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[Xtremo]

Watching UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar barely escape Shane Carwin’s fists during a shaky first round at UFC 116 last Saturday in Las Vegas, Lesnar's boxing coach Peter Welch wasn’t as alarmed for him as most.

“I wasn't really concerned because I know there's always a chance for recovery,” said Welch on the Sherdog Radio Network's “Beatdown” show on Wednesday. “If you can't punch in traffic then you're not ready…I've seen Brock do it on numerous occasions. He can punch in traffic and I know it's just a matter of setting the feet and turning it around.”

In fact, Welch, who spent weeks secretly training Lesnar at his Death Clutch gym in Alexandria, Minn., leading up to the bout, said things unfolded in a predictable way.

“Part of our strategy and the things that we worked on in camp limited (Carwin’s) ability to get into those standup exchanges and relied a lot on when he did get (Brock) in a vulnerable position with Brock being up against the cage with his head down,” Welch said. “I just think (Carwin) made the best of the situation he had and he may have gassed out when he put himself in that position.”

Lesnar's willingness to explore vulnerable positions during training not only helped him in the fight, it’s also the reason he's a champion now with only six fights on his ledger, said Welch.

“Either you have it or you don't,” said Welch. “But he has a ton of heart, a ton of balls and a good chin. You put those three together and you get the heavyweight champ of the world. You get through that and that's the difference between a guy that puts his tail between his legs and a guy that will jump up and do damage.”

Welch said the 32-year-old champion hasn’t yet begun to tap into his striking potential.

“His strongest punch? He hasn't shown it yet,” said the Boston-based trainer. “So I'll just leave that as a mystery. In training he's shown a lot of potential to unleash some serious leverage and good snap and good power on his punches. So, it's now a matter of getting Brock comfortable enough to get the repetitions in and he's going to be a force to be reckoned with, not only in striking, but in all areas. It's just a matter of getting the reps in. Once he gets the reps in, he's going to lock it in.”

Welch, who served as a boxing coach in the earlier seasons of “The Ultimate Fighter” on Spike TV, said Lesnar is the largest fighter he’s ever worked with and that his athleticism is virtually unparalleled in the sport for his 6-foot-3, 265-pound frame.

“Clearly he's an elite athlete,” Welch stated. “He's the best in the world. I mean it's not rocket science. You bring it back to fundamentals. You bring it back to basics and you work with that.”

The trainer said Lesnar is an attentive student.

“That's (one of) the most important things (is) wanting to help the guy get better and secondly is making the connections,” said Welch. “If you can't do either one of those you're not going to be able to help the guy and if he thinks he's the boss and the know-it-all, why do you need me? Go find somebody that will be able to put up with that nonsense. Brock's not that type of guy. He's very studious. This is why he's the heavyweight champion of the world.”

Welch will return to Lesnar’s camp in the coming months to help ready him for a yet-to-be-scheduled title defense against Cain Velasquez. The 20-year-plus boxing veteran is looking forward to it.

“He's going to improve leaps and bounds this camp because he's going to have a perfect strategy,” said Welch. “We've already gone through the introduction period and now we're going to get down and we're going to take care of business at a different level. When you're dealing with athletes at this level it just accelerates the learning. It's actually a privilege and an honor to work with guys like this because they make you look good.”

Boxing Coach: Lesnar Hasn

[TBEAR]

I am not a Brock fan but, This really is scary for the HW division. If Peter gets Brock's striking just good, it is bad for the rest of the HW. With his size, wrestling, speed, chin, cardio and just ok striking he would be very hard to stop.

Before it starts this is to themab69
Brocks nuts are still sore, he still wants you off them for a few more days.

[Tiny Neustra]

Originally Posted by TBEAR

I am not a Brock fan but, This really is scary for the HW division. If Peter gets Brock's striking just good, it is bad for the rest of the HW. With his size, wrestling, speed, chin, cardio and just ok striking he would be very hard to stop.

Before it starts this is to themab69
Brocks nuts are still sore, he still wants you off them for a few more days.

AHAHAh I would rep you for that, but I cant Tbear..

[lwbrewer]

He said the key words willing to listen and learn. He's not looking for people to tell him he's the best will make Brock scaryer and harder to beat. Carwin may of missed his oppertunity

[Uvall]

Well, the dude has all the potential in the world. We'll just have to see if he keeps learning like he's been doing or not. I'd like to see at least a little bit of snap in a punch or two though. He seems to be way too slow when throwing blows. This is why I've always felt he should work on more subs. But like I was saying, he's still very green no matter what belt he holds, so we'll just have to wait and see if he improves or hits a wall. His next two to three fights should answer these questions for everyone.

[DaAntiMartyr]

He's big and a freak of nature but this isn't WWE and getting really punched over and over he showed he wants no part of exchanging blows and if he runs into someone who connects more accurately and can have some actual cardio brock is out cold, his chin is suspect especially since carwin didn't connect all that much before he fell over too tired lol. Brock will be KO'D

[TBEAR]

Originally Posted by DaAntiMartyr

He's big and a freak of nature but this isn't WWE and getting really punched over and over he showed he wants no part of exchanging blows and if he runs into someone who connects more accurately and can have some actual cardio brock is out cold, his chin is suspect especially since carwin didn't connect all that much before he fell over too tired lol. Brock will be KO'D

So many thing wrong with this post....I am not even going to try to correct it.

[lwbrewer]

Carwin has knocked people out with short arm punches before. So to say he didn't hit Brock hard and his chin is suspect is pushing the truth a little. Yes Carwin can hit harder than he did but the other guy's isn't their to let him.

[DaAntiMartyr]

Actually no Tbear, cause we all saw him coward down and curdle up like a scared child when true hits landed early then carwin got exhausted..am i wrong? your just a brock nuthugger who won't admit he has no business in MMA and it's a joke he's in the sport..Maybe so lwbrewer and we saw shanes cardio vanish thus letting brock steal a win he shouldn't have.

[TBEAR]

Originally Posted by DaAntiMartyr

Actually no Tbear, cause we all saw him coward down and curdle up like a scared child when true hits landed early then carwin got exhausted..am i wrong? your just a brock nuthugger who won't admit he has no business in MMA and it's a joke he's in the sport..Maybe so lwbrewer and we saw shanes cardio vanish thus letting brock steal a win he shouldn't have.

Read up in the thread dude....I dont like Brock. But show some respect the guy is a beast and can only get better. Did you read the article?? It talks about working his striking to improve his overall skillset.

Shane has cardio also, He just blew his wad tring to finish.