skill to peck away at their opponents with jabs and crosses that set up combinations. In the case of Taylor, his combination speed was unreal and so fast, he was able to get away with holding his hands low at times.
Another style that comes from the same area is that of the fighter that is more committed to stalking his opponent with the skill of cutting off the ring (Chris Arreola and other modern power punchers: Are you listening to the words coming out of my head?). This is when you use your footwork to create angles and traps that your opponents can?t escape from and are forced to engage in battle with you as your forward pressure mounts. While the North Philly stalker is able to cut off the ring well, it?s his choice of bobbing and weaving in order to avoid the incoming jabs and straights from the outside that makes him unique. At times on the inside, he will go with a cross-armed style of defense in order to avoid blows to the head.
These fighters will also apply the ?Philly Shell? defense (my personal favorite) in order to try and counter-punch on the inside while they shift their bodies in order to lessen the blow from their opponents, prior to the counter. Joe Frazier and the now-late, great Bennie Briscoe used this style of stalking, cross-arm, and ?Philly Shell? to reach high levels of the sport. Other non-Philadelphia fighters that use the ?Philly Shell? defense are James Toney and Floyd Mayweather (both originally from Detroit, Michigan, which is similar to Philly in terms of their boxing knowledge).
As I changed trainers and moved my boxing odyssey to smaller gyms in other neighborhoods, toward areas where- let?s just put it this way- I really had never had a reason to frequent prior to picking up a pair of gloves. Being Puerto Rican, I stuck to the North end of the city, east of Broad Street. This, of course, meant that I would fight other Puerto Ricans and, let?s face it, while boxing skill is a plus, those fights were always about who could outbox and out-man the other guy with pressure. While engrossed in those fights at the Torres Gym, I wound up linking up with a Muslim cat from West Philly.
It was this trainer, named Makeal, who introduced me to the world of not only a specific style of boxing that is unique but also the lingo that goes with being around this style. When I first walked through the doors of the Shepard Recreation Center and Shuler?s Gym, while I was welcomed with open arms, it was clear that I was viewed as fresh meat to be beat on by the locals. ?Use the stick; take him for a walk and get in and out clean,? were some of the gems that were said to me as I was sparring, during my time in West Philly. In other words, establish a strong jab; have your guy follow you around the ring and set him up and once you do set him up, get in, throw your shots, finish with the jab and get out of range without getting hit in return. This smooth style of fighting was a perfect blend of fighting and boxing, while never neglecting one?s defense. Often, Philly fighters with this style will drop their lead hands in order to view their opponent when they are out of range. They tuck their jaws perfectly against the lead shoulder in order to really give their opponents a half of a man on an angle. With smooth footsteps, they walk around the perimeter of the ring while peppering their stalking prey with a solid jab. Often, when the pace of the fight calls for it, they will drop right hands and roll out of the way of any counters.
I always laugh now when I hear commentators give rounds to fighters solely because they are being aggressive. One of the added components of winning rounds due to aggression no longer seems to apply. That is aggression that is effective. Fighters with this style are best at using their opponents? aggression against them and nullifying any solid aggression with a good jab and solid body work to break their man down for later. In the great words of Brother Naazim Richardson, ?Make them investments, baby.?
This style also has a big role in the tempo of the fight. Fighters make sure that when there is going to be an exchange of power punches or flurries from both fighters, it is only done on their terms. In other words, ?We fight and we box when I say.? Even though he is a fighter from North Philadelphia, Bernard Hopkins fights this style perfectly. Other Philly fighters with this style are Derek ?Pooh? Ennis, Yusaf Mack, and the late Tybius Flowers.
Honestly, other cities do have their great gyms and hotbeds of boxing. However, from experience (yes, this includes personal experience dealing with gyms, styles, and fighters in Los Angeles and New York), I?m not being biased when I say that it?s truly wonderful to hail from the great fighting town of Philadelphia. It?s these differences in styles that make going to the amateur shows in this city fun, as is scoping out who is going to carry the torch for each style and take themselves, the city, and their styles into the forefront of the sport.
Hopefully, the next time you watch a fight featuring a fighter from Philadelphia, you can look beyond the fact that he has a big heart, probably a great chin, good body work, and courage beyond belief. I mean, while all of this is cool, at this point, if you even dare enter a gym in this city, you?d better be aware that those attributes are a given for a true Philadelphia fighter. You?ll be able to watch that fighter and say, ?Hey, he probably learned to fight in North or West Philly,? even if you are watching from your couch in Idaho.
This article is dedicated to the ones who taught me how to not just love the sport but respect it and be a student of the game and the craft you truly have a passion for. This one is for you, Willie ?the Worm? Monroe, Makeal, Tybius Flowers, Gee Culmer, Ronald Cooley, Pete…and “Bad” Bennie Briscoe.
