BoxRec

Hey guys and girls


who do you rate as having the best and most consistent jab and
what fight's do you feel best illustrate this.


Sorry if its a re-post.

For me

In no real order...

Larry Holmes - Had the most constant and consistent jab through his career. It could be hard and fast, as well as stiff and long. It would seem that in some rounds this was all he threw..and often it was enough, whether a defensive tool or an offensive weapon it got the job done for nearly all of his rounds inside the ropes.

Riddick Bowe - Had a pulverising hard ram like jab..when he threw it. It was able to set up his big right and powerful combinations. A trumpcard he possesed that he sometimes abandoned.

Sonny Liston- with his relatively long wing span he would reach out and touch his opponent with this tool. In his day and even today it is still a much talked of and respected weapon.

Muhammad Ali- a fast, almost flicking weapon that would lacerate and stay in his opponent face like a machine gun, combined with good foot speed it was able to make some top men look clumsy and out classed.

Michael Moorer- the awkwardness of a south paw combined with good speed and accuracy Moorer was able to beat his foes to the punch and drill the jab into his opponents jaw and body. He threw a good and tight short jab.

Joe Louis - easily one of the sports most techincally refined fighters, he would seldom punch outside of his arch and nearly always found the right range. More so a punch than a jab, he would fire it at a time when most men would wing punches. Those that felt his jab summed it up as a devastating force of nature.

Mike Tyson - for a few fights he had a fast, and swift jab that set up some of the sports most exciting knock downs and combinations. Under used, but when it was there he had a good one.

George Foreman- not pretty, not clean, but surely effective. Even in his later years it was still a hard battering ram of leather clad fist that wobbled the knees of most men.

Ken Norton - His crab like style and cross defence made his jab seem like it was awkwardly thrown but when he was at his best he could land it with good accuracy. He was able to off set Ali and Holmes with this quick, well timed tool.

Pinklon Thomas - for a brief period of time when he seemed to be filled with so much promise Thomas had a jab that set up a adequate tool box.

Carl Williams - able to out jab the master in Holmes, his long reach and tall frame allowed him to punch holes into shorter fighters with a promising jab that seemed to diminish as time past his carreer by.

Buster Douglas - fast and active when he was not lazy, Douglas almost used the jab alone to beat Tyson in his most famous fight. He could set things up well with this good toy of his.

Joe Frazier - though he is always thought of as a one punch fighter, that being his left hook. Frazier for quite a few fights had a jab that set up body attacks and his left hook well. Frazier had the ability to throw a hook of the jab well and used this under-rated and over looked weapon to good effect in some fights.

Lennox Lewis - the big battling Briton won a few fights, well matches, with this rangey tool. His size and reach let him thump it lazily at times and crispily at others, into his opponents. Often he could keep an opponent at bay with this weapon. For many a man struggled to un-ravel Lennox's big jab.

Andrew Golota - this unusual and controversial Poloack did have a good, hard jab that for some reason was nearly as in-consistent as he was. In both Bowe fights this was the weapon that set it all up. He would give a bigger Grant trouble with it before he retired from that fight.

Primo Carnera - the tall, awkardly clumsy Italian would throw the long leading left down into his very smal opponents who often had no answer tho this long ugly weapon that he had and used well. At times he almost never threw it, but when he did he was able to keep the smaller men at a safe distance.

Tommy Farr - the game little Welsh fighter was able to frustrate and keep Louis at bay for the 15 rounds they shared in 1940. He threw his jab often and learnt to use it for defence and offence after years of tent boxing and his extensive pro carrer. A good jab especially for his era.

I am sure you guys will dis-agree and agree...and of course hsave your own opinions :_)

Kym

I don't agree with everything you said, but credit to you for mentioning the jabs of Bowe & Norton --- they are probably somewhat forgotten, but both of these men had excellent jabs that they used to great effect. For Norton, it was primarily the backbone of his offense, he would come in behind it & wing to the body. In Bowe's case, he excelled at keeping opponents at range & making the left a kind of taming tool, to subdue a foe.

