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• Weighing In

Weighing In: Reach

By Jason Thompson

“Some boxers like to fight outside and use their reach to their advantage.” 

This sentence makes perfect sense to me as a life-long boxing fan but the more time I have spent talking about Fight Night Round 4 and its new very realistic mechanics and how “reach” will be a factor, the more I am realizing that the concept of “reach” is not a term everyone understands.  So here is how I describe “reach” to some of my friends.

Consider that boxers come in all shapes and sizes and one of the differences is the length of fighter’s arms measured from arm-pit to fist - the longer the arms the longer the “reach”.  Theoretically, a fighter with longer reach should be able to punch his opponent without getting touched.  Typically, a fighter with longer reach will box from a distance or “outside” rather than up-close to his opponent or “inside” because, by fighting on the outside he can reach his opponent and stay untouched.  These fighters are typically described as “boxers” because they “box” or jab and throw combinations from range while moving around the ring keeping the shorter armed opponent at a distance.  Shorter armed boxers, or boxers with shorter “reach”, usually counter this technique by cutting off the ring, trapping the longer armed opponent and getting “inside” so that their shorter arms can reach their opponent.

To see what “reach” does visually, check out the Muhammad Ali photos from Brian Hayes’ blog titled “Fight Night Roung 4 – The Heavyweights”.  In the first two shots you can see how Ali uses his reach with both a straight right and a jab punching his opponent while clearly beyond the reach of his opponent.  If you have ever watched Lennox Lewis fight, you know that he was a master at out-boxing his opponents from a distance and punishing anyone who dared try and step inside of his jab.

Is a reach advantage an overwhelming advantage?  Not as much as you might think.  Boxers that rely on their reach advantage have to be agile, very accurate with their punches, and they have to be in excellent condition because it takes a lot of punches to keep an opponent at a distance.  If a boxer wants to get inside his opponent’s reach advantage he usually only has to slip one punch and step forward.  Once inside the power of the shorter armed boxer can take over.  Consider that Tyson probably never had a reach advantage on any of his opponents.

Weighing In - Heavyweight Roster

By Jason Thompson

The Fight Night Round 4 (FNR4) producers released a list late last week of Heavyweight boxers, past and present, that will be included in the game and I think they did a great job of emphasizing the contrasting styles of heavyweights. 

As a Fight Night fan I think one of the best features of the game is making fights that were never made in real life.  Like the cover, I really enjoy the prospect of Ali fighting Tyson.  Clearly they were both elite but more than that, they were exceptional and dominant with wildly different styles.  Which style would prevail?  In FNR4 I will know.

That is what I love of about the roster so far.  Sure, if I could make the roster I would include probably 100 current and former heavy weights but that is not realistic and would ultimately be a waste of time.  What I want is to see how the contrasting styles would fair for me, if I chose to fight with that boxer, or against me as I fight with my own created boxer.

When you look at the list (Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Joe Frazier, James Tony, Lennox Lewis and Eddie Chambers) what jumps out to me are the dramatically different styles each boxer brought, and will bring in FNR4, to the ring.  I am already imagining how Jason “the BONECRUSHER” Thompson would fair against the speed and power of Ali, the brutality of Tyson, the brick that was George Foreman, the bull that was Joe Frazier, the intellect of Lewis, the guile of Tony and the quick and balanced Eddie Chambers.  Each fighter will take a completely different set of offensive and defensive skills and game play to defeat. 

When you look at the roster, ask your-self this, “When I create my own boxer and fight as a heavy weight in FNR4, and I beat Ali, Tyson, Foreman, Frazier, Tony, Lewis and Chambers, would I be the greatest of all-time?”  In my opinion, any man who could beat this roster would be the best boxer in history.

The Heavyweights

Hey fight fans.  Over the upcoming weeks we'll be revealing our roster and accompanying screenshots for everyone to view.  At the moment, Brian and the rest of the game team are in the busiest time of their development cycle.  I know they are really excited about finishing up the game and getting it out to the ever growing number of fans that have been patiently waiting for the next installment of Fight Night.

Check out the screenshots and accompanying blog from producer Brian Hayes on the EA SPORTS Inside Blog:  Fight Night Round 4 - The Heavyweights