Welcome back Warriors! While I’m on my boxing journey, I was curious to know how boxers know the right time to use an uppercut onto their opponent. In boxing, an uppercut can be a real crowd pleaser. It can knock your opponent off his feet and onto the ground. A picture-perfect strike right on the chin to get the crowd on their feet and cheering. While doing research on this, I learned that in order for you to get the most out of the move, you need to learn how and when to execute the move correctly.
If you’re going to invest in using an uppercut for your boxing arsenal, there’s a few key points that will come into play.
- THERE ARE 2 DIFFERENT TYPES OF UPPERCUTS
- PROPER UPPERCUT TECHNIQUE
- TIMING THE UPPERCUT
- WHY AN UPPERCUT IS EFFECTIVE
A lot of the hardest hitters in boxing and MMA throw monstrous uppercuts that lead to KO’s, like Francis Ngannou and Mike Tyson. They have delivered uppercuts that look like something out of an action movie. While an uppercut does get the job done, it can be difficult to land onto your opponent if you’re inexperienced.
Follow along to learn a little more! Now, I’m not a guy who’s been everywhere and seen everything, this is just what I know and what I learned while training and from watching fights on TV.
The 2 Types of Uppercuts
There are 2 different types of uppercuts:
- LEAD UPPERCUT: A lead uppercut is an uppercut which your leading arm throws the punch. If you’re in an orthodox stance, your left hand. If you’re in a southpaw stance, you punch with your right hand.
- REAR UPPERCUT: A rear uppercut is an uppercut thrown with your rear hand. If your stance is orthodox, you punch with your right hand. And in a southpaw stance, you punch with your left hand.
How Do You Throw an Uppercut?
I wrote about how to throw different punches in a previous post: What are the Different Punches in Boxing? It says that an uppercut is a punch that curves upward, through your opponent’s guard, in an attempt to strike the chin.
In my experience shadow boxing at my local boxing gym, the best way to throw an uppercut depends on which hand is throwing the punch. If you’re throwing a lead uppercut, you want to curve your hand upward and stop your hand right about where your fist is in line with your nose. As for a rear uppercut, same thing. Curve the hand upward, stop where your fist meets nose level. You don’t want to throw your fist up too high, you’re not Ryu doing a Shoryuken from Street Fighter. You could end up throwing your arm out if you do that.
Remember, if you’re going to be throwing punches, the more controlled you are, the more power and accuracy your punches will be. If you’re just flailing your arms about and throwing haymakers like nobody’s business, you could end up injuring yourself or your opponent. So, watch it!
One more thing to remember when throwing a rear uppercut, as you throw the punch, you want to turn your hips and rear foot inward, towards your target. That will get you more power, since your rear hand is the stronger hand.
When Should You Throw an Uppercut?
In my experience, my trainer has said that the best time to throw an uppercut onto your opponent is close to you. Long range uppercuts are harder to land onto your opponent, and you might not get as much power. Even if you do land an uppercut from far away, you might just hit a sliver of your opponent.
So if you want to try and daze your opponent so he’ll be vulnerable, stick with close range punches. Just remember to not let your guard down, you don’t want to get punched too!
What Makes an Uppercut Special?
- YOU CAN STUN YOUR OPPONENT WITH AN UPPERCUT: What makes an uppercut special is that it can stun your opponent and go to work on him with a barrage of punches. There is also the chance you could KO your opponent if you land the punch with enough power. If you’re in a fight in front of an audience, landing an uppercut will likely get you the loudest crowd reaction you’ll ever hear.
- THE UPPERCUT IS THE STRONGEST OF ALL PUNCHES: Of all the punches in boxing, the uppercut is by far the most powerful punch of all. If executed just right, it can knock your opponent off his feet and on his back.
While it is not recommended to throw uppercuts from long range, sometimes fighters get lucky with it. I remember seeing Francis Ngannou KO Alistair Overeem with an uppercut that looked like something out of a movie. That was incredible. UFC 218 Alistair Overeem vs Francis Ngannou Brutal Knockout
Other Things to Consider
There is ne more thing that I learned that I think would be good to try. And that is to follow an uppercut with a hook. According to How To Throw an Uppercut by ExpertBoxing.com, an uppercut-hook combo is a really effective way to get the upper hand against your opponent so you can finish him off.
One thing they say is you can either follow an uppercut with a hook on the same hand or the opposite hand. To be honest, if you were going to follow an uppercut with a hook, I think it would be better if you use your opposite hand to throw the hook. For example, if you’re in an orthodox stance (right handed) and you throw a rear uppercut with your right hand, you would follow with a lead hook with your left hand. I’ve tried doing an uppercut followed by a hook on the same hand, and there is a slight moment where you’re left vulnerable between punches.
If that were the case, you would become vulnerable and probably end up getting punched before you can throw the hook that follows. So that’s why I would recommend following an uppercut with a hook on your opposite hand. That is, if you want to try it.
Closing Words
I hope you all learned something new about when you should throw an uppercut when you’re in the ring. Like I said, as hype as it is to KO someone out cold, it only works when it’s done right. Remember, boxing is more about speed and brains. As long as you know how to do it and do it right, you’ll become a pretty hard guy to KO. So now let me ask you, what do you recommend for uppercut drills? Are there any other drills and techniques you would recommend to me? Drop them in the comments below!
Until next time, keep working on those punches, and LET’S GO INTO BATTLE!