Certain sports – American football and basketball included – use this oft-used slogan to signify the crucial role of putting an emphasis on defense (through strategies, plays etc.) in order to win titles. In the respective fields of certain sports, this slogan does seem to hold weight as scoring in these sports tends to be prominent, and good defense to help prevent this scoring would result in a greater chance to win.

Boxing itself is a score or point-friendly sport, meaning that barring cases of knockouts or disqualifications, points will help determine the winner. In boxing, a 10-point system is used for each round to help dictate the winner, and factors such as more prominently landed blows are used to score these points. When a boxer has a score of 10 in a round, it means they won their match. In turn, the opponent gets scored with a number below 10 which usually is 9, but can be lower based on things such as knockdowns or deductions due to bad conduct in the ring.

While there have been a decent amount of fighters that have emphasized defense as a part of their boxing style, the number of experts are few and far between; Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the most recognizable of the bunch, along with fighters like Pernell Whittaker and George Dixon. Current-day boxers that have been known to utilize strong defensive forms in their bouts are more praised for their offensive capabilities rather than their defensive effectiveness, and other legends such as Mike Tyson were praised more for their power and speed rather than their defense.

The success of fighters that tend to finish their opponents through stoppage victories more than decision wins have also led to a rise of a kind of hyper-focus on offense. Deontay Wilder – the former WBC Heavyweight world champion – was often lauded for his ability to knock opponents out, and when this run finally came to an end against Tyson Fury, his lack of defensive skills were highlighted more frequently. The same has happened to many other boxers that were seen as offensive juggernauts but ended up losing in fights where their lack of defense was apparent.

There’s also the label of defensive styles or fighters being labeled as ‘boring’ as George Kambosos Jr. recently implied after his loss to Devin Haney. Fights with knockdowns or knockouts are more prone to be called ‘exciting’, while fights that end in decisions will often be labeled as ‘close’ without any additional adjective to paint it as entertaining. There’s a clear disparity between defense and offense when it comes to the entertainment value.

But in this same disparity that can be observed between defense and offense, there lies a sort of reality where it does seem like defense makes a difference for winning bouts. Boring or not, a case can be made for most fighters that have shown to – at the very least – take their own defense seriously. Most well-rounded fighters who have shown to have exceptional offensive skills, also carry an admirable set of defensive skills that have put them ahead of their competition.

Fighters like Oleksandr Usyk, Dmitry Bivol and Terence Crawford have fine-tuned their already highly-balanced skillset to incorporate defensive techniques that have helped them to remain unbeaten and even cause upsets. The younger champions like Devin Haney and Shakur Stevenson have displayed the same sort of proficiency when it comes to defense, showcasing styles that have allowed them to finish out fights with minimal damage to their bodies, and most importantly their brains. Despite his recent loss, even Canelo Álvarez can still be considered an advanced adept at at least one aspect in defense; his body and head movement. And it might have contributed towards the long winning stretch he had after losing for the first time against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Moreover, longevity in boxing can perhaps be linked more towards boxers that are better able to protect themselves, rather than those who want to get in the thick of fighting as soon as the bell is rung. Lennox Lewis is one fighter who made his debut around the same time as Mike Tyson, and although it took him longer to edge his name in the history books, he had a longer and more fruitful career than the more recognizable Tyson, and he even managed to win against a younger and hungry Vitali Klitschko who would end up making his own name as world Heavyweight boxing champion.

Wladimir Klitschko himself – Vitali’s younger and perhaps slightly more successful brother – would incorporate an intricate defensive style where he formed a guarding position that was hard to penetrate, while at the same time allowed him to confuse opponents with his feints. And Tyson Fury, the man that would eventually give Wladimir his fourth loss in the course of taking his titles, has had more success than his compatriot Anthony Joshua to having a more elusive and defensively-efficient style, drawing only once with Wilder to remain unbeaten so far.

There is merit in being defensive. Although it cannot be definitively stated that having better defense can win championships due to the every boxer also needing elite offensive skills if they hope to remain on top for a long, defense is an underrated aspect when it comes to winning and it can assuredly be a deciding factor when it comes to championships. It is always best for a fighter to be good both offensively and defensively, but relatively speaking, being defensive will go a long way in extending a professional boxing career, and fortunately we have many other sports that can act as a testament to the importance of defense.