This week’s topic is interesting. We’re going to take a look at the Rock. No, not that one. This is the original Rock, the only heavyweight champion to retire undefeated (so far), none other than Rocco Francis Marchegiano. You know him as the Brockton Blockbuster, Rocky Marciano.
Marciano had next-level power, a cast-iron jaw, and a non-stop attack that put his opponents in the hospital. No one, including me, will tell you that the Rock was a technically sound fighter. I’ll give you a good laugh, there was an article written in the Pittsburgh Press back in 1950 that claimed Marciano was, “awkward and not a formidable contender for the world crown”. They crowned him as the best contender of a bad crop of new heavyweights to emerge after the dominance of Joe Louis.
What we are going to focus on is how Rocky used a technique known as swarming to break down his opponent’s defense. Before we get into the topic, I do want to make one thing very clear, Rocky Marciano was gifted with a punching power that only a few people get every generation.
In 1955, a group of researchers wanted to study Marciano’s punching power, so they put him through a battery of tests. You know what they discovered? A full-speed, full-power punch from the Rock measured at 925-foot pounds. If you’ve never heard of foot pounds, that is how the force of bullets are measured, which put his punch right around the same force of armor piercing bullets.
Aspiring fighters out there, take a minute to let that sink in.
Now that you have an idea of his power, it’s also worth noting that his chin was made of granite. It had to be. Marciano had one of the shortest reaches of any heavyweight champion ever. Because of that, it meant he had to get on the inside which meant he’d have to take punches coming in, just to deliver punches of his own. This is where we get to the swarming style: Think if it like high-pressure, inside fighting where punches come quickly and aggressively. It doesn’t matter if the punches land on the opponent’s head or body, they just need to land.
Marciano knew this and was able to rely on his chin and power to get him inside and wreak havoc on his opponents. One in particular fight was against Roland LaStarza. The Rock destroyed LaStarza’s shoulders and arms so bad that he couldn’t even lift his arms to protect his face. After the fight, it came out that LaStarza’s forearms were broken in the fight, and the bruises on his arms changed the texture of his skin and had to be operated on immediately and removed. There are no drills to teach that kind of power.
Even without Marciano’s power, with enough endurance, and the ability to follow your opponent with your eyes while they punch back at you, you can stop opponents with the swarming technique.
-FOOTWORK-
While not the most scientific of boxing methods, there is still a right way to swarm. The key is getting inside safely and not eat too many jabs. This was how Ali defeated Frazier who was also considered a swarming, high-pressure fighter.
To get in on the inside, it starts with footwork.
On the balls of your feet, bend at the knees low enough to simulate being under the shoulders of your opponent (you can also shadowbox with a partner).
From this low stance, take small steps at angles towards your opponent. It’s not advised to step straight forward as you can get smacked in the face with the jab pretty easily. This is why it’s important to move at an angle when trying to get on the inside.
Once you’re inside (and you may have had to block a few punches by now), the next key is moving side to side while at close range. This allows your hooks to come from outside the opponent’s shoulders and even if you don’t hit them in the head or body, when you throw as hard as you can, punches in bunches will break down your opponent’s defense.
-Stamina-
Once you have the footwork down and can move inside on your opponents and get the leverage you need moving side to side, the next thing a swarmer must have, is stamina.
For this technique to work, you absolutely must throw more punches than your opponent. Since you both only have two hands, yours must move faster.
Here are 3 suggested drills and workouts to help with both your punching power and stamina:
#1: Weighted Shadow Boxing
This drill is exactly as it sounds. This is standard shadowboxing, but instead of wearing only hand-wraps or gloves, you hold onto 3-5lb weights. Eventually you will work your way up in weight, but
the purpose of this drill is to strengthen the “punching muscles” that start with your grip strength and go all the way to your core.
This exercise requires you to maintain balance and form, so don’t try to show off and use more weight that you should. Chances are you’ll pull a muscle anyway. Like regular shadowboxing, you are working on your form, but with the weights, those punches you’re throwing will take more strength on your part to keep proper form. That is a great way to get started on developing punching strength.
#2: Heavy Bag Speed Intervals
There are several names for this drill, but simply put, it is interval training: usually 30-seconds on and 10-seconds off where you hit the heavy bag either as fast as you can or as hard as you can, non-stop, until the timer goes off.
As you build endurance, you should be able to do this drill for the entire length of a fight. This isn’t training for a bar fight, so make sure even though you are going as fast as you can, you are doing so with proper punching form.
#3: Resistance Bands
There is a reason this is such a popular tool used by trainers and physical therapists. When you incorporate resistance band training to your strength and endurance training, you’re getting a two-in-one workout.
With the bands secured on a pole or other frame, (you can either go single or double arm depending on the length of the band), grip the band firmly and throw punches with your form, but at a slower speed to increase muscle tension.
The punching muscles that are used when throwing punches get resistance on the way out, and the muscles in the back and arms that pull your hands back to your face also face resistance from the bands, which gives you that 2-in-1 benefit.
This is also what you’ll hear strength coaches call negative resistance training with targets complimentary muscle groups.
While the swarming style is uncommon, it is very effective for those in top physical form. When you watch MMA fights, you’ll see fighters that can sense when their opponent is hurt, and they begin to swarm. The key is having enough gas in the tank to do this, even if you’re deep in the 3rd round.
remember, no matter how fast you punch or how hard you hit, or even where you hit your opponent, bring those hands back where they belong! Rocky taught Jersey Joe Walcott that lesson the hard way in their title fight. Swarming may not be the most elegant or scientific style of boxing, but it is certainly one of the most effective and exciting ones.
