Quickness and reaction time are vital factors in boxing. If you are quicker than your opponent, you will be able to avoid the majority of his punches and connect when you throw your blows. Fighters must spend a majority of their time training in the gym, and quickness exercises often pay huge dividends.
Speed Bag
The speed bag is one of the best tools in boxing to develop hand speed and quickness. Hit the speed bag to develop a punishing left jab and quick hands. If you are right-handed, hit the bag with your left jab and circle to the left. This will help you work on your timing, footwork and ability to deliver a quick left-hand punch.
Rope Jumping
The jump rope has been used by boxers to build quickness, speed and endurance since the early part of the 20th century. Champion boxers like Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, Thomas Hearns and Manny Pacquiao all have used the jump rope to increase reaction time and foot quickness. In this drill, jump rope for three minutes at a time, take a one-minute break and then jump rope for three more minutes.
Floor-to-Ceiling Bag
This tool is one of the best for building hand speed and accurate punching. The floor-to-ceiling bag is stretched with elastic from the ceiling to the floor. The punching area of the bag is about the size of a volleyball or tetherball and is at about belt level. After the bag is hit, it rebounds in an unpredictable manner and it takes superior quickness to hit it several times in a row.
Ring Work
While you may be diligent in your training and work on the speed bag and rope jumping every day, you won't have a firm idea of putting your skills into practice until you get in the ring and spar with an opponent. You have to put your skills to the test and throw punches against an opponent who is trying to hit you. While you will wear protective headgear and oversize gloves, the punches are still thrown with a purpose and they can cause pain when you get hit hard. It's one thing to have the quickness to make a speed bag sing, but it's quite another to move at the required pace when your opponent is trying hit you with hard punches.
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