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15 Most Skilled Southpaw Boxers

Boxing requires a complex blend of physical prowess, strategy, toughness, and mental intelligence to emerge as a star. A boxer’s stance gives him a bigger advantage because it works with his plan to win the fight. While there are many stances used in boxing, the southpaw stance stands out as one of the most effective ones. A fighter who adopts the southpaw stance, which is typically an exact mirror of the Orthodox stance, basically leads with his right hand and sets his right foot forward while standing. This stance is not frequently used in the ring, and there are not many boxers who adopt it. Because many fighters have no experience taking on Southpaw boxers, the southpaw stance can be scary. 

Boxers have used the style to their advantage to establish a reputation for themselves by consistently outperforming their opponents. Due to its rarity, the stance primarily necessitates a different approach to training and fighting because it calls for a unique set of punches and defensive techniques.

Given their devastating knockouts, quick footwork, and element of surprise they pose for not being the typical fighters, southpaw fighters in boxing have had success in the sport regularly. As it has helped each boxer reach new heights, the stance has proven to be a potent tool in the ring. Let us find out 15 of the most skilled South Paw boxers.

1. Marvin Hagler

Marvin Hagler in the Oval Office photo sourced from

Marvin Hagler was an American professional boxer and film actor. He competed from 1973 to 1987, reigning as the undisputed middleweight champion from 1980 to 1987, completing twelve successful title defences, all except one via knockout. Furthermore, Hagler has the highest knockout percentage of any undisputed middleweight champion, at 78%, as he used his southpaw stance to its full potential. His undisputed middleweight title reign of six years and seven months is the second-longest active reign in the last century.

He had to be fantastic with a name like “Marvelous.” However, the name “Marvelous” does not do justice to the fear he caused in his opponents. With an “underappreciated” complex, he vented his rage on anyone who dared to stand against him in the ring during one of boxing’s golden eras.

2. Manny Pacquiao

Manny Pacquiao photo by Philippine Postal Corporation –

Emmanuel Pacquiao is a former professional boxer and politician from the Philippines. He is recognized as one of the all-time best professional boxers. He tended to fight from the southpaw position, which gave him the upper hand over his opponents. 

The only eight-division world champion in boxing history, Pacquiao has captured twelve significant world championships. In addition to being the first boxer to win major world titles in four of the eight “glamour divisions” (flyweight, featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight), he was also the first boxer to win the lineal championship in five different weight classes. He is also the only boxer to hold world titles across four decades, (the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s). At the age of 40, Pacquiao became the all-time oldest welterweight champion in July 2019.

Related: Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Filipino Boxing Legend Manny Pacquiao

3. Tiger Flowers

African American pugilist Tiger Flowers standing in a boxing stance photo by “Full-length portrait of African American pugilist Tiger Flowers standing in a boxing stance in a corner of a boxing ring in a room in Chicago, Illinois.” Chicago Daily News –

Tiger Flowers was an American professional boxer who gained notoriety in the early 20th century. In 1926, after defeating Harry Greb to win the World Middleweight Boxing Championship, he became the sport’s first African-American champion. He was admitted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1976, The Ring Hall of Fame in 1971, The World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990, and The International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1993. Flowers, a left-handed Southpaw fighter, was swift and elusive, frequently dodging severe punishment while delivering rapid, cutting blows.

4. Vasyl Lomachenko

Vasyl Anatoliyovych Lomachenko photo by KuRaG –

Ukrainian professional boxer Vasyl Lomachenko adopts the southpaw stance. In 2013, Lomachenko made his ring debut and it didn’t take him long to make a statement in the ring seeing that from 2014 to 2015, he was the WBO featherweight champion. From 2016 to 2017, he was the WBO junior lightweight champion. From 2018 to 2020, he held the combined lightweight championships of the WBA (Super), WBC, WBO, and Ring magazine. 

With his third professional fight, he tied Saensak Muangsurin’s record for the fewest professional fights necessary to win a world championship. All of his professional fights, except his debut, were for world championships. He participated in the main event for the first time in his second professional match. 

Also Read: 10 Most Talented Ukrainian Boxers

5. Pernell Whitaker

Pernell Whitaker Sr. boxed professionally from 1984 until 2001 and thereafter served as a trainer. He was a four-weight world champion, having held belts at lightweight, light welterweight, welterweight, and light middleweight, as well as the undisputed lightweight and welterweight crowns. With six title defences, he presently has the longest unified lightweight championship reign in boxing history. Whitaker is widely recognized as one of the finest defensive fighters of all time, owing to his unorthodox southpaw stance.

6. Shakur Stevenson

Shakur Stevenson in Rio de Janeiro Olympics 2016 photo by Jonas de Carvalho –

Shakur Stevenson was a two-time world champion, holding the WBO featherweight title from 2019 to 2020, the WBO super featherweight title from 2021 to 2022, and the WBC and The Ring super featherweight titles in 2022. He represented the United States as an amateur at the 2016 Summer Olympics, winning a silver medal in the bantamweight division. His agility and brilliance are generally attributed to his southpaw stance.

7. Vicente Saldivar

Vicente Saldivar photo by Associated Press –

Vicente Samuel Saldívar Garcia, a Mexican professional boxer, fought from 1971 to 1973. From 1964 until 1967, he held the WBA, WBC, and The Ring featherweight championships, making him a two-time champion in the division. He reappeared in 1970 and reclaimed the WBC and The Ring belts. Given his mastery of the southpaw stance, several famous boxing historians and analysts consistently rank Saldivar among the finest in the division’s history.

He holds the records for the most victories in unified featherweight title bouts and the longest unified featherweight championship reign in boxing history, with eight title fights under his belt and seven successful title defences.

8. Hector Camacho

Fan photo of Héctor Camacho taken November 1, 2009. photo by Azalia Negron –

Héctor Camacho was a Puerto Rican professional boxer and performer. Camacho was a three-weight world champion who was recognized for his ring quickness and theatrical flare due to his southpaw stance. He competed professionally from 1980 to 2010. He held the WBC super featherweight title from 1983 to 1984, the WBC lightweight title from 1985 to 1987, and the WBO junior welterweight title twice, in 1989 and 1992.

Camacho was one of the top ten Puerto Rican fighters of all time and one of the most colourful characters in boxing history. Camacho is a pioneer in introducing competitive boxing to New York, and he is the reason why the city is still considered a haven for Puerto Rican fighters. 

Also Read: 10 Famous Puerto Rican Boxers

9. Young Corbett III

Italian American Boxer Young Corbett III photo sourced from

Young Corbett III was an American boxer of Italian descent who won the World Welterweight Championship in 1933 and the NYSAC Middleweight Championship in 1938. He was a gritty southpaw who lacked punching strength but made up for it with speed and drives. Corbett is regarded as one of the finest southpaws of all time, as well as one of the greatest counterpunchers of all time. In 1959, he was inducted into the Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame, in 1982 into the Italian American Sports Hall of Fame, and in 2004 into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

10. Gabriel Elorde

Gabriel Elorde was a professional boxer from the Philippines who won the lineal super featherweight title in 1960. He won the inaugural WBC and WBA super featherweight titles in 1963. The southpaw superstar has the longest title reign in the super featherweight division, spanning seven years. Elorde is regarded as one of the best Filipino boxers of all time, with eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao and Pancho Villa, the 1920s flyweight champion. He was a sports and cultural legend in the Philippines, being the first Filipino international boxing champion since middleweight champion Ceferino Garcia.

11. Joe Calzaghe

Joe Calzaghe photo by Ben Duffy –

Joe Calzaghe is a former professional boxer from Wales who competed from 1993 until 2008. He held many world titles in two weight classes, including unified and lineal super-middleweight belts, as well as the Ring magazine light-heavyweight title. His Southpaw stance aided him in outmanoeuvring his opponents.

12. Luis Ortiz

Luis Ortiz is a professional boxer from Cuba. He is renowned for his powerful hitting and counterpunching abilities as a southpaw. At the 2005 Boxing World Cup, he took home a silver medal in the amateur division. From 2015 to 2016, he held the WBA interim heavyweight title. In 2018 and 2019, he made two attempts for the WBC heavyweight crown.

13. Sergio Martinez

Sergio Gabriel Martínez after defending his title against Paul Williams at the Boardwalk Hall on November 20, 2010. photo by Chamber of Fear –

Argentine professional boxer Sergio Gabriel Martnez has held world titles in two weight divisions, including the WBC super welterweight title from 2009 to 2010 and the combined WBC, WBO, Ring magazine, and lineal middleweight titles from 2010 to 2014. Martnez’s 50-month run as champion is one of the longest in the history of the middleweight division due to his six successful defences of the Ring and lineal titles thanks to his southpaw stance.

14. Ivan Calderon

Iván Calderón Marrero is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 2001 until 2012. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the WBO mini flyweight title from 2003 to 2007 and is recognized as super champion by the organization, as well as the WBO, Ring magazine, and lineal light flyweight titles from 2007 to 2010 and made six successful defences.

15. Guillermo Rigondeaux

Guillermo Rigondeaux in his training camp in Florida photo by Reysanchez –

Guillermo Rigondeaux is a professional boxer from Cuba. He was a two-time world champion, holding the unified WBA (Super), WBO, and Ring magazine super bantamweight belts between 2013 and 2017, as well as the WBA (Regular) bantamweight title from 2020 to 2021. He also competed for the WBO junior lightweight belt once in 2017.

He is noted for his remarkable hand speed, punching power, counterpunching talents, athleticism, reflexes, footwork, and defensive elusiveness thanks to his Southpaw stance.