Joe Louis and Joe Frazier on the left hook in their respective boxing manuals

[McGrain]

Joe Louis in his manual, "How To Box". The left hook is one of the most difficult blows to learn and use properly. The hook is used as a countering blow and a finishing blow. The shorter this blow, the better it's effect. The hook is used best against a left jab or a straight right as a counter. The right arm should be crooked with the elbow directly down in front of the ribs...relaxed...the head should have no singluar action of it's own; it works along with the body, chin pinned down.

Turn your body to the right, shifting your weight onto your right leg, throw the left arm in an arc to the opponent's head. Make sure to hit through the mark and not just at it, with the knuckles up at impact of blow. Practice to give you co-ordination of bodyweight and arm-power which brings about a snap in the blow, and gives it more force

It must be said at this time that the left jab and left hook can be most effectively combined

Tony Galento had me going and even knocked me down with a hard left in the third round. In the fourth I threw a hard right to his jaw, then a powerful left hook which started his mouth, nose and right eye bleeding.



Joe Frazier in his manual, "Box Like The Pro's". The majority of great fighters in boxing history probably relied mroe on the straight right than they did on the left hook. But when thrown correctly, I think the left hook is the most powerful and dangerous punch in the game...it permits you to get more leverage and torque into the punch. The left hook, when thrown correctly, travels the same distance as the straight right. But because it comes from the side it is not as easy to spot as the straight right. You can throw it to the body or head without opening yourself up to much

The bad news is that the left hook is the hardest punch to learn how to throw properly (though it was easy for me). To throw a left hook properly, you have to be positioned correctly. A lot of trainers teach you you have to be close to throw a left hook; not true. The hook I dropped the Butterfly with was a long hook. I stopped guys with my long hook. The key is to be in position, to bring your hap and body around with it. How to get into position to throw the hook? The jab. That gets you close enough. The jab sets up everything. Move forward whilst jabbing, then when you're close enough, wham. There's a lot to know about the hook but if you can master it there's not a better punch in boxing.

1 - Assume the standard position; hand sup, chin down, eyes on your opponent

2 - Lean forward and to the left slightly, but still keep your weight evenly distributed.

3 - As you're bringing the punch over, plant your left foot flat on the floor; anchor it. That's going to drive the punch.

4 - Make sure your elbow is up when you bring the punch around so that your arm is parallel to the floor and turn your fist so your palm is facing you. Snap the punch through - that's called "turning it over".

5 - When you turn the punch over, simultaneously bring your hip around with it, but keep that left foot planted. Follow through with the punch. Once it reaches a spot dercitly in front of your face, bring your left hand and your weight back to their original position and adjust your balance. If you have to move a little to stay balanced, do it.




Both men cover basics like making a fist etc. elsewhere in their manuals, but this is what they have to say about their left hooks.

[McGrain]

Bernad Hopkins in The Ring, April 2009.

The left hook is one of boxing's power punches. That means you use it to hurt your opponent or KO him. When you throw the hook you want to land it so hard you hurt your opponent. That doesn't mean you wind it up and try to throw it like a baseball. It means you learn to throw it properly, and when you do that it lands hard naturally.

It's the hardest punch to learn to throw correctly. It takes a lot of practive. You don't just throw it. You have to learn how to move your body the right way and sets the foundation so that it generates torque. It's all in the butt and in the torque.

1 - From my regular stance, i dip a little to the left and rotate my upper body slightly toward the left. My body weight shifts from both legs to mostly the left one. I'm not leaning all the way over and i'm not winding up with the punch. And i stay on balance. You must be on balance when you throw the hook.

2 - As i bring the punch up, i'm driving witht he left leg and at the same time bringing my hips around. It's all in the hips and legs. Drive that punch up. It's lke when a baseball player swings a bat; it's about getting torque by driving with your hips and legs.

3 - As the punch connects, get the elbow up and follow through; the left elbow should be almost parallel to the floor. If it's too close to your body, you're slapping with it (who could he mean...). Get it up there an follow through with that punch. That's what we mean when we talk about turning a punch over.

4 - Your power come from your feet, where you get the torque. Not from your arms, shoulders or back but from your feet. Your left foot is planted; there is no pivot and it stays on the ground. You're rotating your hips and driving the punch with your left leg and that foot stays where it is.

[mr. magoo]

They both seem to be consistant in their opinion that the left hook is one of the hardest shots to learn how to throw, and I agree. Most people are right handed, and most right handed people have a hell of a time doing anything with their left. Frazier knew how to harnest power from that shot. If you look at that huge left he decked Ali with, you can see the momentum building as he came forward across the ring while Muhummad was backing up.

