There are three generally accepted boxing styles that are used to define fighters. They are the in-fighter, the out-fighter and the brawler.

Inside-Fighter

In-fighters are often considered the most exciting boxers to watch. This style favours closing inside an opponent, overwhelming them with intensity and flurries of hooks and uppercuts. They tend to be agile on their feet which can make them difficult to evade for a slower fighter. They also tend to have a good "chin" because this usually involves being hit with many jabs before they can maneuver inside where they are more effective.

Notable in-fighters include Mike Tyson, Jake LaMotta, Ricky Hatton, Marco Antonio Barrera, Antonio Margarito, Julio César Chávez, Manny Pacquiao, and Joe Frazier.

Outside-Fighter

Out-fighters (also known as an "out-boxer" or "boxer") are the opposite of the in-fighter. Where the in-fighter tries to close the gap between himself and his opponent, the out-fighter seeks to maintain that gap and fight with faster, longer range punches. Since they rely on the weaker jabs and straights (as opposed to hooks and uppercuts), they tend to win by points decisions rather than by knockout, although some out-fighters (such as Lennox Lewis and Felix Trinidad) have notable knockout records. They attempt to control the fight by using their jab to keep their opponent at range, and using their strong footwork to evade any opponent that closes in. In fact, outside fighters are known for being extremely quick on their feet, which often makes up for their relative lack of power. Out-fighters are often regarded as the best boxers on account of their desire to win a fight by wearing an opponent down and outclassing an opponent by strategy, rather than simply knocking him out.

Notable out-fighters include Muhammad Ali, Pernell Whitaker, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Lennox Lewis, Felix Trinidad, Winky Wright, Roy Jones Jr., Larry Holmes, Wladimir Klitschko.

Brawler

If the out-fighter represents everything classy about boxing, the brawler (also known as the 'slugger', 'hard hitter' or 'one puncher') often stands for everything that's brutal and dirty in the sport. Sluggers tend to lack finesse in the ring, but make up for it in raw power, often able to knock almost any opponent out with a single punch. This ability makes them exciting to watch, and their fights unpredictable. Many brawlers tend to lack mobility in the ring and have difficulty pursuing fighters who are fast on their feet. They prefer the harder, slower punches (such as hooks and uppercuts) and tend to ignore combination punching. Their slowness and predictable punching patterns (single punches with obvious leads) often leaves them open for counterpunching.

Famous brawlers include Arturo Gatti, Eric Esch, Sonny Liston, George Foreman, Rocky Marciano, Manny Pacquiao, Mike Tyson (after his prime), Nigel Benn, Gerald McClellan and former featherweight champion Naseem Hamed.

Hybrid Boxers

These styles are merely archetypes that many boxers fall into. However, some notable fighters transcend any one category. Mike Tyson, although known primarily as a brawler, was a very intense in-fighter in the first half of his career. He had the strength of a brawler, but the combos, agility and ferocity of an in-fighter, which earned him his devastating reputation. Muhammad Ali, known for his footwork and blindingly fast jab, could mix it up on the inside with fast flurries, using his large frame and fast handspeed for more power. Naseem Hamed was primarily a slugger, favouring single, heavy punches, but his agility and reflexes allowed him to move like an out-fighter.

Swarmer

A less common style of boxing, the swarmer is a boxer who attempts to overwhelm his opponent by applying constant pressure. Swarmers tend to have a very good bob and weave, good power, a good chin, and a tremendous punch output (resulting in a great need for stamina and conditioning). Boxers who use the Swarmer style tend to have shorter careers than boxers of other styles. Sustaining the adequate amount of training required to execute this style is nearly impossible throughout an entire career, so most Swarmers can only maintain it for a relativity brief period of time. This inevitably leads to the gradual degradation of the sheer ability to perform the style, leaving him open to increasing amounts of punishment.Famous Swarmers include Rocky Marciano, Mike Tyson (during his prime), Harry Greb, Joe Frazier, Jack Dempsey, Henry Armstrong, and Ricky Hatton.

Rock, Paper, Scissors

There is a commonly accepted theory about the success each of these boxing styles has against the others. This is merely a theory and it has been disproven several times, although it serves as a decent guide.

The general rule is similar to the game Rock, Paper, Scissors - each boxing style has advantages over one, but disadvantages against the other. A famous cliché amongst boxing fans and writers is "styles make fights". Brawlers tend to overcome in-fighters, because the in-fighter likes to be on the inside, where the hard-hitting brawler is most effective. The in-fighters flurries tend to be less effective than the power punches of the slugger, who quickly overwhelms his opponents. A famous example of this is George Foreman defeating Joe Frazier.

