Ten best heavyweight jabs of all time

Uysk's jab isn't like a jab I have seen before. He doesn't really use it to control range from a distance or throw it very often but more to set up his attacks and avoid being countered with the lead hand.

 

A name I haven’t seen mentioned would be Tyrell Biggs, he had a heck of a jab. Blazing fast and razor sharp when in form. Wish he wouldn’t have dropped his hand so low after throwing it, but his jab itself was a thing of beauty.

 

Holmes
Liston
Ali
Foreman
Louis
Bowe
Wlad
Thomas
Usyk
Norton

 

Tony Tubbs had a great jab as well.

 

I like the list. I might actually ad Carl the truth Williams to it

 

Seldon should probably be on every list.

 

Agree with Biggs and Seldon...

 

1 Holmes
2 Ali
3 Louis
4 Liston
5 Wladimir
6 Lewis
7 Foreman
8 Williams
9 Norton
10 Thomas

 

Tyson had a great jab. Probably landed like a ramrod too, I mean, he had that two-fisted KO power with everything, can't imagine his jab wasn't heavy and damaging. But he had a 71in reach. Same as Canelo, less than Mayweather, less than Crawford. So his jab was a lot less useful than it could have been.

Underrated jab in these discussions is Foreman. Look at some of his last fights; he'd become an excellent jabber and I'm sure it landed like a brick.

 

That fight was absurd. SRL was commentating. After the second KD (at which point it was clear that for whatever reason Douglas's jab was doing all the damage, not his right), SRL says "at this point if I'm him, I'm just throwing all jabs". Anyone know if Douglas had an injury that led to his right being off that night or what? Shoulder injury or something? Was so weird that he'd land rights and they wouldn't do much, then he'd land a jab and the guy would be wobbled.

 

Tubbs

 

what about Frank Bruno ? great strong jab imo

 

Carl Williams top 5 jab imo

 

Strong and quick

 

1. Wladimir Klitschko: If we're talking about a jab that literally dictated an entire heavyweight era, it’s Wlad. It wasn't just a setup, it was the whole system. Everything he did built off that jab: control, timing, defence, offence. Absolute clinic.
2. Riddick Bowe: Bowe's jab was insane for his size. Fast, fluid and naturally blended into his inside work, which is rare for a big man. When he actually stayed behind it, he looked unbeatable at mid-range.
3. Lennox Lewis: Tactical master with the jab. He kept guys at the end of it and neutralised all kinds of styles. It wasn't flashy, but it was incredibly effective. Probably the best pure "control" jab after Wlad.
4. George Foreman: Foreman’s jab gets slept on. Young Foreman used it like a battering ram to walk guys down and old Foreman weaponised it even more to compensate for his lack of mobility. It was heavy, consistent and broke people down.
5. Larry Holmes: Pure textbook perfection. Snap, speed and he actually hurt people with it too. Set up everything he did and unlike Ali, Holmes' jab had real authority behind it.
6. Muhammad Ali: Incredible speed and timing, no doubt. But being honest, his jab wasn't particularly damaging, it was more about disruption and controlling tempo. Definitely belongs on the list, but not at the very top like a lot of people assume.
7. Ken Norton: Awkward but super effective. Norton's crab-style and constant movement made his jab a nightmare, especially against guys who liked rhythm (like Ali). Technically unorthodox but very functional.
8. Sonny Liston: Absolute sledgehammer of a jab. Might be the most powerful jab ever thrown in the heavyweight division. Not the fastest and pretty predictable, but the sheer physical force behind it was something else.
9. Pinklon Thomas: Not a name that gets thrown around enough, but his jab in his prime was top quality. Tight, fast, powerful and properly set up his whole offence. Probably the best jab of that mid-80s crop before his career derailed.
10. Joe Bugner: Technically a really sound jab. It was nothing devastating, but it was clean, efficient and helped him stay competitive against some of the best of his era. Very underrated fundamentals.