THE GREATEST JABS IN HEAVYWEIGHT bOXING

Probably contentious but I've always had a high respect for fighters with great jabs...The jab is the greatest weapon in Boxing...Can be used as a range finder a la Louis, used to set up a combination, used to put a fighter off balance, or used as a deadly weapon in the case of Liston and Holmes etc.........

Anyhow here are my top 10 heavyweight jabs....

10. Greg Page
9. Jack Johnson
8. Tyrell Biggs
7. Lennox Lewis
6. Jim Corbett
5. Gene Tunney
4. Joe Louis (The greatest range finder in boxing)
3. Muhammad Ali
2. Sonny Liston
1. Larry Holmes

As I said it is a little contentious...I've left out people i've never really seen quality footage of who may deserve attention but there we go.

Lennox Lewis.

Was just watching Liston vs Clay on ESPN yesterday, if thats the 2nd best jab of all time at heayweights then heavyweight can't jab.

D4 Liston is supposed to have had the hardest jab in Boxing..knocked people out with it....

Shouldn't judge a guy on one fight...

I don't judge Manny on Marquez 1....

Agree with most of your picks, Truss, but I'd find a place for Pinklon Thomas, whom I always believed to have possessed a jab to rival Holmes'.

Thought about Pinky Windy....Great jab but a little slow....

Certainly upset Witherspoon with it though......

You could be right..

Again Truss, you've got a lot of the right names in the list, just the order that we can quibble over. Might argue that Riddick Bowe deserves a mention. Absolutely superb jab when he was on song. If we're including eighties Heavyweights, then I'd probably edge Thomas in there ahead of Page and Biggs, but there's not much in it.

As to the names you've mentioned, I might just nudge Liston ahead of Holmes to the top spot, although I change my mind on that one quite a bit. I'd also have to stick Louis' jab higher than Ali's, who I'd personally have behind Tunney and Lewis, too. Still a great jab but not quite top five worthy, for me.

Did Norton come in to consideration? Good article.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:D4 Liston is supposed to have had the hardest jab in Boxing..knocked people out with it....

Shouldn't judge a guy on one fight...

I don't judge Manny on Marquez 1....

Power, yes, precision, no. He was hitting thin air all night, not even getting close.

I didn't think of Norton Chris...Out of all his attributes i didn't think his jab was his finest....

However not very subjective about Norton..thought he was a bully who couldn't handle pressure fighters.

maybe I'm doing him an injustice..

I might argue with Jack Johnson. Great fighter, no doubt - but tended to rely upon counter-punching -especially later in his career, rather than a dominant jab. His left was certainly "straight and true", as was written - and he did counter-jab very well.

Does the "counter-jab" count? Or does the jab has to a primary, range finding, fight controlling, dominating punch, done before your opponent's counter...

I would also throw Holyfield into the mix - the triple jab when he was young and newly a heavyweight was a joy to behold.

Johnson's jab was very good at unbalancing an opponent...and setting them up..

Holy is a great choice but I left him out because he tended to jab in tandem and not as a solitary weapon.....

Certainly worth mentioning though..

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Johnson's jab was very good at unbalancing an opponent...and setting them up..

Holy is a great choice but I left him out because he tended to jab in tandem and not as a solitary weapon.....

Certainly worth mentioning though..

Fair enough. That triple jab was still a joy to behold.

Re: Johnson - I don't disagree - was just wondering whether the jab had to be the initiating punch or the counter punch. As 1 thing Johnson was exemplary at (and arguably, no-one has really done it as well since) was blocking the opponent's jab with an open right hand and then countering with a straight left jab down the middle, followed by a right hook/right cross as a follow up punch. If we're counting that as jabbing (and we very well could) we could argue Johnson is too low.

I'd also throw out Corbett - the guy that kick-started the use of the dominant jab in HW boxing - does that push him up the list?

i think wlad and vitali (especially wlad) should be on here. if theres one thing they do well its jab. jab. jab. jab.

eddyfightfan wrote:i think wlad and vitali (especially wlad) should be on here. if theres one thing they do well its jab. jab. jab. jab.

Very good point, Wlad has a great jab, makes for boring fights but not many get past that jab.

Would've mentioned Thomas and Bowe had others not beat me to it. Bowe in particular had an excellent jab - every bit as good as Lewis's - when he could be bothered to deploy it effectively.

Holmes is no1 for me though.

Not that I'm suggesting they should be top ten, but worth mentioning that Bruno had a pretty good jab, as does Wlad (seeing as we're on the subject).

eddyfightfan wrote:i think wlad and vitali (especially wlad) should be on here. if theres one thing they do well its jab. jab. jab. jab.

Technically jab, jab to the left of the head, jab to the right of the head, when the head stops moving, right cross, if the right cross lands, left hook.

There's isn't another punch to throw after that, cos if those 3 land in combo its affectionately known as "the end".

Wlad has been trying to freshen things up a little recently. Now there's Jab, Right Cross, Left hook, right uppercut.

Except that's a special ability - that he only seems able to use twice a fight. Once by about round 5 and once in round 12.

Anyway - good shout eddy on Wlad's jab.

Bruno is a call and one I was sincerely thinking of putting in there..

Perhaps telegraphed but certainly potent..

He was close as was Riddick.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Bruno is a call and one I was sincerely thinking of putting in there..

Perhaps telegraphed but certainly potent..

He was close as was Riddick.

Interesting call there, Truss. As I said earlier, I'd have included Bowe personally, don't think Bruno comes all that close, though. It was a ramrod jab for the opening stages but, as ever with Bruno, the longer the fight went on the more his jab just disappeared. I think once someone got inside it, it shattered him mentally and he always went in to his shell, afraid to stick out the jab again when he should have stuck with it. Very good jab on his day, but not a 'great' one for my money.

Depends on what your looking for in a jab

Listons was the most powerful by a mile, wasn't so much used to control fights but rather to inflict damage which is fairly unique

If you were teaching someone to throw a jab you'd show the video of Holmes and say just like that

Lewis could get a bit lazy with it but when on song could control a fight with it like no other

Alis had the lightning speed to distract an opponent which made it easier to follow up with a left hand

Overall think you got it fairly spot on

Good list, I would have Liston at #1 personally, I was watching his ten rounder with Whitehurst yesterday and his reach was amazing, like stretch armstrong.

Has anybody mentioned Michael Moorer? He was very efficient at pumping out that jab, now and again in the first Holy fight he'd line him up land two or three. If he would've done that more he would've had a much better career. Probably wouldn't have been flattened by Foreman.

Tyson had an underrated jab. Not saying he should make the list (obviously) but he out jabbed big tall guys at times (including Biggs).

Anyway the list is sound, but I'd drop Biggs and throw in Wlad.

Wladamirs gotta be on the list,top 5 IMO.

I think Wlad Klitschko easily makes top 10 myself and I might even have him top 5. He may not be exciting or do a whole lot else well but he sure can jab and I doubt there have been many fighters in history that use it with the same relentless effect that he does.

Bowe is another nailed on cert for me to be top 10.

The common problem with Wlad is his opposition, the rest proved they could control a fight against superior opposition.

The likes of Biggs of Page ahead of Wlad? Difficult to assess Corbett as the jab was really just being developed as an effective weapon against fighters not really used to it.

Wlads competition might not be the best around but hes still been a reigning world champion for about 8 years using the jab primarily and some of the fighters hes faced arent really as bad as they are made out. The likes of Chagaev and Ibragimov were good solid unbeaten fighters when he faced them and were completely dominated by the jab.

I definately think its right up there. His losses havent come as a result of the jab failing, more that other parts of his game like conditioning and stamina have been found wanting.