By Dan Morley
The left hook is my favourite shot in boxing. Once a fighter learns how to deliver the lead hook you realise how powerful your perceived weak hand can truly be.
Requiring tight delivery, whipping speed, along with a compact, well timed – yet loose swing to maximise damage – a left hook can quickly turn the tide of a fight, career, and, in some cases, the course of boxing history.
Angelo Leo’s spectacular left hook, Knockout of the Year Contender, which dethroned highly rated champion Luis Alberto Lopez last weekend, reminded me of boxing’s most clinical, consistent, and devastating left hook artists.
Angelo Leo (R) landing a left hand on the now dethroned champion Luis Alberto Lopez (L).
Here are my top eight greatest left hookers in boxing history:
8. Bob Foster
Bob Foster left an impeccable impact at light-heavyweight, which stands the test of time, remaining one of the division’s greatest champions. Extremely tall and lean compared to the competition, Foster delivered the left hook with sniper-like precision, generating an extraordinarily violent snap upon impact.
Unlike many tall fighters, Foster could remain dangerous in the pocket while being one of the sport’s most dangerous punchers at mid-long range. There was no hiding from it either; you were always in the danger zone with ‘The Deputy Sheriff’.
Befittingly, it was the punch that dramatically secured the light-heavyweight world title, concussing the legendary Dick Tiger in the process. Across a staggering 14 successful title defences, the light-heavyweight challengers were terrorised by Foster (below), specifically his left hook, which most grotesquely brutalised Mike Quarry.
7. David Tua
One of the most entertaining heavyweights of his era and as durable and destructive as any other before or after. David Tua was a human wrecking ball. An extremely stocky yet athletic and explosive knockout artist, Tua would close the distance and unload sledgehammer shots that could take your head off if you were unfortunate enough to remain in range!
Amongst the most violent were his left hooks, which Tua delivered with ferocious force and intimidating speed, cleaning out notable world champions and contenders in ridiculously quick time. The punch would instantly initiate the barrage, which blew future heavyweight world champion John Ruiz away within 30 seconds of round one.
David Tua (Al Bello /Allsport)
6. Felix Trinidad
Felix Trinidad stands amongst the top Puerto Rican Greats, amassing a near record-breaking 15 successful welterweight title defences. Tito defeated an array of boxing legends, including De La Hoya, Whitaker, Camacho, and Vargas, while snapping up titles from welterweight to middleweight during a perfect 40-fight winning streak.
The Puerto Rican was one of the best finishers in the sport and favoured the left hook to do the damage, disposing of world-level fighters in a clinical fashion.
Trinidad wasn’t your typical stocky puncher. Similarly to Bob Foster, he was slimmer and rangier than most – delivering the hook from a wider angle; nevertheless, the effects were crippling.
Action Images/Reuters/Steve Marcus
5. Sugar Ray Robinson
A fighter universally recognised as the greatest of all time would unsurprisingly rank highly in most lists. Sugar Ray’s spectacular left hook is no different. Robinson possessed one of the most vicious left hooks in history, with power in both hands and a seamless ability to deliver his punches with venom singularly and in combinations, which accumulated over 100 career KOs.
Robinson’s KO left hook over Gene Fullmer, one of history’s most renowned tough sluggers, has been considered by many as the greatest one-punch KO ever. Slinging the perfectly thrown hook whilst on the retreat with pinpoint accuracy and blinding speed.
While Robinson elegantly used the left hook as a fluid tool within combinations, they were often the exclamation mark that abruptly ended them.
4. Joe Louis
Joe Louis is a literal boxing textbook. Every punch was delivered with exquisite technique, and not a single movement was wasted, while both fists were blessed with unprecedented KO power. Louis is largely considered to be boxing’s most efficient KO Artist, brutalising so many Hall of Famers, champions, and challengers during his colossal, record-breaking reign of dominance as heavyweight world champion.
Louis should enter any of these lists without much surprise, but his left hook against Billy Conn, an unequivocal example of excellent balance, accuracy, and power, stands out as one of my favourite KOs ever.
3. Tommy Morrison
Tommy Morrison’s left hook was an unstoppable force of nature, brutally demolishing anything it cracked. The punch against Ruddock is almost comical in the over-the-top violence upon impact, spinning Ruddock almost 180 degrees upon impact.
Morrison wasted nothing with the left hook, delivering the battering ram with razor-sharp speed and textbook timing. Physically, Morrison was huge, athletic and explosive, allowing the hooks to be backed up by a lot of heavy muscle.
The left hook of his became the stuff of legend after reportedly scoring hundreds of knockouts in both the professional and amateur ranks.
2. Pipino Cuevas
Cuevas was a bad man, considered the most dangerous man in boxing in the late 70s, a time when Duran was prevalently massacring all from lightweight to welterweight.
The Mexican pulled off the phenomenal feat of winning the welterweight Title at the age of 18. He defended the belt successfully 12 times, scoring 11 KOs, creating the unique record of breaking the most facial bones of his title challengers than any other champion in history.
Cuevas was a tank who swung like a welterweight George Foreman, either sending opponents flying or into temporary paralysis.
Action Images
1. Joe Frazier
Joe Frazier was as relentless as any other fighter in history and, in my eyes, had the greatest left hook ever seen, by some distance.
It was an iconic punch thrown with such brute force, malicious intent and relentless intensity over the 15 rounds. The shot felled many great heavyweights of the era and most notably found a home for Muhammad Ali’s chin countless times, scoring boxing’s most famous knockdown in the process.
Frazier’s left hook truly was a force of nature, to either head or body and in my opinion is the greatest left hook in the history of boxing.
New York, N.Y.: Joe Frazier, left, hits Muhammad Ali during the 15th round of their heavyweight boxing title fight at New York’s Madison Square Garden on March 8, 1971. (Photo by Dick Morseman/Newsday RM via Getty Images)
Honourable Mentions: Henry Cooper, Roy Jones, Mike Tyson, Floyd Patterson, Nonito Donaire, Gerry Cooney, Evander Holyfield, Oscar De La Hoya.