Tips for a tall fighter

Fight tall. Keep the fight at a distance where you can hit and he can't. That means maintaining that distance with a jab, and punishing him whenever he tries to come in. If he gets close your long arms are a disadvantage so try not to go there. Move to the sides instead of back in a straight line because otherwise you'll end up in the ropes.

I know it's a bit obvious and indeed if you keep it at that distance you will not need much bobbing and weaving, as you'll evade most with your feet by maintaining distance. But you may use it anyway so I applaud your trainer for teaching it

 

Having said that it's your first fight. Just try to think about what you did in sparring and what you learned, and just experience it. Have fun man. Kick his ass

 

At its core, fighting "big" basically boils down to measuring and managing distance with the ultimate goal of controlling it. This is obviously much more difficult than it sounds so be patient and focus on improving your footwork and your jab in the beginning.

 

You need quick feet for the way rdj is trying to explain to you but failed to tell you that style will not work if your opponent has quicker feet than you.

 

That's where the jab comes in, to stop your opponent moving in quicker than you

 

Shadowboxing, use the ring if you can. Focus on moving away to the sides. Imagine a wild man coming straight at you constantly, if it's a typical first fight. Oh and stay calm

 

Jab - You can easily improve it while shadow boxing and sparring.
Footwork - Highly recoment skipping rope and long sets with it. Dont jump/run in one place, keep moving cos it will help you change directions faster.

 

.....

 

The commentator was George Foreman, before i even opened this topic and just red the title.

I was going to bring up the Lennox Lewis vs Ray Mercer fight..!!!!!!

 

And since I'm feeling more loquacious than usual, I have more advice, one tall fighter to another.

My first fight was against a short, jacked little guy. His head didn't even come up to my shoulders. From looking at him, and from some guys who had seen him spar, I assumed he would rush me swinging for the fences. I planned to fight tall, and the guys working my corner told me that jabbing would be key, and to stop him in his tracks with a hard right every time he tried to close the distance.

That would have been great fun. But he didn't rush me. He maintained distance, and REFUSED to lead off. I had to chase him, and when he decided to, he just stopped and used my momentum against me. Later I learned that that's a common trick to use against taller guys. Force them to lead, draw them into you, and pick your spots. Jean Pascal did this to Dawson. Not all short guys are going to rush you and try to brawl. Short guys who circle and occasionally jump in to counter you, then go right back to circling are much more common.

Furthermore, the best thing to do to a pressure fighter is to pressure him back. He's comfortable with a fast pace? Double the pace. Back him up, jam his punches, frustrate him. If you get close enough to him, he can't hurt you (while you, with those long arms, can hurt him).

You should have multiple ways to fight. If you can control the distance, out-fighting is fine. But learn how to cut off the ring and apply pressure and volume-punching as well. Remember--the pressure fighter WANTS you to try to circle and retreat. He trains to beat guys up who run from him. He knows you're going to try to maintain distance with a jab, and he trains to get inside of it and hurt you.

Why play his game?

 

He can at least try, and I know nothing about his skill level.