Cus D'Amato, Tyson, + 'elusive aggression'

Discussion in 'Boxing' started by JKD guy, Sep 17, 2004.

  1. JKD guy

    JKD guy New Member

    I have been reading a bit about Cus D'Amato (Floyd Patterson's trainer and later Mike Tyson's trainer and 'ersatz dad'). Evidently, not only was Cus a great boxing trainer and philosopher, but he invented a style called "elusive aggression". As far as I can tell, it is a counter-punching, mostly defense based style that involves having your arms up so that your forearms cover your upper body - like a shield - and you "peek" out from just above your gloves (some call the style "peek-a-boo"). i.e., your gloves are out in front of you the whole time. As the opponent throws a punch, you roll or slip it, and then counter with an uppercut or hook. Early Tyson was a master at this, and was known as one of the best defensive fighters of all time (he would slip a punch and then counter with a massive uppercut or hook). Elusive aggression is good for boxers like me (if I can call myself that) who have stocky bodies and shortish arms, thus have a reach disadvantage against some opponents (i.e, Ali probably would not need to use it).

    I was just wondering, can anyone add something to this about "elusive aggression" ? I can't find anything in books or on the internet about it, aside from the above.

    Are there any books on Cus D'Amato ?
     
    Last edited: Sep 17, 2004
  2. Sanitarium

    Sanitarium New Member

    A search on Amazon throws up a DVD on Ali.
     

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