BoxRec

Anyone knows that Sonny Liston, Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes and Sugar Ray Leonard had some of the best jabs ever.
But they all had long arms for their height.
where there any boxers who had short arms but had really good if not great jabs ?

was just wondering if short-armed jabbers are only effective just after they may slip a long jab
get inside and then jab to the belly and follow up with a hook or upper-cut.
how about short-armed jabbers going on the offensive with their jabs like Larry Holmes could jab an opponent while moving around ?

Lamotta had a reach shorter than his height and was very effective with his jab. In the fights I’ve seen he’d get low and spring up with his jab.

Golovkin and Tyson don’t have long arms for their heights and used their jabs really well.

Jake LaMotta
5 ft 8"
67" reach
it looks like from the film that he used more of a half/hook half/jab looking punch.
but he took a lot of punishment getting in.

now here is a man who knows how to jab !

Russian amateur southpaw Roman Romanchuk (won Roberto Cammarelle, Rakhim Chakhkiev, Odlanier Solis, Luis Ortiz) was tall and had a good jab, that's why he mistakenly was considered long-armed, but he was actually short-armed and, by the note of his coach Mark Meltzer, compensated the length of arms with a torso move, which was hidden by the amateur equipment.

This is a great thread ! It's hard to think of guys, however, who meet the criterion. Am I correct that we are talking about guys whose reach is less than their height ?

J-C wrote: ↑12 Mar 2021, 17:25Golovkin and Tyson don’t have long arms for their heights and used their jabs really well.

Golovkin is a great shout... Tommy Morrison also springs to mind for me, he didn't strike me as having a long reach... And he could pop the jab - when he did eventually start using it...

One thing was for sure Tommy Morrison had a WIDE back.
I remember reading somewhere where some one wanted to measure a fighters reach
from their arm-pit to the end of the closed fist which would be a more accurate indicator of actual reach.

Caractacus wrote: ↑15 Mar 2021, 14:29 One thing was for sure Tommy Morrison had a WIDE back.
I remember reading somewhere where some one wanted to measure a fighters reach
from their arm-pit to the end of the closed fist which would be a more accurate indicator of actual reach.

no it wouldn't, the breadth of your shoulders/ back affects how far you can hit someone from

the dudes below have equal arm length but bottom dude with broader shoulders can hit you from further away

if your shoulders are broader, then basiically your arm starts further out, and hence you can reach farther


.....0---__---0

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yeah, but your arms bones have to be long enough in order to be able to actually "Snap" a jab.

Michael "Dynamite" Dokes
I don't think he was actually 6 ft 3" as claimed and maybe his reach (78")may have been shorter as claimed too.
but if so he sure made up for it with his incredible hand-speed.
Michael Dokes continuious fast left hand used it as his jab.

some sources list Vito Antuorfermo height at 5 ft 8" but another states he only 5 ft 6"
so makes you wonder what his actual reach is too.(69")

Mike Tyson had a superb jab in the 80s, outjabbing tall fighters on pure timing. Qawi ditto.

Joe Frazier ht 5 ft 11.5" reach 71" = 5 ft 11")
Mike Tyson ht 5 ft 10" reach 70"= 5 ft 10".

Caractacus wrote: ↑15 Mar 2021, 15:21 Michael "Dynamite" Dokes
I don't think he was actually 6 ft 3" as claimed and maybe his reach (78")may have been shorter as claimed too.
but if so he sure made up for it with his incredible hand-speed.
Michael Dokes continuious fast left hand used it as his jab.

Nice video to put out there.

I don't think Dokes gets enough credit for his handspeed.

Whenever the subject comes up, Dokes rarely gets mentioned, but you'd struggle to find anyone with better handspeed, particularly at HW.

Even Holyfield said Dokes was the fastest guy he had faced and that was past his prime drug addled Dokes.

I think he may have been 'drug addled" during his prime too.
If he would have had longer arms more people would have noticed his hand-speed I think.

goose 5 wrote: ↑14 Mar 2021, 18:54 This is a great thread ! It's hard to think of guys, however, who meet the criterion. Am I correct that we are talking about guys whose reach is less than their height ?

or guys whose reach does not exceed their height.

Greg Haugen ,5 ft 7" reach 67" = 5 ft 7"

Andre Ward actually has a short reach for his height and could definitely use his jab.

Lamotta




Ward

Ralph Dupas
ht. 5 ft 8" reach 68 " = 5 ft 8"

Duran had a pretty good jab when he chose to use it and he only had a 66" reach.

Fighting Harda. His jab bothered the great Eder Jofre.

On a related note, does anyone know what the best "One punch" knock-outs, were by a short-armed boxer ?