I fight orthodox and my left uppercut is my weakest punch, it’s hard to get a lot of momentum into the punch since there’s no room to. It feels awkward throwing it with technique so I mainly just throw it like an arm punch. I see pros and even people at my gym who are effective with it and I’m just wondering what’s the best way to throw it?
Contrary to belief, the left uppercut is not usually a power shot from orthodox. It’s normally used to lift the target (head) for the right cross/hook. However, if you watch for example Povetkin, he uses the jab to load his front leg and power the shot up from his left hip. Against Whyte he drove through the leg, fired the hip, the shoulder and then the arm. Think of the same kinetic linkage when you throw a stone. Hope some of that garble made sense...
Some solid theory stuff in here. I don't know how much of S&C training you're doing and i know this isn't necessarily a power isssue but i can recommend adding the Landmine Windshield Wipers to your S&C training. It helped me a lot to develop some more pop behind my uppercuts in general.
A lot of the effectiveness of the left uppercut depends on putting yourself in position to land it. In my opinion, one of the prettiest moves in boxing is when a guy slips a jab, slides in and lands a left uppercut/ right hand combination, then rolls out. It all ties the coordination of your hands and feet, and how you slide your weight to get it to one place so that you can turn on it. It would take me about 25 minutes to show you how to do it and to get you efficient at doing it, but I haven't a clue how to explain it by typing.
Hows your right uppercut? If its good its likely because you have good mechanics so try practising your LU from a southpaw stance. Your brain will replicate the mechanics from your mirrored stance, learning the mechanics which you can transfer back to orthodox. You can also try a southpaw lead uppercut (if its effective) to get a feel for the mechanics. My left arm is not really attached to my brain so my coach suggested this to learn the proper motion of the lead hook as my rear hook is solid. There is lots of bull**** on youtube but apart from a 1v1 with a coach its really your only choice.