Examples of Southpaws Causing Knockouts

[dan_cov]

Bloody good post this & props to whoever posted it!



Warning: this is a bit of a novel, but I hope you like it anyway. Some people were asking about footwork in the Southpaw (SP) vs Orthodox (OD) match up, so I decided to break down some of the angles with diagrams and even a few sexy gifs. Sinister made an excellent tread on related topics recently, so I thought I would try to build on it with some stuff that I was already working on. This isn’t specifically so much about footwork as it is about angles and ring generalship.

This is the SP vs OD neutral angle.

[dan_cov]

In the OD vs OD match up, a common technique is to attain a dominant angle by circling to the right since it puts you away from your opponent’s cross. In the SP vs OD match up, the idea is the same, but the direction is different. OD will move to his left and SP will move to his right

[dan_cov]

Since the opponent isn’t going to just stand there and let his opponent circle, he’ll try to circle with the opponent to try to regain a neutral angle (below left) or to cut off the corner and achieve the better angle (below right).

[Toney Loc]

4:25



2:25 "oh shit!"

[dan_cov]

Sometimes, it becomes a game of cat and mouse, with the fighter on the in the center chasing the fighter on the outside. When it becomes a circling contest, the fighter on the inside has the advantage because he has less distance to travel in the same amount of time when trying to outmaneuver his opponent.







This is why “controlling the center of the ring/cage” is an important strategy for some fighters.

[dan_cov]

Now imagine you know your opponent is trying to follow you or cut you off. If you know where he is trying to be, you can anticipate it and use it to your advantage. After circling to the outside a few times, you see that he is following you. With a sudden direction change, you are now in a position where you can strike and he can’t retaliate. If you’ve set it up well by really making your opponent chase after you, he’ll have too much momentum in his direction to do anything other than block. He’ll lose a valuable moment trying to adjust himself back to neutral while you are on the attack. The change in rhythm when you explode on the inside will also catch him off guard.





In the diagram, even though you are on the inside, you are still at an angle that his power hand cannot effectively get you. As far as footwork for getting on the inside, just use the foot work found here: A basic footwork technique for beginners. In the OD vs OD stance, the technique brought you to the outside of your opponent, but in a SP vs OD situation, it will take you on the inside. If you are SP, just exchange the left and rights and you will do the same step in the opposite direction.

Although its risker, you can also try to hop the angle instead of stepping it. It’s generally not a good idea to let both feet leave the ground, but it’s ok to break the rules every now and then if you know when you can get away with it. Here are examples of Machida fighting from the inside angle using a hop.

[GrandpaBernard]

thanks for examples, videos, and diagrams everyone

it looks like what I originally thought is correct and most KOs done by southpaws come from their left hand. I didn't expect to finish up my research this fast

[MonsieurGeorges]

Pacquiao/Hatton is like a textbook demonstration.

Look at Zab Judah's left early in his career. He was mostly knocking out bums but his southpaw left was a zinger.

[Cloud]

How has nobody mentioned Corrie Sanders' absolute demolition of Wladimir Klitschko back in the early 2000's?

Loved ''The Sniper''. He had such deceptive hand speed and while it looked like he didnt put his full weight into his punches, they just seemed to be concussive.

Wonder how Michael Moorer vs. Corrie Sanders would have turned out...

[NChristo]

5:40