Vikas Krishan in the 75 kg category is one of the southpaws in the Indian squad. (Source: PTI)
“Southpaws should be drowned at birth.” As is the wont of any adage worth its citations, nobody truly knows who uttered the aforementioned words. The classic saying has long been attributed to boxers Joe Brown and Maurice Hope, and trainers Jim Wicks and Jack Hurley, depending on whom you ask. The sentiment behind it, however, has always been clear.
Left-handedness is unfavourable, as any lefty who’s had to deal with a regular pair of scissors or spiral notebooks, or has smudged his own writing, would testify. But it is also considered unlucky, or straight up evil, in some circles — “sinister”, loaned to English from Latin in the 15th century, means ‘on the left side’.
To further drive the point home, conventional boxers are called ‘orthodox’, seemingly highlighting the lefty, unorthodox perversion. For a long time, southpaws used to be turned away at gyms because the managers couldn’t find willing opponents to take up the awkward fights.
“Orthodox boxers face a lot of trouble,” says Narender Rana, coach of southpaws Manish Kaushik and Mohammad Hussamuddin, who have assured bronze medals for India. “Landing a jab is difficult, because a southpaw is jabbing over theirs. The rear hand stays in line with an orthodox boxer’s face, making a straight left easier for southpaws.”
The formerly disadvantageous southpaws thus quickly became fortunate, with lefties forming the cream of contemporary boxing. According to the The Ring magazine, four of the top ten pound-for-pound best boxers in the world are southpaws. At Gold Coast, out of the forty semifinalists from the ten men’s divisions, 18 are southpaws. Throw in those with switching stances, and more than half of the remaining field are unconventional boxers. With Kaushik, Hussamuddin, Gaurav Solanki and Vikas Krishan, India accounts for four out of the eight-member team — the highest percentage of any squad.
“I believe there is usually an over-representation of southpaws in the medals tally,” said coach Santiago Nieva before the Games. “It comes with many advantages. The distance to the opponent, the punches you can land change. You have to know positioning against a southpaw. You need to know his punches. But you should not get fixated on it also. I had my best results against southpaw boxers. A good boxer will be able to adjust quickly.”
The last bit is important. A good orthodox boxer will almost always defeat an average southpaw (case in point: the laughable argument for punting on Conor McGregor because of Floyd Mayweather’s supposed weakness against lefties). Southpaws present an inherent set of challenges (see box) but an efficient orthodox opponent can quickly adapt, provided he has fought them before. Therein lies the key — unfamiliarity.
Lefties make up a mere 12 per cent of the population. As a result, there are a lot more orthodox boxers fighting with other orthodox boxers. Righties rarely face lefties. Lefties play against righties all the time. The value of unorthodox symmetry is evident in other sports. It is why a football coach is looking to load up a team with left-footed players and a capable left-right opening pair in cricket remains sacrosanct.
But more so in boxing, and tennis, southpaws bring with them unaccustomed angles. It is why uncle-cum-coach Toni Nadal encouraged an 8-year-old Rafa to switch to playing southpaw. And why Mary Kom started fighting left-handed.
“I am equally good with both hands,” said the 35-year-old in the run-up to the CWG. “But very early in my career I learnt fighting southpaw makes the normal opponent uncomfortable.”
Less southpaws means it’s equally uncomfortable for a left when he matches up with one.
“I have always lost to a southpaw,” Krishan told reporters after his Rio Olympics quarterfinal loss. “Be it world championship, last Olympics or an Olympic qualifier. I’ve always lost to a southpaw. I did train well, but there’re about five per cent southpaw boxers in India, and I’m one of them. So I don’t get opponents of my standard.”
Rattling opponents
While he doesn’t confirm that the current high representation is by design, coach Nieva agrees that it rattles opponents and helps fellow southpaws.
“The more southpaws you have in the system, your boxers will face less difficulty. It has almost come to a point where a boxer has to be used to it. The southpaw boxers in camp help each other out.”
Thus unlike Australia, India didn’t have to call Ukrainian southpaws over to spar with the team. And when matched with another lefty, Indians have held their own so far. On Tuesday, Kaushik prevailed against England’s southpaw Calum French less because of his jab but his strong right hook, a rarity among left-handers. The day before, Hussamuddin got the better of Zambia’s Muilenga Everisto by sticking and moving.
“I called him before his match,” says Shamshamuddin, father and boxing coach in Telangana. “I told him, ‘this kid has a lot of power. Don’t stand in front of him.’ But in the match, the Zambia kid actually looked more confused fighting a southpaw. But I believe there’s more to our boxers than just their stance. Their footwork and stamina has helped them win.”
Real contests lie ahead. But so far, lefties have been all right for India.
The Southpaw theory
STANCE
Southpaws lead with their right feet, staying outside of the orthodox fighter’s left. A conventional boxer not used to moving around a southpaw might even trip over the lead right leg. Without proper foot placement, the orthodox fighter will keep walking into the straight left hand, while the southpaw will stay on the outside to land with either hand.
MOVEMENT
By creating a blind side for the orthodox, the southpaw can open with a jab followed with a right hook. The orthodox fighter doesn’t get enough time to find an opening or move to an advantageous position.
OPENINGS
Unlike fighting another orthodox fighter, a boxer can’t block all the angles with a static guard, and leaves his head and body exposed. Unless he adjusts the guard, a southpaw boxer can move in mixing his right hooks with jabs or overhand left. The orthodox’s jab can lead to a southpaw’s left.