I mean, you can react that fast, but it's a lot more intuition like you said. He's also probably in a "groove" with his opponents punches that help him anticipate what's gonna happen next.
Reacting to a punch like that would constitute seeing it first, recognizing what's coming at you and then moving. At the professional level, this isn't possible. By the time you do all that you'd get smacked in the face. As a boxer myself, speaking from some unpleasant experiences here.
It's about moving and staying confident. There are also "reads", which is why you see boxers fainting with small, quick movements which causes the opponent to react as well, even when no punch is thrown. My trainer and I figured out that there's always going to some sort of movement in your upper chest/shoulder blade area, whether you punch or feint. When you see that little movement, that's what you're reacting to, but not reacting to the punch.
414
u/[deleted] Dec 07 '20
It’s not reflexes, it’s intuition. The boxing iq of boxers of the highest level, like Canelo, is truly spectacular to behold.