how do you fight a south paw?

[*OG Wenger*]

i sparred this guy today and he was a southpaw (first time i have sparred a southpaw) and i looked like absolute crap...i couldnt land my jab and he kept me off balance and kept disrupting my rythm....he was awkward as ****, did everything backwards....how do i adapt to cope with a southpaw?

[rockymarciano1]

the left hook and the straight right are the most effective wepons.
dont let your front foot go inside his front foot, keep it to the right of his front foot otherwise you'll be vulnerable to his left.

quickly parry his jab with your front hand and counter with your left jab.

you can get tips from floyd mayweather and b-hop on lefties on youtube.

[FlacoExplosivo]

one important thing is the placement of your lead foot. to be most effective you need your lead foot outside of his (easier said than done you'll notice) and it'll take a lot of practice so as much as possible keep sparring that southpaw along with other southpaws to get used to it. you'll notice if they're well schooled southpaws you'll be in a battle for foot position but it's important to have your lead foot outside of his. this will allow you to land your punches better as well as allow you to be in safer positions from being countered. also move to your left as best as possible, away from his left hand.

don't abandon the jab, it could be your lead foot was inside his which makes it hard to accurately land your jab if you aren't used to southpaws. one of my favorite punches in general but specifically for southpaws is left hooks to the body/liver cuz my left hand was right there close to the other guys right side so it was easier to land. and like stated above, straight right hands and left hooks are always effective.

best advice i can give you is keep SPARRING them (and remember your foot positioning) and don't be afraid to get your ass whooped in sparring it's part of the boxing and the learning process. eventually you'll get the best of them. keep trying new and different things. you'll learn as you go along, plus they're tricky to fight so don't get discouraged. we've all had to learn some how with southpaws. best of luck to you next time around

[myboxingcoach]

Bigamzz

Flacco and Rocky are absolutely spot on with regards to ensuring your lead foot stays 'outside' or to your left of his lead foot. this allows you to control the 'left flank' and forces the southpaw to move to his left, something he does not want to do.

There are also various combinations that work very well, here's a very simple combination that works very well against an opponent with an opposing stance (i.e. Southpaw versus orthodox or vice versa) along with an explantion of why, hope it helps:



As the guys rightly say, keep sparring southpaws as familiarity will breed success. Southpaws are more used to dealing with orthodox fighters than the other way around.

[T.Horton]

one important thing is the placement of your lead foot. to be most effective you need your lead foot outside of his (easier said than done you'll notice) and it'll take a lot of practice so as much as possible keep sparring that southpaw along with other southpaws to get used to it. you'll notice if they're well schooled southpaws you'll be in a battle for foot position but it's important to have your lead foot outside of his. this will allow you to land your punches better as well as allow you to be in safer positions from being countered. also move to your left as best as possible, away from his left hand.

don't abandon the jab, it could be your lead foot was inside his which makes it hard to accurately land your jab if you aren't used to southpaws. one of my favorite punches in general but specifically for southpaws is left hooks to the body/liver cuz my left hand was right there close to the other guys right side so it was easier to land. and like stated above, straight right hands and left hooks are always effective.

best advice i can give you is keep SPARRING them (and remember your foot positioning) and don't be afraid to get your ass whooped in sparring it's part of the boxing and the learning process. eventually you'll get the best of them. keep trying new and different things. you'll learn as you go along, plus they're tricky to fight so don't get discouraged. we've all had to learn some how with southpaws. best of luck to you next time around

very informative. thanks brother! green K sent.

[Lovely]

in the video golovkin is pawing the jab away, which neutralizes it. he adapts the classic guard of the 80s ussr boxer, with the exception that he doesnt flat guard the chin, but still leaves his right hand to check and hooks. combine that with head movement, jabbing head and body... etc. watch and learn from the best. if he's taller jab the chest. it ****s up their rhythm and compresses their chest just enough to **** up the breathing rhythm. chest head, stomach chest... my buddy sparred that ****in... alfonso gomez guy, and he triple jabbed stomach chest head... but he was lazy about it. every heart shot IE chest jab, short chest uppercuts... ****in amazing shots to use.

watch both parts... step to your right, pivot left.


here's a few tricks to use as a southpaw... reverse them to **** with southpaws.

(southpaw) step/slip left, straight left. this can be followed with a right hook. edwin valero does it all the time.

long lead right hook.

now as an orthodox fighter. do the same thing, step right, right hand, long left hook. simple.

a southpaw will naturally pivot to the right, pivoting to the left will throw them off, moving right will bring your right hand closer.

marquez v pacquiao.... throw a fake left uppercut, right hand... **** i donno. you'll get the hang of it. dip under their right hook unside, pivot slightly left and smash their liver with a long hook.

and do the pacquiao.. he does a lead left, where the front foot lands with the right hand (as a jab does) and i believe he pivots right (and dips under), which effectively places him outside of an orthodox fighters guard. to throw a nice pacquiao shot, hook the body as you pass under, hah.
so lead right hand, pivot/dip left. you can glove blind them if you only turn them sideways, so you're perpendicular i.e. -> |with your right hand... pass back under with a left hook to the body, or even double the right hand into an uppercut he'll turn into... thereby smothering his punches and landing a clean shot, dip back under the other way and move around.

