The Philly Shell in boxing: The Unbreakable Mayweather’s Shell

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the term “Boxing Philly Shell Defense”? Well, most will say Floyd Mayweather Jr. If you have doubts about the effectiveness of this boxing style, you can see Floyd. He was the perfect example of using this defense style. Many great boxers have used this boxing style, but no one has used it as ideally as Floyd Mayweather. This style helped him stay undefeated throughout his career. This article will explore the style of the undisputed boxing king, “Floyd Mayweather Jr”.

Philly shell in boxing is a defensive boxing style in which a fighter is leaning away from their opponent slightly, and their lead shoulder is up towards their chin. This boxing style is considered the best defensive style. How defensive it was can be answered by the fact that Floyd Mayweather Jr. had fewer scars on his face than other boxers due to using this boxing defensive style.

Many people confuse Philly Shell with the boxing fighting style. But it is not a fighting style. Philly shell is the defensive stance, and you can use it for defense against your opponent's moves and punches. Another misconception is that Philly shell boxing technique is the same as that of the shoulder roll. Although both have some similarities, they are very different from each other. Let's break down the Philly Shell defense style:

• Stand erect and keep your lead hand between your chest and belly. Your lead hand will protect you from punches and knocks to your body.

• Keep your rear hand just in front of your face. You will block the left hooks and parry the jab with this hand.

• Move your shoulder a little bit upwards towards your chin or the lower part of your face, and this will protect your chin and deflect the right hook.

• The last thing to remember in this Philly shell defensive style is that you should lean slightly away from your opponent. This will make it difficult for your opponent to throw punches at you, as they will have to move a little bit further.

• Floyd Mayweather is the only boxer in history who no one has ever defeated. Most people attribute his success to the solid defense system he developed thanks to his father and uncle, who trained him.

• However, Mayweather has not been using this defense style since the start of his career. In the beginning, he defended against his opponents using his right hand. But he knew he could not use this strategy for a long time because this causes injuries in his right hand. He had to think about developing a defense system.

• He was using the traditional Philly Shell boxing technique. He decided to change and implement this style in his professional boxing matches. The style became successful, and he recorded a 50-0 record in boxing history. He is often considered the third greatest boxer in history. What is the reason for his success? His unique Philly Shell defense style. Let's see how he did it.

• After noticing the injuries in his right and left hands, he thought he should implement something else for defense instead of his right hand. He decided to use his footwork as his defense. He involved more footwork than the traditional Philly Shell boxing style.

• He would simply deflect the opponent’s punches using his footwork. Moreover, he also used his footwork for his punching. He would come closer to his opponent, land some punches, and then move away from them.

• Besides these, there were two other changes that Mayweather implemented in his Philly Shell boxing style. These changes were keeping his knees in a bent position and his shoulder in front of his opponent. This allowed him to make more movements and deflect more punches.

• This is how Mayweather changed the traditional Philly Shell defense style and used it to develop a unique power of defense that no one had and no one could beat, i.e., The Mayweather Shell.

• Boxing Philly Shell's defensive style is very old in the history of boxing. The first one to use this style was a gym warrior who was as good as to be called a professional boxer.

• After the gym warriors, George Benton was the first one to use the style in professional boxing. Due to him, the style got popularized in boxing. After him, many other players came and used this style.

• But the most famous was Bernard Hopkins. He used this style as a resting mechanism during the fight. The concept behind this is that the boxer punches his opponent with a lot of power and then implements this defensive style. In that style, he would not punch again. He will just defend himself. This is how he got famous for this style.

• Then came the Era of greats like Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson, who developed their own styles. Hence, the reasons for their greatness.

• In the modern Era, the most famous boxer for using this style is Floyd Mayweather. He not only implemented this style in his boxing but also changed it to make it even stronger as a defense system.

There is no defense style in boxing that you cannot beat. You just have to change and improve your strategy and align it with the opponent’s defense system and moves. Let's see how you can beat and break Philly Shell's boxing defense system. Follow the tips given below to do it:

You should not stick to your normal strategy. Change it and move to a different area to come closer to your opponent. Create different angles and opportunities. This will help you break your opponent’s defense.

If your opponent is using the Philly Shell defense style, their body will be exposed to attacks. So instead of punching their face or shoulder, attack their body and throw punches at them at different body parts. This will make them lose their defensive stance. Once they have lost their stance, you will have more attack opportunities.

Another way to break your opponent’s Philly Shell defense is to confuse your opponent. Confuse them in a way that they cannot predict your next move. The thing is, your opponent is acting according to your moves. If you confuse them, they cannot act accordingly. You can confuse them using different attack combinations and a mix of power and speed. Don’t continue following the same strategy for the whole game.

The last tip is to throw as many punches as possible with as much power as you can apply. This will eventually break their defense and force them to shift to a new stance.

The following are some boxers who used Philly Shell boxing defense style:

• James Toney

• Pernel Whitaker

• Archie Moore

• Adrien Broner

• Joe Walcott

• Bernard Hopkins

• George Benton

• Floyd Mayweather

The following are the differences between the two boxing styles:

Boxing Philly Shell Defense is considered the best defense style in boxing. It is a very old defense system, and many boxers have been using it for many decades. But it was Floyd Mayweather Jr. who modified the system and improved it a lot, eliminating its weaknesses. If you are a beginner in boxing, you should consider it for your defense against your opponents. You can practice it at home by using the punching bag as your opponent. Otherwise, you can reactivate it in the gym against your partner. Master the style and implement it in your boxing.

Yes! Philly Shell boxing defense can be called outboxing. Because in this, you are defending yourself against your opponent’s punches, and at the same time, are in a position to attack your opponent.

The first one to use the Philly Shell boxing style in history is the gym warriors from Philadelphia. After it, George Benton used it in professional boxing for the very first time.

In boxing, Philly Shell defense, you are guarding with your shoulder and both hands. You also use your footwork by defending against your opponent’s punches. This is how it works.

You can do the Philly Shell defense by following the tips below:

• Stand erect and keep your lead hand between your chest and belly

• Keep your rear hand just in front of your face

• Move your shoulder a little bit upwards towards your chin

• Lean slightly away from your opponent

You can fight against the Philly Shell boxing style by following the tips below:

• Create Different Angles

• Throw Punches on Your Body

• Confuse Your Opponent

• Throw Many Punches

Yes! Philly Shell Boxing style is good for beginners. Floyd Mayweather Jr. used this stance since the beginning of his career, and he continued using it till the end of his career, helping him to record his boxing figures 50-0.

Yes! Philly Shell boxing defense is very effective if it is used correctly. Some consider that the traditional one is ineffective, but you can implement the one used by Floyd Mayweather Jr. in his career.

You can learn the Philly Shell boxing style by following the correct stance and then practicing it against your opponent. You will defend yourself against your training partner’s punches.