Concept: Orthodox vs Southpaw or “Unmatched Leads”
Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. interpreting Unmatched Leads. Here Pac-Man takes the outside position.
Spoiler alert: around 90% of humans are right handed.
Congruently, around 90% of boxers fight from an orthodox stance, that is, left foot forward so they can put more force into their power hand. That leaves 10% as Southpaws: Those left handed weirdos that fight right foot forward.
An orthodoxite against another orthodox fighter is a the most common line up. What Bruce Lee conveniently called “Matched Leads”.
However, striking bouts between an orthodox and a southpaw fighter are a very different puzzle. They’re dealing with “Unmatched Leads”. Often, when commentators or analysts speak of high-quality or skilled Southpaws, they are talking about a fighter that has become very adept with Unmatched Leads. This has different implications depending on the range or competition, so we’ll look at each individually, starting with boxing.
Boxing and Punching Ranges
With an Unmatched Line Up, the jab tends to become less important*, because the lead hands are so close to each other. In fact, some fighters will actually use their lead hands to actively cover their opponents’ lead hand and smother any potential jabs.
The rear hand, however, becomes a more viable option because the opening of the guard faces the opponent’s rear side. Rear straights and rear overhands are great tools in Unmatched Line-ups. If the range has been closed, the rear uppercut also becomes a very potent option.
The lead hook, similar to the Matched-Lead Lineup, is still quite important as it can bypass the opponent’s lead hand.
In terms of movement, both fighters will generally attempt to circumnavigate the lead leg of their opponent to create openings for their own attacks and get the hell out of the way of their opponent’s strikes.
Tim Bradley and Pacquiao trade rearhands in Unmatched Leads
*Jabs can work, but there must be a mechanism to get around the lead arm. In this case, Bradley uses a Low-line or Flicking Jab so his left hand travels between his opponent’s hands.
Here, a patient Bradley counters Pacquiao’s Straight with a Cross. Both are rear-handed.