“James,

“Been following No B.S. Boxing. I understand your point about the jab, but I’ve been boxing for a while and have a good jab and was wondering if you have some tips on hooking that are as helpful and insightful as the jab stuff.

“All I Want for Christmas Is My Opponent’s Two Front Teeth Embedded in My Glove.”

-Ed

Okay Ed, I’m steeling that little diddy—mine, gone, in print, hound me for the royalties until the end of Time…

Ed, I’m sure your jab could use some work—all of our jabs could use some work—so please do not neglect it while you look into this litany of hooks. Upon consideration, I think I could cover the hook in this book on the art of the jab, so long as I make it a motion study. I will not get into much nuance, but will explain the basic hook mechanics and the variations to give you something to chew on, before continuing with the jab. For today I am just listing the techniques.

This index only includes left hooks, or hooks thrown from the lead hand, not rear hand hooks.

The mechanical description and application will be brief and in the next section.

Below is the type of hook from most to least common—with this drift being toward your target—with some notable practitioners in brackets.

1. Classic [Hagler, Gatti, Chavez Junior]

2. “Philadelphia” [Frazier, Tyson]

3. Shovel [Dempsey, Ward, Tyson]

4. Cutter [Hearns, kickboxers]

5. Extended Hook [Duran, Manny Pacquiao

6. Slide [Roy Jones Junior against Ruiz]

7. Aborted [Archie Moore, Diego Chavez]

1. Cutoff Hook [Floyd Money, light heavyweights with long arms, or any big-shouldered stylist with long arms for his class]

2. Fade [Crafty counter punchers]

3. Step-off [Jones, Duran]

4. Pass [Ruslan Providnikov, Pacquiao]

5. Shift [Fitzsimmons, Moore, Duran, Pacquiao, Providnikov, only the craftiest or most relentless]

Don’t forget to check out a study of over 50 ancient boxing bouts from art and literature in The Gods of Boxing available at this link: