Orthodox Stance - Alternative Stances

Alternative Stances

The corresponding designation for a left-handed boxer is southpaw and is generally a mirror-image of the orthodox stance. A southpaw boxer guards and jabs with his right-hand. Some famous boxers who use southpaw are Marvin "Marvelous" Hagler, Sultan Ibragimov, Naseem Hamed, Joe Calzaghe, Manny Pacquiao and Lucian Bute. Francisco Palacios is traditionally an orthodox, but occasionally switches to a southpaw stance to confuse his opponent at times. Some fighters who are naturally left-handed fight in the orthodox stance with the advantage of a fast, hard jab and left hook. Those examples include: Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Angel Cotto, Marco Antonio Barrera to name a few. Though they are far from common, many gym trainers who lack experience in training left-handed boxers convert southpaws to a right-handed stance.