If the in-fighter is a 'meatbag' for the brawler, they tend to succeed against out-fighters. Out-fighters prefer a slower fight, with some distance between themselves and the opponent. The in-fighter tries to close that gap and unleash furious flurries. On the inside, the out-fighter loses a lot of his combat effectiveness, because he cannot throw the hard punches. The in-fighter is generally successful in this case, due to his intensity in advancing on his opponent and his good agility, which makes him difficult to evade. An example of this type of fight is the first fight between Ali and Joe Frazier, the Fight of the Century, although their following two bouts defy the theory, with Ali winning both.

The out-fighter tends to be most successful against the brawler, whose slow speed (both hand and foot) and poor technique make them an easy target to hit for the faster out-fighter. The out-fighter's main key is to stay alert, as the brawler only needs to land one good punch to finish the fight. If the out-fighter can avoid those power punches, he can often wear the brawler down with fast jabs, tiring the slugger out. If he is successful enough, he may even apply extra pressure in the later rounds in an attempt to achieve a knockout.

By far, the most famous bout to depict this battle is the Rumble in the Jungle, where Muhammed Ali overwhelmed George Foreman in the eighth round to reclaim his heavyweight title.

Hybrid boxers tend to be the most successful in the ring, because they often have advantages against most opponents. Pre-prison Tyson, able to overwhelm any in-fighter with his tremendous power, was also able to use his in-fighting footspeed to close in on and knock out many out-fighters who tried to stay out of his range, such as Michael Spinks. Muhammad Ali's speed kept him away from hard hitters like Sonny Liston and George Foreman, but his strong chin allowed him to weather Joe Frazier enough to last, and eventually win two of their three bouts.

Technique

The modern boxing stance is a reflection of the current system of rules employed by professional boxing. It differs in many ways from the typical boxing stances of and early 20th centuries. It's been stated that Americans adopted a more upright vertical armed guard (as opposed to more horizontally held, knuckles facing the ground guard as seen when looking at early 20th century boxers such as Jack Johnson) due to the Americans' confrontations with the Filipino natives as a result of the Philippines Spanish-American War. When engaged in hand to hand combat, the Filipinos would slash the wrists of the American soldiers, the Americans adapted by changing the guarded stance and thus just one example of a boxing technicality evolving.

There are 3 main Boxing defensive positions (guards or styles):

All fighters have their own variations to these styles. Some fighters may have their guard higher for more head protection while others have their guard lower to provide better protection against body punches. Many fighters don't strictly use a single position, but rather adapt to the situation when choosing a certain position to protect them.

Peek-a-boo

Sometimes known as the "earmuffs". This is the most common defensive style. The hands are placed next to each other in front of the face(like mentioned before fighters tend to vary the exact positioning in which they use it) and elbows are brought in tight to the body(this position can be achieved by bringing the elbows as close together while not straining yourself to do so). This defensive style is what a boxer is taught to do when they begin to box, after they gain experience they can decide to change or vary their guard. This style is middle of the road style in terms of counterpunching and damage reduction. A boxer can counter punch from this stance, but it is difficult, however, there have been boxers who can do this very well. This defense covers up a fighter well, but there are holes. Hooks do damage by going around the hands and by hitting just behind the elbows. Winky Wright uses this style very well from a damage reduction stand point.

Cross-Armed

The forearms are placed on top of each other horizontally in front of the face with the glove of one arm being on the top of the elbow of the other arm. This style is greatly varied when the back hand (right for an orthodox fighter and left for a southpaw) rises vertically. This style is the most effective for reducing head damage. The only head punch that a fighter is susceptible to is a jab to the top of the head. The body is open, but most fighters who use this style bend and lean to protect the body, but while upright and unaltered the body is there to be hit. This position is very difficult to counterpunch from, but virtually eliminates all head damage. George Foreman used this defense during the second phase of his career.

Philly Shell or Crab

The lead arm (left for an orthodox fighter and right for a southpaw) is placed across the torso usually somewhere in between the belly button and chest and the lead hand rests on the opposite side of the fighter's torso. The back hand is placed on the side of the face (right side for orthodox fighters and left side for southpaws). The lead shoulder is brought in tight against the side of the face (left side for orthodox fighters and right side for southpaws). This style is used by fighters who like to counterpunch. To execute this guard a fighter must be very athletic and experienced.

This style is so effective for counterpunching because it allows fighters to slip punches by rotating and dipping their upper body and causing blows to glance of the fighter. After the punch glances off the fighters back hand is in perfect position to hit their out of positioned opponent. The shoulder lean is used in this stance. To execute the shoulder lean a fighter rotates and ducks (to the right for orthodox fighters and to the left for southpaws) when their opponents punch is coming towards them and then rotates back towards their opponent while their opponent is bringing their hand back. The fighter will throw a punch with their back hand as they are rotating towards their undefended opponent.

James Toney and Floyd Mayweather Jr. executes the shoulder lean perfectly according to technique. The weakness to this style is that when a fighter is stationary and not rotating they are open to be hit so a fighter must be athletic and well conditioned to effectively execute this style. To beat this style fighters like to jab their opponents shoulder causing the shoulder and arm to be in pain and to demobilize that arm.

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