The upper-echelon of elite Heavyweight jabs is probably reserved for these few fighters...

Muhammad Ali
Joe Louis
Sonny Liston
Larry Holmes

Others like Jack Johnson & George Foreman had good jabs also, but not at the elite level in an all-time sense.

The question posed was who had the most consistent jab, & to that end, I would have to say Larry Holmes. Although this is in part because he relied on that punch more than the other fighters I mentioned, it was also because it was so versatile --- if he was hurt, it could keep an opponent at bay, more dangerous opposition could be kept continually off-balance by it, it could precede his offense, it could steal away an opponent's confidence over time.

Holmes had the most consistent of the great jabs. I would say the best all-round left hand was Joe Louis' though. Unlike the excellent jabs of Holmes & also Ali, this was a powerhouse punch that really gave you a headache, & unlike Liston's, it was extremely quick & fast out of the gate. It was also as precise as any other Heavyweight's jab, & in my view the best jab amongst the great Heavies.

But Holmes is the answer to the question.

And the thing with Holmes is that even as an 'old man' he threw it with such speed and 'oomph' that it still seemed like a great tool.

Every one knew he was going to jab, and work from that. Yet he still landed it. Even against guys who gave him trouble and who had trained to deal with it. Trouble is in the fights that he struggled in or lost (Spinks) he either let up on the jab, or struggled wih the range.

Kym

Larry holmes was 48 and 0 at one point and could chalk it up to his jab. He kind of looped his right,his left hook won't go in the hall of fame,but his jab I think was the best. He leaped his whole body into it.In his prime he could work it all night. It never got heavy. Holmes would spar with Ali and beat his jab. Holmes is one of the great heavyweights who didn't have a great menu of punches,but he could sure put that left hand in your face.

Larry Holmes had the best jab in history. Probably Buster Douglas or Muhammad Ali a close second place in that category.

Holmes had broke his right hand in his early fights which made him develop the jab. Talk about learning on the job.

Muhammad Ali
Larry Holmes
Pinklon Thomas
Greg Page
Carl Williams
Lennox Lewis

dagosd2000 wrote:Larry holmes was 48 and 0 at one point and could chalk it up to his jab. He kind of looped his right,his left hook won't go in the hall of fame,but his jab I think was the best. He leaped his whole body into it.In his prime he could work it all night. It never got heavy. Holmes would spar with Ali and beat his jab. Holmes is one of the great heavyweights who didn't have a great menu of punches,but he could sure put that left hand in your face.

Looped his right?? Holmes had one of the sharpest, quickest STRAIGHT right hands you'd ever see.

Too bad Foreman's jab probably had as much power as Holmes's right hand . . .

Holmes was consistent and a sort of mix of Ali's speed and Liston's power. Not as quick, not as powerful but somehwere between them.

Louis had a great jab: educated is often the word used.

Bowe had a pole but often neglected it, much to his detriment.

Lewis had a jab that got better as he got older. Foreman utilised his more as he got older.

dempseyfire wrote:

dagosd2000 wrote:Larry holmes was 48 and 0 at one point and could chalk it up to his jab. He kind of looped his right,his left hook won't go in the hall of fame,but his jab I think was the best. He leaped his whole body into it.In his prime he could work it all night. It never got heavy. Holmes would spar with Ali and beat his jab. Holmes is one of the great heavyweights who didn't have a great menu of punches,but he could sure put that left hand in your face.

Looped his right?? Holmes had one of the sharpest, quickest STRAIGHT right hands you'd ever see.

Too bad Foreman's jab probably had as much power as Holmes's right hand . . .

