Bruce Lee's Style, Sugar Ray's Insight

When asked what his fighting style was, the legendary martial arts hero—Bruce Lee—said he had none. He just had to use whatever weapon was most effective under his control in any given situation. A few of his box office films showed some of the ways he used his weapons. He punched, he kicked, he bit, and he strangled, etc. his opponents.

Bruce Lee was not only a movie icon. He also excelled in martial arts competitions. He was phenomenal because he beat opponents thrice his size not only in films but also in actual combat.

His philosophy was to put himself always a step ahead of his opponent. He argued that a stronger opponent could only beat him if he hit him. Before anyone could hit him, the opponent must come close to him. And before anyone could come close to him, Bruce Lee had already hit him.

Bruce Lee said the ability to put oneself ahead of his opponent required mental and physical discipline, such as conditioning the muscles and motor systems to the task (he worked in the gym eight hours a day), openness to learn new things, and belief in one’s capabilities. He said application of power and speed can be honed to perfection with training. The power of a punch comes from the hips, he said; speed is a function both of physical conditioning and of focus.

Bruce Lee’s fighting philosophy gains resonance in the latest thoughts shared by legendary boxer Sugar Ray Leonard on the coming colossal fight between Manny Pacquiao and Oscar dela Hoya. Interviewed by James Blears of BoxingScene.com, Sugar Ray said “Manny Pacquiao can defeat Oscar De La Hoya but it’s going to take
excellent defense as well as his famed all out aggression.”

Sugar further said that the fight is intriguing, and he would watch it because of that. “… but I see Oscar as being just a bit too strong, with his reach and with his speed. It almost seems like a mismatch, but I don’t think it will be a mismatch, because also on the flip side Oscar could take him lightly. Will he? I doubt that very seriously, because Oscar needs a big win over a big name. But Oscar’s 35 years old now, and he has to be on his A game to beat Pacquiao. Pacquiao has one helluva solid chin, but can he take Oscar’s punch?”

But “you will see Oscar’s jab knocks Pacquiao back, it’s going to be a pretty short night. This whole thing is offense. Pacquiao’s game is offense, throwing repeated punches. He’s like a little Tasmanian Devil. He’s non stop. But will those punches hurt Oscar? Oscar will be in pretty good damn shape himself. He’s been hit by big guys, and I don’t foresee Pacquiao hurting Oscar. Sting him. But hurt him? No.”
“Pacquiao is very dominant with guys his size, but when he’s on the attack, he’s open, and very vulnerable. Oscar will see that…or he should see that. It’s very hard to say what Pacquiao can do and should do, because he has to be aggressive, because he’s the smaller of the two. But he also has to be defensive, to protect himself from the big punches.”

Thus for Sugar Ray, Oscar should win the fight. But Manny has chances. “I just think it would be an incredible feat for him to upset Oscar. Can it be done? YES! Anything can happen in the ring.”

When Blears asked him to comment on Freddie Roach’s saying Oscar can’t pull the trigger any more, Sugar said “You don’t lose power. I think what fighters lose as we get older - we lose that commitment to take a punch. When I was in the ring in my twenties, I would hit you, because I don’t think you’re not going to hit me back, because I’ll hit you so fast that you won’t touch me. But as I got older, when I turned thirty five and then forty, and those comebacks, I anticipated the punch coming back. So I didn’t have the same commitment. That’s the commitment in your head. I knew a consequence would come back.”

Like Bruce Lee, Sugar Ray Leonard beat his opponents because he believed he could hit them before they could do the same to him. Manny would do well to have this mindset when he faces Oscar on December 6.