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Overview & When to Use
The lead uppercut travels upward under the guard to lift the opponent's chin and disrupt their vertical alignment, the cross drives through the opening created by the chin lift, and the hook catches the lateral reaction as they try to recover. This unconventional sequence is nearly impossible to read because the first punch comes from below the opponent's sightline.
When to use
Use after slipping inside a cross when your body is naturally loaded for the lead uppercut from the crouched slipping position. The opponent is still extended and recovering from their missed punch, creating a window where their guard is open from below and their balance is forward.
Common Mistakes
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- Throwing the uppercut without slipping first, which means you eat the cross while reaching upward with your chin exposed — the slip is not optional, it is the foundation of the entire combination.
- Standing up too tall after the uppercut and losing the compact fighting position, which makes the follow-up cross travel too far downward and removes the forward drive needed for penetrating power.
- The hook being wide and loopy after two preceding rotations because of accumulated rotational momentum, which pulls your body off-balance and exposes your chin on the lead side to a counter.
Pro Tips
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- This is strictly a counter-punching combination — never lead with it cold from range, because the uppercut without the slip setup is slow, telegraphed, and leaves your chin wide open during the upward motion.
- The slip-to-uppercut is the critical transition to drill until it becomes automatic — practice slipping a partner's jab and immediately driving the uppercut from the crouched position without any pause.
- Target the body with the hook if the opponent raises their guard high after the cross, switching the final punch to the ribs while their hands are protecting the chin.
Conditioning Drills
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- Slip Rope: 3 rounds of 3 minutes practicing the slip-to-uppercut transition, passing under the rope and immediately driving the upward punch motion.
- Heavy Bag: 5 rounds of 3 minutes alternating this combo with the standard 1-2-3, building both the counter and the lead versions from the same starting position.
- Dumbbell Uppercut-Press: 3 sets of 12 reps combining the upward drive of the uppercut with the forward extension of the cross to build the specific muscular pathway.
Q1 of 3
Which coaching cue belongs to The 5-2-3 (Lead Uppercut-Cross-Hook)?