When most people think about punches in boxing - or just punching someone in general - they imagine them punching to the head. And the majority of punches in most modern boxing matches go to the head too. But often the best and most effective punches are to the body. "Body" generally meaning anything but the head but there are certainly spots more effective than others.
Here are 4 reasons why body punches are the best:
1.) Easier punches to land/hard punches to dodge - The head is a small target and any decent boxer has learned how to move their head, making it harder still, especially in the beginning of a fight, whereas the body is the opposite story. It's a larger target that is harder to move significantly. When fighters get into trouble, their natural instinct often is to duck and get lower. This is why you never want to forget about throwing those body shots. They can land whether your opponent ducks down or not. They may also get blocked but damage is still done.
2.) They are more effective than you might think - Most people new to boxing are often very surprised to learn that there are body shot knockouts. Plenty of them. One would naturally assume that being punched anywhere is going to hurt but unless it's happened to you personally, it's hard to know just how debilitating a body shot can be. There are spots, like the liver, spleen and floating rib area, that can end a fight immediately. Doesn't matter what kind of six-pack you have or if you drop bowling balls onto your belly with no pain, if that punch sneaks under the rib to the liver area, you are going down. Your legs simply stop working and you crumple to the ground in extreme pain.
3.) Hard to recover from - If you take a hard body shot but not one that stops the fight, you will still be feeling it for the entirety of the fight. It may make breathing hard/painful, which is obviously a big problem. Conversely, you may see boxers take a hard shot to the head, act wobbly and stumble around for a while, yet come back in the later rounds strong. Of course the long term damage that can come from taking these head shots is far greater than body shots, in terms of the length of a fight, body shots are much harder to recover from than head shots.
4.) Opens up the head - So if you take that hard body shot or multiple body shots and they hurt and they're hard to recover from, you are not going to want to take more. You're going to guard that lower body carefully. When that happens and even just when you are thinking about having to defend/deal with those body shots, what opens up? The head! Not only do your hands come down but that head isn't quite as mobile as it used to be when the fight started. But a smart opponent still knows to go back to the body, even after the head has opened up a little.
So these are all great reasons to throw body shots but of course with every great reward, there is often a risk and body shots in particular can be riskier punches to throw. Why? Because you also open up your own head by throwing a punch low (at least when it is a hook, uppercut or hybrid). You can try to get lower when you throwing one of these body shot but at some point, this will prove impractical.
Here are 4 much better ways to mitigate the risk of throwing body shots:
1) Speed - A well-thrown body shot will often happen so fast, the person being hit has no idea it's even coming. A classic example is Micky Ward vs. Alfonso Sanchez. The faster you are, the more likely you will land it and the less time your opponent has to catch you.
2.) Moving off line - Especially when throwing that lead hand to the body, the key is to take your head off line before you throw it so as to avoid your opponent's rear hand (provided you are in closed stances). The shortest distance between two points is a straight line so always remember that a cross will beat your hook with all things being equal. So making sure that your head is not in that straight line can put the odds back in your favor.
3.) Distraction - Just like most power punches in boxing, you will likely need to set up your body shots. Best way to do that is to put something in their face as a distraction. A quick flurry of straight punches or uppercuts can cause your opponent to bring their hands up in defense even though none of the punches may be intended to do damage. They are just there to blind your opponent so that the body shot opens up for you.
4.) Bringing hands back, rolling out, immediate defense - With any punch in boxing, it is critical for most that you bring your hands back to defend your head as fast - or faster - than you threw the punch out there. With body shots, this is even more important as your head is more open and it may take a split second longer to get your hand back. So you have to be very diligent. Have to really focus on keeping that non-punching hand up as well. Then finally, as another general rule of boxing, if you're not throwing a punch, either your head is moving, your feet are moving, or both. Once again, with body shots this becomes even more important. Once you throw that punch, be prepared to roll out. dip down, or do something because there's a pretty good chance your opponent will throw a punch to your own head soon thereafter!
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