The Variety Of Lefhooks

[The Old LefHook]

The lefhooks of Tommy Gunn looked devastatiing, the lefhooks of Jerry Cooney didn't, yet they were equally devastating.

Frazier's lefhooks looked devastating, Chico's didn't, yet they were equally devastating.

Dempsey could hit opponents with the shortest punch you've seen, and knock them down, a lefhook. Boxing writers blab all the time about six inch punches. But only Dempsey knocked world class fighters down with hooks that short. The others throw punches about a foot long, but Dempsey's arm seems to barely move sometimes and the opponent goes down.

[BattlingNelson]

The lefhooks of Tommy Gunn looked devastatiing, the lefhooks of Jerry Cooney didn't, yet they were equally devastating.

Frazier's lefhooks looked devastating, Chico's didn't, yet they were equally devastating.

Dempsey could hit opponents with the shortest punch you've seen, and knock them down, a lefhook. Boxing writers blab all the time about six inch punches. But only Dempsey knocked world class fighters down with hooks that short. The others throw punches about a foot long, but Dempsey's arm seems to barely move sometimes and the opponent goes down.

It wasn’t Dempsey’s opponents that ducked....

[Marchegiano]

I struggle with the distinction between Marciano's "Phantom Overhead" and Mike Tyson/Tommy Morrison's "Home Run Hook"

I don't even know these are proper terms and not localized (Ocala area FL) colloquials.

[The Old LefHook]

That lefhook to the liver takes a little different technique to perfect.

[HOUDINI563]

A textbook left hook is a very short blow. Thrown within the plane of ones shoulders. Best exemplified by Dempsey. The ko of Sharkey, the KD of Tunney being the clearest examples. The best example however is the knockdown just prior to the ko of Firpo.

[NChristo-]

No love for the old Patterson leaping left yet ?

[The Old LefHook]

The nearly perfect heavyweight dimensions--6 ft., two hundred lbs.

[The Old LefHook]

That lefhook to the liver takes a little different technique to perfect.

To deliver that hook, you usually to step out to the side and place 'er with care on the short rib.

[billeau2]

To deliver that hook, you usually to step out to the side and place 'er with care on the short rib.

A lot of the hook has to do with hand placement. You have to find a way to deliver the strike with the knuckles. I would also throw in the discussion the Kid McCoy Corkscrew. This punch was a blow that could be thrown with a slight arc and where at the last minute the hand was twisted towards the median of one's body.

McCoy's strike did not set up so much initially as turn at the last minute when the arc permitted. Why the arc? In a straight punch you would probably not want to mess with the point of contact with smaller gloves...your power was in that point of contact on your target...also the target for the blow for a corkscrew would be the side of the chin, not the chin tip.

I think McCoy may have revolutionized aspects of the hook but I am going on descriptions. What might be the special sauce so to speak was setting up for a relatively straight shot from an angle... that is really what a hook is. Your shot comes in from a near perfect 90 degrees and properly thrown one should either be looking at their palm or the top of the hand upon delivery.

People prior to the refinement on the hook threw plenty of circular shots but these are not hooks.

[billeau2]

To deliver that hook, you usually to step out to the side and place 'er with care on the short rib.

Thats because the liver is on our right side, and the hooker had to deal with the right hand. In theory one could find an angle to hook in, but a straight right, lead, jab, etc would find you first. Depending on the skill of the hooker one might simply transfer weight to the left leg as the blow is thrown, or more the case... one would indeed drift over past the right hand.

Interesting note on the target: If your opponent committed to the punch you probably would want to set your weight, let it wizz past and go for the short ribs. If you caught them with the hand out, or the elbow bent (why this is such a bad habit!) you didn't need as much force, just the proper placement at the liver.

Your problem would be a blow that arced. This would catch you unless you ducked it.