Develop Elite Head Movement

Lean, slip and weave your way out of trouble

The dimensional measurements and body weight of each fighter contributes to how their momentum effects each movement. Momentum, in turn, is the invisible generator of the power behind the most brutal knockouts.

On Fight Night, moving the body shouldn’t necessarily restrict you from punching. With the right controls you can still throw while you’re stepping or leaning in any direction. Leaning doesn’t restrict a fighter from throwing punches upstairs or downstairs. It takes some practice, but it’s possible to throw any punch, in any combination, while moving in any direction.

Leaning is also a great way to find new angles around a tight defense. Shifting your weight efficiently with your punches while leaning out of the way can allow you a much greater degree of safety, accuracy and control, even while throwing in combination. With practice, leaning can help you load up on your punches while evading attacks from your opponent. 

To lean left, hold the lean modifier button while you push the movement stick upward. Releasing either the lean modifier button or the movement stick direction cancels the lean action.

To lean right, hold the lean modifier button while you push the movement stick downward. Releasing either the lean modifier button or the directional movement stick cancels the lean action.

To lean back, hold the lean modifier button while you push the left stick to the left. Releasing either the lean button or the directional movement stick cancels the lean action.

To lean forward, hold the lean modifier button while you push the left stick right. Releasing either the lean modifier button or the directional movement stick cancels the lean action.

To develop head movement, train on the maize bag, or run the “stay on your feet” drill.

Slipping

Just as leaning can be useful to create offensive opportunities, slips can be used to great effect in defense.

Slipping on the inside with planted feet and evading punches can be an effective tactic on Fight Night. Holding down the Lean Modifier button while pressing the movement stick allows the fighter to bend at the waist in any direction. With practice, this can allow a fighter to slip incoming punches and seamlessly set up subtle angles for crunching counters. Get caught with your hands down though and it’s lights out.

Regardless of how high your stats, you need to be able to slip; there’s no automatic mechanic for getting your head off the line. You’ll actually need to see the punch coming and input accurate controls in order to slip each punch. That means if you slip the wrong way and your momentum is unfortunate, you could easily get flash knocked down. It’s a joy to watch a master defensive technician slip punches on the inside, but it takes a lot of training to actually be able to do that without getting clipped.

Weaving

Weaving is a completely different maneuver than slipping, or leaning, although they’re all executed on the directional movement stick. You can only weave in two directions; to the fighter’s left and right. If you execute the command correctly, you’ll take a step to the side while simultaneously ducking.

Weaving can be very useful for putting yourself suddenly at a very different angle, but weave responsibly. Using it can come with risk. It’s very possible to weave your head directly into the path of a huge shot if your opponent can spot that first step. Weaving is also pretty expensive from a stamina perspective, so use it efficiently.

Weaving on the outside lets you cover some ground laterally. In close, weaving is purely an upper body movement.

Working on all the aspects of movement before the fight is important. Work hard learning these skills in training camp, and you won’t have to get taught hard in the ring.

Did you find this Fight Night guide helpful? What are some of best things about the controls in your favorite boxing game? Let us know in the comments if you think boxing controls should be more like a fighting game or more like a simulation.

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