Top 9 one-two's

OK, this has been a bit of a labour of love/hate. Basically the job is to big for me, there are to many great, great one-two's and comparing them is nightmarish. So apologies to Louis, Hopkins, Marquez, Charles, Moore, whomever, this is the 9 I came up with.


01 - Ricardo Lopez.

What's good about it? Everything really. But I think the main strength is it's accuracy. Lopez rarely misses with the jab which is a genuinely stinging blinder, and the punch coming behind it is just as accurate, and that's where the power is. And that's what a one-two should be for me. The first punch is the more important of the two, but it's not the one doing the damage. It can place an opponents of balance, hurt him, blind him, or even just act as a range finder, but Lopez does all of these things, then brings across the right hand with serious torque and pin-point accuracy. It's an impressive weapon.

Room for improvement? Not really. It could be argued that Lopez's jab does not present as much variety as some of the guys on this list - it tends to be straight down the pipe, sometimes even aimed at the gloves - but it is fast, fast, fast, and rarely misses. Picking the number 1 is often the hardest part of any list, but i'm happy with this.

Footage:YouTube - Ricardo "Finito" Lopez highlight tribute

Maybe the best examples are at 30 and 50 seconds



02 - Carlos Monzon.

What's good about it? This was my pick for #1 before I started breaking down footage for real. He doubles up the jab often before he brings over the right. The right is really, really hard. The jab often comes from chest height and below making it less easy to pick. Most of all, the right hand is his best punch, so he is covering this lethal weapon with a jab. He was also able to throw up short versions of both punches, which is impressive, and would utilise this right after a break, or in close.

Room for improvement? No. He appeared to push with the jab sometimes, but that was deceptive. But it could be suggested that the range with which he fights, and the way he employs these two punches in particular, if they could be neutralised (something of a tall order), Monzon would, in part, be neutralised. I don't thin he would do particlarly well at 175 against rangier men, for example.

Footage: YouTube - Carlos "Escopeta" Monzon Vs. Jean Claude Bouttier (1) - (TKO-13) - Rds.12-13 - 06-17-1972
One round of boxing that outlines Monzon's genius with these punches. Doubling up the jab, shortening the punches inside. Bouttier quit at the end of the round. Also, this has some of the worst commentary you'll ever hear.


3 - Muhammad Ali

What's good about it? Very, very fast jab, and perfectly capable of dropping a really hard right hand. Ali didn't have one punch Ko power for the most part, of course, but he could stop durable fighters on accumilation, and the jab-right-hand was key to that i feel. Most extraordinary of all, he could throw these punches, hard, whilst remaining mobile. There are smaller men that couldn't do that, or anything like it.

Room for improvement? Sometimes Ali would flick a bit with the jab when it wasn't clear that this was neccessary. He arguably should have sat down a bit more on his jab mroe often. He was certainly capable of doing so without compromising mobility.

Footage:YouTube - Muhammad Ali vs. Cleveland Williams 1966
Check the leverage Ali gets on the one-two whilst going backwards at 30 seconds.


4 - Ken Buchanan

What's good about it? Ken had variety in spades. Not in terms of speed, i don't think, he didn't through out any half-feints or "slow jabs", but in terms of angles, he would sometimes flash three jabs and all of them would be at a slightly different angle, "in case". This variety made opponents vulnerable to the right hand coming behind the blinder, because they weren't sure what they were getting. It's real left-handed culture. Ken would also have no problems coming up with the one two, that is, using it not at the beggining of a combination but at the end. Combine this with a really hurtful right hand and you have a weapon of choice. In terms of these two punches, he really had it all.

Room for improvement? Sometimes passed on firing the right hand at the back of his jab when it would have scored. I think Ken was sometimes guilty of admiring his own work with the left hand and neglected the right hand.

Footage: YouTube - Ken Buchanan
Really hurtful one-two's at 25 seconds. For a combo that ends rather than begins with the one-two check 40 seconds. And check the left-right combo followed by a cheeky slip against better than average opposition @3.40!


5 - Thomas Hearns.

