Southpaw stance

Al McCoy, world champion in the 1910s, displaying southpaw stance with right hand and right foot to the fore
Ruslan Chagaev in southpaw stance

In boxing and some other sports, a southpaw stance is a stance in which the boxer has the right hand and the right foot forward, leading with right jabs, and following with a left cross right hook. It is the normal stance for a left-handed boxer. The corresponding boxing designation for a right-handed boxer is the orthodox stance, which is generally a mirror-image of the southpaw stance. In American English, "southpaw" generally refers to a person who is left-handed. While many advantages have been theorized for left-handedness in sports,[1] many studies have found no impact at the professional level.[2][3]

  1. ^ Sorokowski, Piotr, Agnieszka Sabiniewicz, and Sławomir Wacewicz. "The influence of the boxing stance on performance in professional boxers." AnthropologicAl review 77.3 (2014): 347-353.
  2. ^ SOPIARZ, JOSH. "Fighters and Fathers: Managing Masculinity in Contemporary Boxing Cinema." THE POPULAR CULTURE STUDIES JOURNAL (2019): 257.
  3. ^ Baker, Joseph, and Jörg Schorer. "The Southpaw advantage?-lateral preference in mixed martial arts." PloS one 8.11 (2013): e79793.