The left hook is not a punch that can be landed without setting up. It must be sneaked in as there has not been one person fighting in the history of boxing with an ounce of brains to just let left hooks land on them like that. This is because theyre fairly simple to avoid - unless of course you were made to walk into one. Grey has some posts around here that you should be able to find easy about basic left hook counters. Here's some other interesting set ups for the left hook and also some counters for those counters.

Left hooks can be countered with a left hook. In my opinion this is one of the most fascinating exchanges in boxing. The thing with the left hook is that whilst throwing it the body naturally turns in such a way that turns right into the opponents left hook. I call it double hooks. In such a scenario both opponents are exposed to being hit in either the head or the solar plexus. Both are moving into each other's punch and if caught will be be caught off balance as consequence to being hit while punching. If hit during this exchange the results are typically devastating. The exchange itself is responsible for many of the knockdown/knockouts in boxing and I always cringe when I see two fighters preparing to go into it. When Felix Trinidad fought Fernando Vargas this sort of thing happened very often as both fighters like to look
for the left hook. I really recommend trying to get a hold this fight and studying it if you want to learn more about left hooks.

Here are some shots of the first knockdown of the fight. Commonly people tend to think Tito landed the perfect example of a left hook counter to the jab. What most people don't know is that what he actually ended up countering was a left hook.

Here you see Tito slipping the jab so that it passes over his right shoulder. (on a side note notice that Tito is in a position to be hit by a right hand )


Here Tito starting his left hook counter in response to the jab. Whats important to note here is that Vargas could have very easily blocked the punch as you can see.


Instead of blocking Tito's left hook Vargas opts to throw left hook of his own in response to Trinidad's. You can see him getting tagged as he starts his left hook.


Vargas finishing up his left hook and eventually wobbling to the canvas


The main point I wanted to illustrate here was how devastating the left hook is when countering a left hook.



Here is another scenario that plays out later in the fight. Once again I recommend getting a chance to see the fight for yourself as it is loaded with information.

Here we see Tito slipping the straight right over his right shoulder (notice that Tito couldve thrown a right hand with his slip here)


Tito starting his counter left hook


Vargas - also in a position to throw a left hook as he had just completed a right hand - also starts a left hook effectively putting both men into a double hooks scenario.


Here we see Tito taking the Vargas hook flush. The punch would knock him down instantly.



The question to ask is why was Vargas able to land his left hook whereas Tito was not. This becomes evident from a different angle.



What Tito had thrown was a left hook counter to the body. The reason for going to the body and not the head in response to a right hand is due to the fact that the head is naturally slipping as it is being carried in the movement of the right hand. The body however is exposed as the right arm is straightened out and raised, revealing the liver. In retrospect we can see that Tito, believing to have an open window to the liver - bit the bait accordingly. What we also see, however, is that Vargas was already finishing up his right hand as Trinidad was starting up his left hook. This allowed Vargas to bring back his right arm to block the left hook to the body whilst throwing a left hook to counter Tito's left hook. Vargas ends up landing a flush left hook with a comfortable degree of safety. He triggers Tito's left hook to the body by giving him a right hand to counter, then blocks it in the same motion as he counters with a left hook of his own. Try to get into your stance right now and act out what Vargas did while imagining Tito slipping your right hand and throwing that left hook towards your body. Try it a few times and get a good feel of it. If you notice a guy trying to use the same counter Tito was on you, this is a way to make him pay for it.


If anybody remembers The Mosley/Vargas rematch they remember seeing one of the biggest left hooks anyone has ever seen. Anyway throughout the fight Vargas was looking to parry Mosley's jab. Parrying Mosley's jab had some consequences though. Namely that by putting your hand in front of your face to parry the jab you expose the side of your face to left hooks.

Vargas, in believing what Mosley was throwing was a jab, moves his hand out to parry.
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I believe this punch is best set up when you're opponent comes to expect your jab and begins to parry it automatically without thinking. You can eventually get a sense of this as the fight progresses. After you allow him to develop this habit for some amount of time it becomes very hard for him to expect that something different may happen. He has no reason to think that after all as you've given him nothing that would lead him to believing something unexpected might happen to him. In my opinion its most effective when you throw your jab as a counter to his jab. Because his committed to the act of punching, its more difficult for him to maneuver out of the way. Also, because he is currently in the mindset of punching, its more difficult for him to factor in other information. He is very narrow minded and purely focused on 1. jabbing and 2. parrying your counter jab. Its decided in his mind before he even starts the jab.

Essentially, if he is automatically expecting a counter jab as he jabs then the left hook - from his disposition - literally comes from nowhere.



The last one I'll talk about is a pretty simple one using a fat yet surprisingly quick version a heavyweight James Toney and John Ruiz as examples.

Here's Toney rolling a right hand


Here's Toney starting a counter right hand coming off his shoulder roll and Ruiz starting a left hook coming off of his right hand.


Toney here landing his right hand inside Ruiz's left hook as his head moves away from a left hook. The yellow line represents a potential left hook to the head with the dotted line representing a potential left hook to the body



This frame is pretty interesting because as you can see Toney's liver was very open. His arm is raised up in order to throw that roll counter exposing his body. Toney's head is moving away but his body isnt. Had Ruiz dropped the left hook to the body instead of the head he would have hurt Toney badly. It's important to note that note that the roll counter can be thrown while still protecting the body but typically those who throw it like this expose the head. Throw right hands at your opponent and make sure to watch him to see if he throws a roll counter in response. If you see him leaving something open, give him the right hand for him to counter and throw your left hook at the the exposed area.