Daniel Medoza is considered to be, by many, including myself, the " father of defensive boxing"
Indeed many of the defences used today in modern boxing, can find themselves rooted in his forward thinking teachings.
His stance was more side-on, than traditional pugilistic defences, and employed a greater degree of mobility, both for defence and offence.
His stance afforded him a great range of vision, allowing him to fully see his opponents, and react accordingly, essential for his mobile defence concept to be successful. In essence his beliefs were, that it was better not to get hit at all!
The mobility this stance afforded, in contrast to the more traditional stances, allowed Mendoza to attack from somewhat unusual angles, varying his attacks and taking his opponents by surprise.
It is easy to see how this stance has contributed to modern defences, however it is also easy to see how this stance is still one adopted by a pugilist, rather than a modern boxer. The hands are low and protect the body rather than the head. This of course, is because it is more effective to land body blows in pugilism due to the bare fist being used, whereas modern boxers use a gloved fist.
Gloves became mandatory when the Marquis of Queensbury Rules were drafted in 1865, and officially adopted in 1892. Over time the weight of glove increased, and with it the shift of focus on targeting the head, rather than the body. As such the the defences employed by the fighters of said period, evolved, now favouring those that offered more protection to the head, in contrast
to the body.
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