Everything You Need To Know About: Boxing Terms | BOXING 101

It's time for another episode of Boxing 101. I'm Christina Poncher. Sometimes when you're watching fights, you hear certain words or phrases being used repeatedly, but do you ever wonder what they really mean? Well, on this episode of Boxing 101, we break down the definitions behind some of the key words you hear and see in the sport of boxing. Promoters. A boxing promoter is an individual or entity that finances, organizes, and publicizes boxing events. They handle all the logistics such as securing venues, negotiating with fighters, selling broadcasting rights, and managing additional revenue streams such as ticket sales, sponsorships, and merchandise. Promoters, in effect, create a business structure within which they and other parties, the fighters, the venue, and the broadcasters can make money. It's important to note that promoters are responsible for handling all the aforementioned aspects of the event, while broadcasters focus on streaming or televising the event. Even though a significant portion of an event's revenue comes from the broadcast or streaming deals a promoter secures, the two are separate entities. It's important to understand this distinction as partnerships between promoters and broadcasters in today's economic climate can sometimes create confusion about their separate roles. Gate. The term gate refers to the total revenue generated from a boxing event's ticket sales. It's a significant revenue stream alongside broadcasting rights, sponsorships, and merchandise. Cutting off the ring. If you've watched a fight before, perhaps you've heard a trainer or a commentator say, cut off the ring. But what exactly does that mean? Cutting off the ring is a strategy an aggressive boxer uses to limit an opponent's movement. More specifically, it's an attempt to limit the space in which an opponent can move, either by putting them in the corner or against the ropes in order to force exchanges and land offense. This is typically an effective strategy when there's an elusive fighter who has an advantage on the outside fighting against an aggressive fighter who is coming forward and has an advantage at close range. Perhaps one of the best, if not the best to ever do it was the great Julio Cesar Chavez, whose come forward style almost always required him to look for his opponent constantly. Center line. The center line is an imaginary line that runs from one opponent to the other. It is the line or area through which most of the offense to the head will occur. Imagine two fighters who are facing each other. Now imagine one fighter throws a jab. The space that this punch occupies is the center line as any offense has to cross this path in order to connect to the head of the opponent. Awareness of this center line can help a fighter gain an advantage. The difference between orthodox and southpaw stance. An orthodox fighter is a boxer whose dominant hand is the right hand. In a traditional boxing stance, the left hand or weak hand is in the front in order to jab and prepare combinations, while the strong hand is in the back so that you can twist your body and generate as much power as possible while throwing it. For a southpaw, the reverse is true. The dominant hand is the left hand, so the lead hand is the right. In a southpaw versus orthodox fight, the southpaw is typically seen to have an advantage because the relative rarity compared to orthodox fighters means that southpaws generally face more orthodox fighters than vice versa. Additionally, this dynamic leads to different strategies and interactions. Have any other boxing terms you want to know about? Send us a message on our top ranked social channels and we'll try to get them up in the next episode. That's all for now. I'm Christina Boncher. Until next time.