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Boxing Mastery: Advanced Technique, Tactics, and Strategies from the Sweet Science | 
 enlarge | Authors: Mark Hatmaker, Doug Werner
Publisher: Tracks Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $12.95
Buy New: $7.66
You Save: $5.29 (41%)
New (31) Used (10) from $6.73
Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 48648
Media: Paperback
Pages: 224
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6
ISBN: 1884654215
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.83
EAN: 9781884654213
ASIN: 1884654215
Publication Date: October 1, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
This guide to the finer points of boxing provides the wisdom needed to make the transition from enthusiastic beginner to proficient pugilist. The ABCs of ring generalship, offensive and defensive ring movements, feints, and draws and fakes are examined and explained along with clinching techniques, head-hunting, body work, and counter-punching chains. Strategies for boxing against tall and short opponents as well as for a variety of fighting styles such as charger, speed-demon, stick-and-move, and slugger and brawler are discussed in detail. Specific drills focus on sophisticated ring stratagems such as throwing complex combinations, cutting off the ring, fighting off the ropes, generating power, and cornering an opponent are included.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
 Great book, for what it is! October 14, 2008
Aster Blistok (Denver, CO United States)
This is a great book, very comprehensive in all the basic aspects of boxing. If you're starting from scratch, this will show you everything you need to know. However, this is not what I was looking for, I have about 7 years of on and off boxing experience (my focus is mainly in grappling/jiu-jitsu, with boxing/kickboxing being secondary), and I was looking for something more in terms of boxing strategy and putting your basics to use in an actual match. This book doesn't really have that. I guess the "Mastery" part in the title mislead me. Bottom line, great book, as long as you understand what you're getting.
 Mastery Of Boxing, NO, But A Good Overall Basic Guide, YES! October 6, 2008
Shawn Kovacich (The Greatest Little City in the World)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Well, I guess I should start this review off first by qualifying it in terms of my overall outlook on this book and also my criteria for grading a technical book that I am trying to learn from.
First off, I consider this book to be a basic overall guide to the various techniques you need to learn in order to gain proficiency in the "sweet science" of boxing.
Secondly, I judge a book on its ability to teach me something that I don't already know and to teach that to me well. I also look at the overall price of the book compared to the amount of knowledge that I was able to obtain from it. So with that in mind, here is my review of this book.
I must agree with some of the other reviewers in regards to the use of dark colored shoes on a dark background and then expecting the reader to be able to easily discern the proper position of their feet during the execution of various techniques. This is a definite negative and the authors really should have worn white shoes or been standing on a lighter colored mat or flooring in order to make the foot work clearer.
I didn't feel that any one technique was given adequate and detailed enough descriptions to do them justice in this book. However, having said that, since the overall purpose of this book was to be a basic guide, rather than a detailed study, I guess that was to be expected.
Chapters 15 thru 22 were also very basic, although they did have some good information in them. However, they really lacked any detailed text to fully describe the actions that you were seeing in the photographs. This is an all-to-common problem that I have seen in the vast majority of martial arts and martial arts related books. The author simply tries to cram in way too many subjects and doesn't spend enough time on any one of them.
Here is a good example of a well-done book that's sole purpose is on one solitary technique, and that is the straight lead punch. This book The Straight Lead: The Core of Bruce Lee's Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do is written by Teri Tom and is a shining example of what a technique teaching book should be like. Another good example of this type of writing would be any one of the books in the Achieving Kicking Excellence series (written by yours truly) also available here on Amazon.
I have several books by the author Mark Hatmaker and have, for the most part, always found several things useful in every one of his books. On the other hand, I have also found numerous things that could have been even more helpful with just a little bit more detailed text to go along with the numerous photographs. And, I have even found a few things that weren't helpful at all, although they are usually far and few between.
Finally, I guess it pretty much boils down to whether or not I found some good information in this book. And I have no hesitation in saying that I did. Not quite enough to give it a 5 star rating though, and then again more than enough to give it a 2 star rating, but not really enough for a 4 star rating either. However, since Amazon does give me a whole lot of choices, I rate this book and the information contained within it a solid 3.5 stars if you look at this book as being a basic overall guide. If you look at this book as being a "master's text," then I would only give it a 1 star rating.
If you are looking to improve you punching skills, I would highly recommend that you take a look at the following books.
Championship Fighting: Explosive Punching and Aggressive Defense
The Straight Lead: The Core of Bruce Lee's Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do
Fists, Wits, And A Wicked Right: Surviving On The Wild Side Of The Street
Championship Streetfighting: Boxing As A Martial Art
Savage Science Of Streetfighting: Applying The Lessons Of Championship Boxing To Serious Street Survival
Another thing that one must always remember, is that no matter how well written a book is, it does not take the place of a qualified and competent instructor. A book should be used as a supplemental guide in addition to actual instruction under the direction of a qualified and competent instructor, not instead of. Now having said that, there are a lot of books out there that are a lot better than some of the instructors you will run into and vice versa. Please be diligent in selecting the best from both areas, both in the literary field and the human instructor field.
Shawn Kovacich
Martial Artist/Author of the Achieving Kicking Excellence series.
 For the price, a fine manual... January 28, 2008
Adam Atkinson (NY United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Hatmaker and Werner's book Boxing Mastery is a fine manual on a few of the finer points of advanced boxing and you can't beat it for the money. Nice job tying in trad boxing techniques with modern "popular" techniques. I purchased this along with Werner's other collaboration with with Lachica and the pair make a great set. As one reads through these techniques you realize why so many mma fighters and run of the mill Taekwondo Toms constantly bad mouth the most widespread fighting art... because it can be effective against any attack. Not simple as it is often referred to (check out the total ineptitude of most ufc and mma fighters at striking in their opening rounds before they shoot in for the high school wrestling take down... they think its simple and obviously don't have a clue) and not just duking it out like some bar basement palooka either... but it is readily accessible and systematic in its effectiveness... as an aikido practitioner I will say that the two types of martial artists I think would be the most trouble to handle are the boxer and muay thai fighter, both technique systems so close in concept as to be called brothers. Buy this book... its great and you will learn real time tested concepts of fighting which should carry over into any other style. And, you can get in the ring and try them out full bore too...
 A disappointment December 1, 2007
Joshua Sokal (Chapel Hill, NC USA)
Wow! Finally something from Hatmaker that I DON'T like! Savage Strikes is great, No Holds fighting is awesome. I've seen one of his videos and thought it was pretty good. However, this book is lacking. Lots of pictures, but many of the topics need more explaining. There are some drills that are unique, but if you want a good book on boxing, check out Ultimate Boxer. Its got just about everything covered (of course, its lacking in pictures, so maybe between both books you'll be in good shape).
Dont hold your breath July 3, 2007
Jeff (CA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I bought this book expecting it to have a lot of new information. If you have spent any time in a boxing gym, you will already know 75% of the book. A few new items and drills. Way too many pictures in my opinion. Need more instruction and a few relevant pictures.
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