Overall with everything taken into account It's Muhammad Ali. Holmes jab was harder, Ali's faster. Ali could flick jabs whilst on the move whilst Holmes was far more stationary and often stepping in. This gave him more consistent power but was also part of the reason why he could be reached much more easily with counter rights. The others part was that he invariably dropped his jab as he brought it back. Joe Louis was the same early career but did shore things up substantially after the Schmeling loss. Ali's accuracy at his best was insane given that he used to be able to consistently land his jab while moving laterally - often at great speed. Ali was almost impossible to hit with counter rights over the jab at his best as not only was he often on the glide but he had great anticipation and head movement. If a blow did actually land he would be on the move and not flat footed as in the case of a Holmes. Ali was harder to time and his lightening fast footwork not only laterally but also in and out also presented more angles and variety. Ali could also string jabs together with so much speed for a heavyweight. So with everything taken into account it's Ali for me. Norton and Evangelista said the same tho they never faced the best Ali of the 60's. The best of the more stationary jabbers were Louis and Holmes for me. Liston's up there as well and was the hardest jabber. Wlad's jab was very effective too and size played a fair sized part in that. .
Great post and yes absolutely, Larry did tend to step in with his jab for more weight. Though it made his jab heavier and nastier than Ali's he did sacrifice his chin to the overhand right because of the lesser speed. That said, only Liston and Louis could compare in terms of effectiveness (big Georgetoo if he had used the jab more). Lewis had a really good jab, but I don't rank him with that top 4. Louis was definitely ahead of him on the jab imo.
It had one heck of a lot to do with his ranking in most fans' top 5 ATGS. It was the best at controlling a fight, took him out of trouble hundreds of times. It made Berbick into a lost, confused fighter over 15, bashed Cooney until the right hand saved him from further, ugly punishment.
The best jab in Heavyweight IMO. 1. Larry Holmes 2. Muhammad Ali 3. Riddick Bowe 4. Lennox Lewis 5. Sonny Liston 6. Carl Williams 7. Joe Louis 8. George Foreman 9. Pinklon Thomas 10. Ken Norton
Between Holmes and Ali but I'd say Holmes. Foreman and Bowe aint far behind, if only they utalize it more, their jab will probably as devastating as Holmes. Bowe punch that started to wobbled Holyfield was a jab. Lewis obviously standout aswell but he gets outboxed by Bruno when they traded jab until Lewis caught him offguard with a left hook . Lennox also outjabbed by smaller guy like Mercer who's also much older than him. Vlad is another guy that outboxed him with his jab.
Quickest: Ali Hardest : Liston Overall : Holmes 1.Holmes 2.Liston 3. Ali 4: Lewis 5: Foreman 6: Louis 7: Wlad Once you get past the top 4 or 5 it's anyone's guess really