oh yea and solar plexus shots. golovkin digs a good one as him and bute rush into eachother around the 5:30 mark... somewhere in there. anything that uses the opposing momentum, and opens up the vulnerable stance.
another thing i forgot is right uppercut all day, and if you get them to duck into it (like a fool) itll smash them and cut their guard. even paw jab... step right... paw, feint and a big right uppercut, jam them up, work inside a couple shots and then get out. punctuate your exit with a body jab then resume your work. fight your fight and you wont have a problem.

edit: you guys are saying step left, im saying step right... i step both ways. i cant really remember the rule of thumb for these guys... southpaws dont really get to me haha. im not going to try to claim to be the master here.

[killsomething]

1. Fence with him using your left hand. Watch what Wlad does with Chagaev. Just annoy him with your left hand, try to keep it above his right. Slap his hand up, down, away, etc.

2. He can't see your left hook. Hook off a jab. Feint the right-throw the hook. Double the hook.

3. Watch what Guillermo Rigondeaux does: Extend your right hand like you're pawing toward him. Then whip in a hook or a left uppercut, followed by a combo. The power you can get this way is unbelievable.

4. Everybody mentions the left foot thing. It's not a must. It's impossible, actually. You want your left foot outside his right when you throw your straight right. Ideally, you circle left vs a southpaw, but he'll be going over there too, so whoever's quickest is gonna win. You have to circle both ways and interrupt it by stepping the other way and throwing.

5. Your jab isn't that important...but if you want to land one, step straight between his legs.

6. Don't hold your right hand too high...you won't see his left coming.

7. Straight right to the body-3-2.

8. Lot's of feints.

9. Vary your right. Loop it, throw it straight, throw an overhand, uppercut, etc. Keep him guessing, and it'll tie up his left.

[mushahadeen]

how do you defend against a south paw?

* Announce you want to spend more time with your family
* Assault your ex-girlfriend
* Poke a security guard in the face

[FlacoExplosivo]

1. Fence with him using your left hand. Watch what Wlad does with Chagaev. Just annoy him with your left hand, try to keep it above his right. Slap his hand up, down, away, etc.

2. He can't see your left hook. Hook off a jab. Feint the right-throw the hook. Double the hook.

3. Watch what Guillermo Rigondeaux does: Extend your right hand like you're pawing toward him. Then whip in a hook or a left uppercut, followed by a combo. The power you can get this way is unbelievable.

4. Everybody mentions the left foot thing. It's not a must. It's impossible, actually. You want your left foot outside his right when you throw your straight right. Ideally, you circle left vs a southpaw, but he'll be going over there too, so whoever's quickest is gonna win. You have to circle both ways and interrupt it by stepping the other way and throwing.

5. Your jab isn't that important...but if you want to land one, step straight between his legs.

6. Don't hold your right hand too high...you won't see his left coming.

7. Straight right to the body-3-2.

8. Lot's of feints.

9. Vary your right. Loop it, throw it straight, throw an overhand, uppercut, etc. Keep him guessing, and it'll tie up his left.

Good post

4. Yes you are also right you have to move both ways in the ring it's impossible to just move one way. but by teaching them to move left, it'll help them get used to and understand the lead foot concept that we talk about. not a must but recommended and always good to have if you are able to establish your lead foot.

5. gotta be careful with that. if you are just starting you'll get popped with their left hand if you line up between their legs. here's where experience comes into play.

[Lovely]

you give good advice too. it's always good to take all kinds of advice from different people and do what you want with it, using what works and what doesn't. so you can move right but it's best to move left and gain foot positioning.

generally you are taught to move to your left, AWAY from the guys straight left aka his best punch. hence the reference to having your lead foot outside of his. BUT if you are experienced then you can move both ways as do you. also being realistic you HAVE to move both ways in the ring when it's an experienced fighter; it's the nature of the sport you have to adjust. I can move both ways but it's because we know our range and are comfortable enough to not get hit with their left hand. however, this guy is just beginning so best advice to give him is move left, with experience he'll get the hang of things and will eventually be able to move both ways but I have learned from many trainers to move left and from experience it is what is most effective. just the rule of thumb. so lead foot outside of his and move left and you build from there.

we can give the best advice in the world but it is up to each fighter to do them and LEARN first hand. one thing is saying what to do another thing is actually doing it (which at first is easier said than done).

yea thats word. i can never remember what i got told to do haha. the only southpaw guy i spar is 6'5"... i reenact the bute fight weekly.

* Announce you want to spend more time with your family
* Assault your ex-girlfriend
* Poke a security guard in the face

man as funny as this is, floyds a pretty nice dude... but everyone has their bad days. cant beef with the dude, roger is a great trainer too. if you look him in the eyes while you work... man you get your fourth, fifth, six, seventh wind. its insane.