What's good about it? Hearns would jab to the body or the head, he could step out behind the jab, very quickly, or, as we're interested in here, he could follow up. Both punches were hard, quick, and the jab was thrown with lazer-guided accuracy. The right hand, less so, but it may be one of the hardest punches in boxing, pound for pound, he had great range.

Room for improvement? Well he forgot it when put under pressure in the Hagler fight, and it was long enough that slipping it would allow his man inside, though he retracted it so quickly.

Footage:YouTube - Thomas "Hit Man" Hearns Vs. Jose Pipino Cuevas (TKO-2) - Rd.2 & Postfight - 08-02-1980
The whole round looks a nightmare for Pip, with the one two the central theme in the bad dream.


6 - Harold Johnson.

What's good about it? Harold wasn't a flashy fighter, but his flashiest punches were his one-two. Here is another guy who can move laterally whilst finding traction for punching, possibly the only thing he has in common with Ali! He throws the jab with a variety of speeds and distances, but the right hand behind it is usually hard and direct.

Room for improvement? Sometimes seemed to throw the right almost as an afterthought, needed more urgency. Pehaps should have commited more to the punch in general.

Footage: YouTube - Archie Moore vs Harold Johnson V

This is not ideal, but it's the only Johnson stuff on YouTube. He does some good work with these punches from around 25 seconds into the video until the KD. As an aside, look at how furious Moore is at being knocked down as he heads for his corner!

7 - Mikkel Kessler.

What's good about it? Almost everything. He's heavy handed, accurate, knows when the shot should be thrown, and isn't afraid to rely upon it heavily, because, like Monzon, he recognises it is his best asset, but distance IMO.

Room for improvement? I sometimes feel Kessler lacks snap in his punches and that if he could get the one two over a little more urgently, it would be even better.

Footage:
YouTube - Mikkel Kessler vs. Librado Andrade 2 of 2


8 - Sugar Ray Leonard.

What was good about it? The jab was primarily fast, but Leonard could bring across a whole range of right hands to compliment it from a chopping right hand if he closed the distance behind the jab, to a bludgeoning overhand thump through the traditional straight right. This makes it hard to predict and defend against as well as hurtful.

Room for improvement? He neglected it sometimes, perhaps in favour of flurrying, although these punches brought him great success, it must be said. He would also somteimts attempt to hold his position when throwing the right hand straight, thus failing to follow through.

Footage:
YouTube - Leonard vs. Benitez PArt 4
Check 1m for a bludgeoning right hand off the jab.


9 - Lennox Lewis.

What was good about it? I don't consider anybody had better variety in their one-two than Lewis. He used it both as a grinding, hurtful weapon from the outside, and as the ultimate deluxe super-jab, opening doors to even more hurtful punches. An absolute cutlass of a jab followed up by one of the hardest right hands in HW boxing.

Room for improvement? For all he used the combination in different ways, the two punches that made it up were pretty standard, although excellent. Additionally, he could sometimes become over-reliant on the jab, to reluctant to throw heavy leather, or end up pawing with the jab and using it as a range finder. Awsome weapon, however.

Footage:
YouTube - Lennox Lewis - Andrew Golota ( Great K.O )
Here we see the best of the Lewis one-two in two quick minutes, using the combination to establish dominance in the centre of the ring, then drive his opponent to the ropes, then use the combination to set up short hooks. Great stuff.

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Anyone on the list that shouldn't be?

Who, aside from your pick for the tenth man, should be on there?

 

Arguello is definitely a good shout. He was one of the guys I was torturing myself about the #10 spot, those guys also included Bob Foster, which was a little unexpected and Antonio Esparragoza as well as Micheal Watson and the other Sugar (not enough traditonal 2 in the end, maybe).

I did have a long hard look at Charles, but he often closed the distance, plus there was maybe nobody as adept at hooking of the jab, turning the jab into a hook, as he was, which kind of hurt his one two, but he was in the running. Is that your nomination for the 10th spot, Charles?


Tunney is an interesting shout gents, hadn't really considered him if I am honest.