NEW YORK – Don Saxby, Claressa Shields’ new assistant trainer, says it isn’t a coincidence that she’s been hurting her opponents more since moving to heavyweight.
Saxby, a Brooklyn-based trainer who works out of Gleason’s Gym, says he has been developing specific strategies to bring out Shields’ natural power. He expects Shields to score a knockout in her next defense of the undisputed heavyweight championship on July 26, which takes place at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Saxby, who will be in Shields’ corner for the second straight fight, says the two had worked on the punches that hurt and dropped Shields’ last opponent, Danielle Perkins, in the dying seconds of a unanimous decision victory in February.
Saxby says she is showing increased power because of two simple techniques: making sure she closes her fists when she punches and aiming for the chin.
“People may not think she does, but Claressa has tremendous power. When she closes her hand in the glove properly, she’ll knock them out,” said the 61-year-old Saxby, who fought briefly as a pro and has trained pros like Joan Guzman and Khalid Twaiti.
“You don’t have to throw as many, you can throw what I call ‘quantity/quality’ shots. You don’t have to throw a lot, just make sure they’re quality shots. That is what we’ve been working on. I said, if you throw less, you’ve got that much more to throw the next round.”
Saxby joined Shields’ camp for about five weeks ahead of the Perkins fight after Shields’ boyfriend, the rapper Papoose, whom Saxby also trains, recommended his services. She tried him out and liked their chemistry, inviting her to join her camp, which includes long-time head trainer John David Jackson. The two coaches work alongside each other, often splitting pad work duties.
Shields appreciates that Saxby doesn’t allow her to slack off on technique.
“I think adding Don Saxby to the equation, he brings that Brooklyn energy and he’s just very strict. I can throw 20 great combinations but if just one of those punches is wrong, he’s like, ‘yo, on that one right hand you didn’t have your hand closed,’ and I’m like, ‘yeah, you caught me there.’ He keeps me mindful of it, and six eyes is better than four,” said Shields, 16-0 (3 KOs), at last month’s media workout.
“Me and coach John have been together for so many years. Coach John brings a different set of eyes and [Don] is way more brutal, I feel like. He’s harder on me than Coach John.”
Though Saxby couldn’t join this camp in its entirety due to other obligations, he will be flying to Atlanta on July 13 to finish up camp with the team.
Saxby adds that, while he does bring some new training methods to the table, there’s only so much you need to teach someone who is as accomplished as the two-time Olympic gold medalist.
“Someone like Claressa, you just gotta remind her. She’s 77-1 as an amateur, three or four-time undisputed champ, with fighters like that you just gotta remind them and show them other things also,” said Saxby.
“She’s open-minded so it works out for both of us. People may not realize it but she’s very humble.”
Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for jeetwin55.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at .
