---
title: "10 Things I Learned From The Legendary Jimmy Tibbs"
canonical: "https://boxing-social.com/features/10-things-i-learned-legendary-jimmy-tibbs/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Ben Doughty"
section: "Features"
published: "2017-02-10T15:15:13Z"
modified: "2017-02-10T16:39:19Z"
---

# 10 Things I Learned From The Legendary Jimmy Tibbs

1/ ‘Keep your hands up’ is the most overrated advice in boxing beyond novice level. Punches are best delivered from shoulder level and good head movement can be more effective than a tight high guard.

2/ Rest days are important. Lazy fighters need a task master but the fitness fanatics require reigning in on occasion. At championship level, it’s all about peaking on the night.

3/ It’s useful to have a few code phrases that your fighter understands, by way of instruction, but the other guy and his trainer might not.

4/ Sparring is not always the be all and end all.\
If a 4 round fighter gets cut 6 weeks out then there might be no need to cancel the fight. Let the cut heal, get him fit and do plenty of technical pad work with him.

5/ Terry Lawless was not a great technical trainer in his own right and may not have been quite the affectionate uncle he was successfully portrayed as in the media.

6/ 12 rounds of shadow boxing is a perfectly valid session for a top fighter at certain points in camp. It’s good for conditioning, focus and gives the boxer’s hands and joints a rest from the impact of contact punching drills.

7/ Gym wars are of no benefit to anybody and if there is a certain sparring partner who never ceases to drag your fighter into a war then you should stop sparring with that fighter.\
There are no prizes for being the toughest guy in the gym.

8/ If you are lucky enough to train a fighter for a lucrative ‘mega fight’ then you shouldn’t automatically assume that you will get 10 percent of the purse reported in the newspapers. Protect your position and don’t self yourself short.

9/ Longevity and consistency make a great trainer. Dwelling on past glories or resting on laurels won’t help you achieve that.

10/ However bad your life might seem at a particular low point, you should never believe that you can’t turn it all around and become a legend in your chosen field.