Better jab: Hearns vs Holmes

Close but I've got Larry.
Holmes jab one of the greatest jabs in boxing history.

 

Holmes, but Hearns' also was a thing of beauty.

 

Holmes had a P4P jab across all weights, a fighter like him to get so far so left hand centric is always a pleasure to watch if you were making a fighter and you wanted him to be optimised for a long career he’d probably fight a lot like Holmes.

 

I actually like Hearns jab better than almost anyones. It is possibly the most multi faceted jab i have ever seen. Firstly he has so much reach and range, which was allied to great handspeed and really decent pop. It was used in a variety of ways, to pile up points (e.g.Benitez), to bust a guy up, to keep a guy off, to blindside a guy and measure for a right hand (Duran) and he used it both to the head and body. You could write an article on it.

 

Holmes, though Hearns’ jab was great. Holmes’ jab was used in many ways and was more integral a part of his offense AND defense.

 

This is why I would give the slight edge to Holmes. He used the jab as an integral part of his entire fight plan.

 

There should be a "Both" voting option.

 

Holmes...Best jab in history regardless of weight class IMO.
Hearns is a teir 1 jab also.

 

Both had superb jabs. I have no Criticism of either. Forced to choose I lean towards Holmes. In his prime that jab was like a laser

 

Hearns jab is great, the thing about Holmes jab though is he still dominated with it against men that were as rangy or even rangier. He'd use it at multiple ranges too. Hearns was like a raptor though. Pity he never really had an elite level jabbing match up, where an opponent could compete with it. At least I can't think of any. I think McCallum-Hearns would be an intriguing technical match up.

 

Hearns

 

Holmes should get a lot of credit since he was a HW in 2 eras full of guys who could crack. He also faced opponents who had greater reach/height and still successfully popped that jab, while Hearns was almost always the taller/rangier guy facing opponents who often had no choice but to play pressure fighter or were already pressure fighters. Hearns also had more power p4p than Holmes who was more of a sharp puncher.

In terms of utility, Holmes was a bit more mobile and able to jab in any direction. Hearns could jab backing up and had decent lateral movement, but I think Holmes was a bit smoother and fluid while doing so. Hearns had better overall ring IQ and technique, but Holmes was smoother and more athletic in some ways. I think Holmes was a bit more versatile with his jab too.

 

what's stopping you?