Are there any Non-Heavyweights who had a better jab than Larry Holmes ?

How does his jab compare to other pound for pounds greats ?

 

Tommy Loughran
Miguel Canto
Fighting Harada
Tommy Hearns

Those guys immediately stood out, I imagine there's more too.

 

Kovalev

 

Joey Olivo

 

Quartey, Hearns and Wright.

 

Thomas Hearns and Kovalev used the jab better, Holmes’s looked better when he snapped it out, but hearns and Kovalev were better at outjabbing opponents, they can draw opponents jab, move back slightly and land their own, they can feint, force there opponent to move then jab them and they wand it out to distract the opponent, and they change the speed of it, Holmes’s was often the same speed, also Kovalev and Hearns can outjab taller opponents, something I never saw Holmes do

 

To answer your question NO.
Nobody had a better jab or for that matter utilized it better both offensively and defensively. Holmes was in a class by himself.
It's not just nostalgia for me either. Go and watch some absolute prime Holmes on YouTube and you'll see for yourself. Without a doubt best jab of all time

 

Thomas Hearns. Very versatile and powerful jab. When he wasn't hunting that whale of a right, that jab was his bread and butter.

 

I never saw Loughran really throw a jab, he just sorta extended his already mostly extended elbow while stepping forward a little, and there was no real snap behind it.

 

Absolutely. So multi faceted. He could pile on points, bust a guy up, fend off an aggressor or use it to totally blindside guys for his immense right hand.

At heavyweight i rate Ali's a touch higher. Quite a few common opponents agreed.

 

Bob Foster ( came sort of up from the hip )
Ken Buchanan ( fast and snappy )
Ken Norton ( again from the hip )
Sonny Liston ( strong and hard )
Maurice Cullen ( like Buchanan's, not as hard)
SRR ( thrown loosely )

 

PS not greats all of them Soz, didn't read properly

 

To varying degrees, roughly in Larry's class or better, though not all nailed on atgs exactly....

Hearns
Harada
Kalambay
Pep
Whitaker
Chitalada
Pedroza
Buchanan
Winstone
Archer
Canto
Liston
Ross
Spinks
Conteh
Driscoll (though often more a straight left).
Konadu
Foster
McGowan
Ohba
Quartey
Welsh

To name some. Larry is up there in the top group though. Overrated as an overall p4p technician but still an atg jabber (and fighter).

 

Excellent.

 

Hearns is an excellent shout
Oscar
GGG has a great jab