Footwork

After having learned how to proper position yourself in the ring (check here if you haven’t read it yet), you must learn how to effectively move around your opponent.
Mastering footwork will allow you to do everything in the ring, from moving around while catching your breath to transitioning from defense to attack in the blink of an eye.
Once you feel comfortable with your fighting stance, you can begin moving around, but to ensure to be always in the correct position you need to focus on which foot to move first.

Rules

As an orthodox boxer (left foot leading), initiate your movement as follows:
moving forward: left foot first
moving left: left foot first
moving backward: right foot first
moving Right: right foot first

As a southpaw boxer (right foot leading), it’s the same principle, so initiate your movement as follows:
When moving forward: Right foot first
When moving right: Right foot first
When moving backward: Left foot first
When moving left: Left foot first

Key points to remember

After making the first step drag the second foot of the same distance traveled, your aim is to return in your initial fighting stance.
Never cross your feet.
Stay on the balls of your feet.
Your lead foot should be lined up to point in between your opponent’s feet.

Suggestion

You always want to be in your fighting stance, try to keep this in mind when moving around.
If you have trouble in understanding if what you are doing is right, follow this advice: let balance be your guide! If you feel laterally unstable probably your feet are to narrow, so try to widen your stance a bit.

Conclusion

If you want to master boxing you need, you MUST learn good footwork! In the end, good footwork means the ability to hit without being hit, so you can understand its importance!
Mastering footwork is the foundation of your all game, is the beginning, the middle and the end so try to constantly work and get better it.
Thanks for reading,

Follow @simoneb