Why can't a fighter "let his hands go"?

Yeah, I don't think having a great chin automatically means you don't mind getting hit.

I reckon Tua and LaPorte probably liked getting hit even less than usual, hence their reluctance to let their hands go.

 

Everyone is made reluctant by the punches they receive

I'm saying his letting his hands go seldom seemed to have anything to do with it and more with his opponents making him miss

 

I see no evidence that this is true of LaPorte at all... he backed up pretty much everybody that tried to hang with him toe-to-toe with no problem eating shots to get his in... It was when guys started moving and making him miss that he stopped throwing

 

Maybe you're right with LaPorte, I haven't seen enough of him to be an authority. From what I have seen though, he looks good, better than his record indicates.

Why do you think his KO % is quite so low given his vaunted power?

 

laporte assured me sanchez wouldve WHUPPED chavez

 

I know only one thing about the man the Australians called "Whan La Portay", and that's his son drowned or something. This sums up my knowledge of the man our Antipodean pals called "Whan La Portay"

 

1) not letting his hands go!
2) great opposition

 

it's true, very sad story

Also, Emile Griffith was his trainer when he lost a decision to a young Kostya Tzyu and it was after this fight that Griffith was jumped by a group of guys outside of a bar and beaten nearly to death... LaPorte said he was concerned about Griffith at that time and believed he may be starting to slip mentally... He gave him his share of Juan's purse and told him to go straight home, don't go out looking for a party because he felt the guy was slipping a bit and he was worried... looks like he was right

 

I'd say distance is the biggest factor. In all my experience watching live boxing or just messing around with friends, distance and footwork play such a hige roll in boxing and isn't captured all that well on TV. So what I mean is that it's easy to say to a guy let ypur hands go, but if they do, they'll just be catching air and thats it. So they try to work their way inside but then either get jabbed away while still out of range or quickly tied up. So sure they could let their hands go, but it would be totally ineffective. I'd say this more than any 'fear' of getting countered.

 

There might be something in this. In fact even though this sounds simple it could well be the best explanation. David Tua had poor footwork so he usually wasn't in the position to throw, even though he looked that way. This could also explain why Hopkins' opponents never throw much even though it should be obvious that you must not fight on his pace. Hopkins IMO has almost an ATG level of footwork and it is the biggest factor in his success even though it often gets overlooked

 

For sure, footwork is huge. When I saw Money fight live, that stood out way above anything else, the dude moved in and out so well, his opponent can't do anything until he decides to take a break. Put any class boxer within arms reach of their opponent and barring injury or extreme exhaustion they WILL let their hands go. The problem is getting into that position.