[PowerPuncher]

2 of the best left hookers breaking the technique down, I do wonder how much it is ghost writter though. The left hook can be hard to learn, as a teenager I couldn't throw the left hook very well, into my late 20s it became my favourate shot, but it takes learning, although once learnt it becomes second nature and you don't think about it but even many top pros don't throw it too well though

[McGrain]

If you look at that huge left he decked Ali with, you can see the momentum building as he came forward across the ring while Muhummad was backing up.

I think the other two guys would dissaprove of that punch, from a technical standpoint. Frazier is the only one who condones a "long" or "outside" hook.

[PowerPuncher]

I think the other two guys would dissaprove of that punch, from a technical standpoint. Frazier is the only one who condones a "long" or "outside" hook.

You shouldn't really throw them that wide because it takes longer for them to land so you get countered but Frazier can get away with it because of the speed he throws it. However his wider punching is possibly 1 of the reasons he would take so many shots though

[red cobra]

I think Floyd Patterson could have commented well about the left hook, recalling to mind the masterpiece left hook he nearly killed Ingo with in '60.

[TheGreatA]

Here's what Louis said about the first Billy Conn fight:

Louis explained what happened next. “Son of a gun he started that long left hook that I’d been waiting for.” Louis was having his best round in the thirteenth. Conn taking heavy punishment in this round saw the tide turning back in favor of the champion and perhaps himself out of desperation threw a wide left hook that Louis countered with a well timed, tremendous, accurate right hand to the jaw. This punch was before the final flurry of punches by Louis but was the beginning of the end for Conn. Louis, fundamentally flawless, capitalized on any mistake that an opponent made. Conn had boxed marvelously but one mistake was all that Joe Louis had needed. He countered Conn’s missed left hook with his own powerful right.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[janitor]

I think the other two guys would dissaprove of that punch, from a technical standpoint. Frazier is the only one who condones a "long" or "outside" hook.

Dempsey would have agreed with him.

[ChrisPontius]

It would've been interesting to hear Dempsey's part on this, as he (or a ghost writer) wrote an extensive boxing manual as well.


I think the uppercut (either hand) is much harder to master than the left hook, however.

[McGrain]

I'll dig out Dempsey's take on the left hook tomorrow.

[OBCboxer]

Good stuff. Very interesting find.

[PowerPuncher]

It would've been interesting to hear Dempsey's part on this, as he (or a ghost writer) wrote an extensive boxing manual as well.

I think the uppercut (either hand) is much harder to master than the left hook, however.

Always found it 1 of the easiest, suppose its down to individual biomechanics though, landing it isn't always easy though

[ChrisPontius]

Always found it 1 of the easiest, suppose its down to individual biomechanics though, landing it isn't always easy though

Maybe you did, but ask yourself this: what do you see more often, a boxer using the left hook to good effect or the uppercut? There are not all that many knockouts by uppercuts (in relative numbers) because the punch is very hard to land consistently.

[Dempsey08]

I know i should probably post this in the training forum, but do you think its better to pivot on the lead foot or the rear foot when throwing a hook:huh

[McGrain]

I guess it depends upon what you are doing with your weight. If you are shifting left as a rule you don't want to be trying to push through with your right. But like Frazier says, if you have to make a small adjustment after you have landed it's not the end of the world.

[PH|LLA]

fighters with great left hooks are a dying breed.

[PowerPuncher]

Maybe you did, but ask yourself this: what do you see more often, a boxer using the left hook to good effect or the uppercut? There are not all that many knockouts by uppercuts (in relative numbers) because the punch is very hard to land consistently.

Thats simply because the left hook is a more useful tool than the uppercut, the left hook can land anywhere on the right side of the body and can be thrown from many angles, the uppercut is primarily thrown to the jaw and pit of the stomach at close range, missing an uppercut is also more dangerous

1 of the better displays of consistent uppercut use in recent years is Mayweather-Chavez fight where FMJ counters with the uppercut as Chavez keeps coming into close range and throwing left hooks. Lennox, Tyson and Hamed had brutal uppercuts. The Klitschkos would be allot better if they had excellent uppercuts

[PowerPuncher]

I know i should probably post this in the training forum, but do you think its better to pivot on the lead foot or the rear foot when throwing a hook:huh

Right, look at Tito's right leg he's always on his tip toe ready to pivot that left hooks, or even both for a hail marry but that may throw you off balance

[Dempsey08]

Cheers

[Hydraulix]

fighters with great left hooks are a dying breed.

You ain't lyin.

[prime]

Jack Dempsey wrote a whole chapter on the hook in his excellent manual. You can read it at [Only registered and activated users can see links]

Dempsey taught me to punch. I kept suffering hand trouble till I learned to aim with the second knuckle, next to the pinky, as Jack advises.

[Hydraulix]

Bumping this classic thread.

[megavolt]

Donaire seems to have a good hook. Great thread, were there comments on the straight right hand as well?