I went back to look at some of Holmes's fights:Norton,Spinks,Cooney. You're right,Larry had a good STRAIGHT right. But sometimes he'd let his right drop to his side and he'd kind of slap it. (that's probably what I was thinking) But from there he'd also threw a right uppercut and it was a nice punch.
As far as powerful jabs,Liston and Foreman had the most powerful. But because of their muscular arms they couldn't throw the quantity of jabs Holmes could throw during an entire fight. I remember Liston's last fight with Martin. Liston's jab got heavy and Leotis countered over the top of it to knock him out. When Ali got Foreman tired in their fight in Zaire,Ali could time his right over Foreman's jab(which at times was only a push at that point) and knocked him out.
When Holmes would drop his right he got caught with a lot of left hooks.

After looking at that fight Larry had with Norton,I'm not sure Larry should have gotten that decision. What do you think?

dagosd2000 wrote:

dempseyfire wrote:

dagosd2000 wrote:Larry holmes was 48 and 0 at one point and could chalk it up to his jab. He kind of looped his right,his left hook won't go in the hall of fame,but his jab I think was the best. He leaped his whole body into it.In his prime he could work it all night. It never got heavy. Holmes would spar with Ali and beat his jab. Holmes is one of the great heavyweights who didn't have a great menu of punches,but he could sure put that left hand in your face.

Looped his right?? Holmes had one of the sharpest, quickest STRAIGHT right hands you'd ever see.

Too bad Foreman's jab probably had as much power as Holmes's right hand . . .

I went back to look at some of Holmes's fights:Norton,Spinks,Cooney. You're right,Larry had a good STRAIGHT right. But sometimes he'd let his right drop to his side and he'd kind of slap it. (that's probably what I was thinking) But from there he'd also threw a right uppercut and it was a nice punch.
As far as powerful jabs,Liston and Foreman had the most powerful. But because of their muscular arms they couldn't throw the quantity of jabs Holmes could throw during an entire fight. I remember Liston's last fight with Martin. Liston's jab got heavy and Leotis countered over the top of it to knock him out. When Ali got Foreman tired in their fight in Zaire,Ali could time his right over Foreman's jab(which at times was only a push at that point) and knocked him out.
When Holmes would drop his right he got caught with a lot of left hooks.

After looking at that fight Larry had with Norton,I'm not sure Larry should have gotten that decision. What do you think?

I see Holmes as the clear winner, and I'm a big Norton fan. Norton came on strong in the end but lost too many rounds early on. Got himself in a real hole. Even being generous to Ken in the scoring, his clear losing of the 13th round seals the deal. If he'd been able to sweep the championship rounds he could have won.

Lison in his prime didn't really get tired . . vs Machen and Whithurst in the late rounds he's still throwing hard fast punches late. The more I think about it I think Liston had the best jab. He threw it often, he was good at timing it, and it was as hard as a rock. Holmes had great snap and speed but his jab couldn't stop the likes of Snipes from coming forward. Liston's jab was so hard it either put guys into a shell (Machen) or the guys who went forward anyway got busted up and knocked out (Williams, Folley)

dempseyfire wrote:

dagosd2000 wrote:

dempseyfire wrote: Looped his right?? Holmes had one of the sharpest, quickest STRAIGHT right hands you'd ever see.

Too bad Foreman's jab probably had as much power as Holmes's right hand . . .

I went back to look at some of Holmes's fights:Norton,Spinks,Cooney. You're right,Larry had a good STRAIGHT right. But sometimes he'd let his right drop to his side and he'd kind of slap it. (that's probably what I was thinking) But from there he'd also threw a right uppercut and it was a nice punch.
As far as powerful jabs,Liston and Foreman had the most powerful. But because of their muscular arms they couldn't throw the quantity of jabs Holmes could throw during an entire fight. I remember Liston's last fight with Martin. Liston's jab got heavy and Leotis countered over the top of it to knock him out. When Ali got Foreman tired in their fight in Zaire,Ali could time his right over Foreman's jab(which at times was only a push at that point) and knocked him out.
When Holmes would drop his right he got caught with a lot of left hooks.

After looking at that fight Larry had with Norton,I'm not sure Larry should have gotten that decision. What do you think?

