So you’ve just sparred poorly against a boxer that used the Philly Shell.
He parried away all of your jabs, blocked all of your hooks, and counterpunched you at every chance.
Fighting against the Philly Shell can be confusing and frustrating, but every defense has its weaknesses!
Keep reading for our guide on how to beat the Philly Shell!
How To Beat The Philly Shell
To beat the Philly Shell:
- Test Your Opponent With Your Jab
- Throw Your Hooks and Crosses At Different Angles
- Flank and Pressure Your Opponent
- Punch Your Opponent’s Arms And Chest
- Don’t Get Frustrated
Test Your Opponent With Your Jab
First, test your opponent’s Philly Shell with your jab.
Forget about your opponent’s chin and body for now and aim for his chest.
When your opponent closes that chest target, the head will then be open for attack.
Your opponent will likely only slip towards the rear side and bend at the waist to avoid punches, rather than slip to the lead side or roll out. Try guessing with your jab where your opponent will be.
Mix up your jabs with feints to disrupt your opponent’s rhythm.
Throw Your Hooks and Crosses At Different Angles
Next, throw your hooks and crosses at different angles.
Don’t throw your hooks and crosses straight towards your opponent; he’ll block them with their elbow or parry them away with their lead hand.
This is where you’ll have to be creative.
For example:
- First, fake a jab to the body and chest to get your opponent to lower his arms and then throw a gazelle hook.
- Next, throw a 2-1, as your opponent is expecting to parry the jab first and then shoulder roll second.
- Next, jab to the chest to lower his arms again and launch an overhand right.
If your opponent picks up on this, try throwing the same overhand right, but start from the waist.
When your opponent sees your glove starting at the waist, he’ll think that an uppercut or hook is coming.
Of course, these all depend on how your opponent uses the Philly Shell, so adjust and adapt accordingly.
Flank and Pressure Your Opponent
Next, use your footwork to flank and pressure your opponent.
Since the Philly Shell tends to be upper body focused and less focused on footwork, use that to your advantage.
First, flank your opponent on either side and see how your opponent adjusts.
If you move towards his back side, does he break his stance and step backwards?
Next, advance with a double or triple jab to see how your opponent responds.
Does he lean back, exposing his stomach and rib cage? Or does he hop back to create distance or does he pivot out?
Lastly, pressure on your opponent so that he’s forced to lose the bladed stance and square up.
Throw tight, controlled hooks to force your opponent to keep his lead hand glued to the face so that he’s unable to let his hands go.
Julio César Chávez used this strategy successfully against Roger Mayweather, who was forced to stay on the defensive for most of their first fight.
Watch the video below to see these ideas in action!
Punch Your Opponent’s Arms And Chest
Next, to beat the Philly Shell, punch your opponent’s arms and chest.
If you can’t find a way around the shell with the tips above, here is the brute force method.
Punching these areas will wear your opponent down in the long run and make his own attacks weaker.
Since the Philly Shell focuses less on footwork, your opponent should be easy target to hit.
Of course, this strategy works better the more power and volume, so if you gas out easily, this might not work for you.
Don’t Get Frustrated
Lastly, don’t get frustrated if you want to beat the Philly Shell.
When you get frustrated, you get sloppy and easily manipulated.
This leaves you open to the counters that these boxers love to use.
Beating the Philly Shell is a long-term game and is rarely cracked on the first try.
Conclusion
Now that you’ve read this guide, you’re better equipped the next time you meet an opponent that uses the Philly Shell.
Keep your cool. Getting frustrated will make you throw wild punches and leave you exposed to counterpunches.
If your opponent abandons the Philly Shell to adopt a normal boxing stance, that’s a good sign that the strategy isn’t working for him.
On the other hand, you can use these ideas to develop your own Philly Shell.
- Control the distance to take away your opponent’s jab.
- Expect gazelle hooks and overhand rights coming from different angles.
- Use your footwork to escape tight situations instead of absorbing power shots.
If you’re a boxer that prefers to use the Philly Shell, pay attention to these weaknesses in your defense and keep them in mind during your training.
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