Why is the Liver Shot So Great?

A lot of people unfamiliar with boxing or kickboxing are surprised to learn how many
knockouts come from body punches. And the vast majority of those come from a punch specifically to the liver. Go to YouTube and search for ‘liver shot knockouts boxing’ and you’ll see what I mean. The liver is actually the largest organ in our bodies and located underneath our last two ribs on the right side.

But why the liver specifically? Why is that punch so debilitating? As I just mentioned, the liver is the largest organ in the human body. Like some of our other internal organs, the liver exists inside the rib cage but because of it's positioning and size, the ribs may not completely cover the liver and even some of the ribs that do cover it are our "floating ribs", which means they are not connected to our sternum at all. They only attach to the spine all the way around the back. This means that these ribs are not as strong, offer less protection, and much easier to break with any kind of blunt trauma, so it is possible to break the floating ribs and hit that liver in the same punch. There is only a thin layer of muscle there too so no matter how many ab exercises you do, you cannot add protection through training, like you can with the lower, front abdominals.

So what happens when the liver is struck? First, excruciating pain, followed quickly by breathlessness. This effect may not be felt right away though. Oftentimes there is a split-to-one-second delay before it comes on. And it's probably the most pain you could feel from a punch. It's true that you certainly don't want to get punched in the head either and long-term, head shots take more of a toll but they are not exactly painful in the same way. Even when bones are broken, sometimes that feeling is dulled due to the concussive nature of a head shot.

As bad as the pain can be from a punch to the liver though, it is not even the worst part. The next thing to happen is that your body totally shuts down. This is because the liver gets compressed when a strike connects, which causes it to expand on the other side. This expansion presses the liver into the vagus nerve, going all the way to brain and being responsible for many of our motor functions. Once this gets triggered, you will likely lose control of your body, particularly your legs. It's like they suddenly don't work or can't hold you up and thus, you will involuntarily drop to the ground.

This doesn't always happen from ALL liver shots but the strike doesn't have to necessarily be hard to produce this effect. A well-place punch of even medium power to an exposed part of the liver will drop anybody. Doesn't matter how tough they are, how strong they are, they are going down. And even if the punch isn't perfect, it will still be painful, it will still sap your energy, and it will still linger throughout the fight, physically and psychologically.

Presumably, striking any internal organ might produce the same effect but the liver is unique in that it is less protected and more vulnerable than the others, for the reasons mentioned previously.

So why not just throw liver shots all the time? I would recommend to many fighters that they do bring this punch into their arsenal. But like with any great reward, there are certainly risks, and like many fight finishing strikes, the liver shot must be set up. It's hard to just walk up to someone in the ring and lead with the liver shot (though it can be done with great speed and footwork - see Ryan Garcia vs. Luke Campbell - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN0o1MK05mE). For one, depending on the physique of your opponent, it is likely that their basic boxing guard will keep the liver somewhat protected by their own right elbow. The other problem is their right hand. The liver shot is a circular punch so you throw it and your opponent throws a straight right hand at the same time, the straight right hand will get there first as the closest distance between 2 points is a straight line.

Thus, the key to landing a liver shot is do something that occupies your opponent's right hand in some way. Could be they are catching/blocking your previous punch or expecting a punch coming somewhere else. Simply throwing jab-crosses will give you some information. How are they defending it? Are they catching your cross with their right hand? Or bringing their hands up at all to block? If so, throw a jab-cross-liver shot and really try to get that liver shot in quickly, without telegraphing it. If they parry your jab with their right hand, you could simply fake the jab, slip outside and throw the liver. These are simple examples and there are plenty more but hopefully give you a sense of how the chess game works in boxing.

What if your opponent does throw that right hand at your head though? Even better! Well, even better provided you dodge said punch by slipping or rolling. Then that liver shot is right there, so long as you are close enough. Anything thrown at your head level means their hand is away from their body and at least temporarily, their ribs are totally exposed. 

Another defensive thing to note here is that you don't only have to fear your opponent's right hand when throwing a liver shot. Their left can be a problem too and this is why I recommend covering the right side of your head completely when you're starting to throw your punch. You may not even see that hook coming at all so be ready and expect contact!

Whether you are throwing that liver shot as a counter punch or setting it up, it can be a devastating attack that changes a fight completely in an instant. And even if your opponent blocks it over and over, keep going back there (and find new ways to go back there). You can also use that as a set up too, for the left hook to the head. Once your opponent is comfortable blocking your liver shot, fake it and go to the head. Then when they start rolling your hook, bring that left uppercut into the mix. Then...it just goes on and on. Like I said earlier, it's a chess game. And a sweet science!