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Key points: - A converted southpaw is a naturally right-handed fighter trained to compete from a left-handed stance - The conversion typically trades some natural instinct for a deliberately built, technically taught skill set - Moses Itauma’s jab, thrown with his dominant right hand, is often cited as unusually sharp for a southpaw - Evaluating a conversion requires watching for hesitation under pressure, since natural instinct tends to resurface when a fighter is hurt or rushed Why a conversion isn’t the same as a natural stance A converted southpaw, like Moses Itauma, is a fighter who’s naturally right-handed but trained to compete from a left-handed stance. It’s a deliberate technical choice rather than an instinctive one, which means evaluating it requires watching for different things than judging a fighter who’s simply always fought that way. The advantage: a genuinely dangerous lead hand The clearest benefit of a conversion is that the fighter’s dominant hand ends up as their jab rather than their power hand. That’s the opposite of how most fighters are built, and it explains why Itauma’s right jab is so frequently singled out as unusually sharp and heavy for a southpaw. It’s not really his “weaker side” jab at all, it’s his naturally dominant hand doing a jab’s job. The risk: instinct resurfacing under pressure The theoretical downside of any stance conversion is that a fighter’s original, natural instincts can resurface exactly when they’re most vulnerable, when hurt, rushed, or facing something they haven’t seen before. A fighter who’s spent years building a converted stance through deliberate repetition may, under real duress, briefly revert toward habits from before the conversion, creating split-second technical breakdowns an alert opponent can exploit. What to actually watch for The clearest sign a conversion has fully taken hold is composure under pressure, not just clean output when a fighter is comfortable and in control. Itauma’s own account of adjusting mid-fight against Mariusz Wach, slowing his tempo and picking shots more carefully after his corner intervened, is exactly the kind of in-fight correction that suggests the conversion has become genuine instinct rather than something he’s still consciously thinking through. Why this matters against a real step up in competition Facing an opponent with real amateur pedigree against southpaws, which Filip Hrgovic specifically brings, is a much sterner test of a conversion than facing fighters less prepared for that stance. It’s the kind of fight where any lingering hesitation or reversion to old habits becomes far more visible and far more costly than it would against less experienced opposition.