Big 12 needs to improve despite winning start – Brown
RICARDO ‘BIG 12’ Brown recorded his third straight victory as a professional boxer over Mexican Santiago Martinez Perez in their heavyweight bout at the CAA Centre in Brampton, Canada, on Saturday.
Although the win saw Brown recording an impressive second-round TKO, general secretary of the Jamaica Boxing Association (JBA) and experienced boxing analyst, Leroy Brown, believes the 32-year-old must improve aspects of his boxing, especially his jab, if he is to continue being successful.
The veteran administrator noted that the fighter’s opponents thus far have not been very strong and that he needs to utilise the jab more effectively and work better combinations, if he is to challenge top fighters in the division.
“He dominated the guy (Perez) and he was the better man. But I would like him to see him use his jab a little more decisively. He uses it but not as an offensive weapon.
“He has a very good right hand but he is still too dependent on it. In boxing you have to develop the left hand, especially in using the jab, and he wasn’t working the jab, he was just sticking it out.
“So that is his biggest fault right now. He is not using the jab as a weapon,” he said.
He continued that although Ricardo’s opponents have not been the strongest, they have been ideal for this early stage of his professional development.
However, he insists he will have to face more accomplished boxers down the road, and understanding the full capacity and effectiveness of the jab will make him a more devastating boxer.
“Right now he is fighting people at a certain level. He only has three fights but they have to give him opponents within his range.
“But he will soon have to step up in opponents in a short while and he has to step up his game and use the jab effectively.
“He might need a few more fights with opponents at this level to sort out those minor glitches, but he is on the right track.
“Giving him opponents within his framework is a good thing but they will definitely have to step up, and the better his opponents, the more his jab will have to come into play.
KNOCKOUT PUNCH
“But he has a right hand that is a terrific weapon. It is devastating, his biggest punch. But if you do not set it up with the jab, you do not get to use your knockout punch sometimes.
“So he needs a good balance between the jab and the hook and his camp will have to work on this. And so he just has to keep on working,” he said.
Ricardo insists he is always working to improve, and said he was confident that any deficiencies in his fighting would be ironed out by his coach.
“Sometimes when you are fighting, you are not realising certain stuff until your coach tells you. So he might be seeing something that I do not see and he can be right,” said Ricardo.
“But I think I have been working the jab well, so I cannot say. Maybe he is seeing something different but when I get back to the gym if my coach saw a problem, he will tell me and show me what I need to be doing.”