Before Mendoza, boxers generally stood still and merely swapped punches.
Mendoza's  "scientific style" included a diverse array of defensive movements and strategies that included "side-stepping", moving rapidly away, ducking, and blocking.
His new offensive tactics included the guard, and the straight left.
 With the guard, the hands were held high to protect the head and chin and the forearms might be tucked against the torso to impede body shots.
 The stance was at a slight side angle to create a smaller target.
 When protecting the body, the boxer rotated the hips and let incoming punches "roll" off.
 Feints or misleading moves could be made with a partial punch or movement of the arm, or by a small movement of the lead foot.

Mendoza's new strategy, the Mendoza School, also referred to as the Jewish School, was criticized in some circles as cowardly as it included side-stepping and ducking.
 However, with his new technique Mendoza was able to fully gain advantage from his small stature, speed, and punching power, permitting him to overcome much heavier opponents.
 He based some of his new defense on his studies of contemporary fencers and their intricate style of parrying thrusts and lunges from opponents.
 Though he stood only 5 feet 7 inches (170 cm) and weighed only 160 pounds (73 kg), he may have been the only middleweight to ever win the heavyweight championship of England.
 In 1789 he published his masterpiece, "The Art of Boxing", one of the earliest volumes on the sport.
The book became a primer for a new generation of English and American boxers, and its techniques spread throughout Europe.

With the popular support he gained from his boxing victories, Mendoza helped transform the popular English stereotype of a Jew from an anonymous weak, and defenseless person into an individual deserving of respect.
 This image was bolstered by his conference with the future King George III, when they met in public view after the Martin fight.
Before Mendoza, boxers generally stood still and merely swapped punches. Mendoza's  "scientific style" included a diverse array of defensive movements and strategies that included "side-stepping", moving rapidly away, ducking, and blocking. His new offensive tactics included the guard, and the straight left.  With the guard, the hands were held high to protect the head and chin and the forearms might be tucked against the torso to impede body shots.  The stance was at a slight side angle to create a smaller target.  When protecting the body, the boxer rotated the hips and let incoming punches "roll" off.  Feints or misleading moves could be made with a partial punch or movement of the arm, or by a small movement of the lead foot.
Mendoza's new strategy, the Mendoza School, also referred to as the Jewish School, was criticized in some circles as cowardly as it included side-stepping and ducking.  However, with his new technique Mendoza was able to fully gain advantage from his small stature, speed, and punching power, permitting him to overcome much heavier opponents.  He based some of his new defense on his studies of contemporary fencers and their intricate style of parrying thrusts and lunges from opponents.  Though he stood only 5 feet 7 inches (170 cm) and weighed only 160 pounds (73 kg), he may have been the only middleweight to ever win the heavyweight championship of England.  In 1789 he published his masterpiece, "The Art of Boxing", one of the earliest volumes on the sport. The book became a primer for a new generation of English and American boxers, and its techniques spread throughout Europe.
With the popular support he gained from his boxing victories, Mendoza helped transform the popular English stereotype of a Jew from an anonymous weak, and defenseless person into an individual deserving of respect.  This image was bolstered by his conference with the future King George III, when they met in public view after the Martin fight.
Daniel Mendoza