I see Holmes as the clear winner, and I'm a big Norton fan. Norton came on strong in the end but lost too many rounds early on. Got himself in a real hole. Even being generous to Ken in the scoring, his clear losing of the 13th round seals the deal. If he'd been able to sweep the championship rounds he could have won.

Lison in his prime didn't really get tired . . vs Machen and Whithurst in the late rounds he's still throwing hard fast punches late. The more I think about it I think Liston had the best jab. He threw it often, he was good at timing it, and it was as hard as a rock. Holmes had great snap and speed but his jab couldn't stop the likes of Snipes from coming forward. Liston's jab was so hard it either put guys into a shell (Machen) or the guys who went forward anyway got busted up and knocked out (Williams, Folley)

Well Put

Larrys Jab Hurts

Sonny Listons Jab was no joke,nose breaker,can you imagine it ?


Sends a shiver down your spine just thinking about it

I think the above pic is from his fight with Albert Westphal, maybe? His last fight before taking the title from Patterson. Beautiful knockout. One right hand over the top, & Westphal collapses unconscious. He just falls completely limp.

Goodnight, Irene wrote:I think the above pic is from his fight with Albert Westphal, maybe? His last fight before taking the title from Patterson. Beautiful knockout. One right hand over the top, & Westphal collapses unconscious. He just falls completely limp.

You know boxing IMO

Lethal Jab,just so vicious

I nominate Sonny Liston as having the best Jab in HW history,tooth breaker,just shockingly violent,it hurts just thinking about it

Knocking teeth out with a Jab

The jab is under used in boxing 2007

for sure

classboxer wrote:The jab is under used in boxing 2007

I agree sir. However it makes for "boring fights" and the likes of Pernell Whitaker got slated for being boring and relying on their jab.

However the best jab ever surely belongs to Larry Holmes. I am always mesmorised when I watch the difference between rounds 1/2/3 and then the 4th when he faced Tyson..... it made it clear to me that in his prime Holmes wouldc have kept that in Tyson's face for 12 full rounds and won on points.

Amazing jab.

"T.M.K"

T.M.K wrote:
I agree sir. However it makes for "boring fights" and the likes of Pernell Whitaker got slated for being boring and relying on their jab.

However the best jab ever surely belongs to Larry Holmes. I am always mesmorised when I watch the difference between rounds 1/2/3 and then the 4th when he faced Tyson..... it made it clear to me that in his prime Holmes wouldc have kept that in Tyson's face for 12 full rounds and won on points.

Amazing jab.

"T.M.K"

Hey kid

Pernell whitaker never had an ATG jab,just an amazing ability to stay in the pocket and dazzle

Granted sweet pea never had an ATG jab that could knock down men and give sore heads,this is True,an ATG jab = violence

Sonny Liston,Larry holmes floored men with a Jab,a jab should be thrown with venom

Larry Holmes lost against Holyfield but Larry`s Jab gave the REAL DEAL a headache when Holmes was past his prime at 40+,i agree Larry Holmes is up there but NO 1 above sonny Liston ?

I am not sure about that but i agree Larry Holmes has an ATG Jab,no doubt

JOE LOUIS. HE COULD KNOCK YOU OUT WITH A 6 INCH JAB. GREAT JAB.

I think Larry Holmes jab rates higher than Liston's.

Holmes could use the jab as a defensive, offensive, power and fast weapon.

Liston's jab was more ponderous and battering ram like. He had a good reach that rammed deep into an opponents face. Even as an old man Holmes had a fast and strong jab.

In the fights of Liston I have seen I have not seen him get backed up or wobbled where he needed to use the jab as a defensive cover his retreat weapon.

Kym

nobody mentioned the bullet fast jab of Tony TNT Tubbs

I read somewhere Jerry Quarry once knocked a fighter out with a straight left.

Holyfield had a pretty good jab, though not in the league of some of those mentioned.
I agree that Carl Williams had a very good jab.
Larry Donald had a pretty good jab when he used it.
Some fighters didn't use it well often enough. Lennox Lewis was another fighter like that. He showed a stiff jab sometimes, but often just pawed with it.