Best HW jabs: Louis, Liston, Ali, Holmes, Foreman, Lewis, Bruno, Douglas, Thomas, Bowe, W Klitschko

I think against Conn, while at range, it was clearly Louis' best punch. It was the shot which caught Conn most often, and that was his best opponent in terms of movement and his jab served him well. And while yes, I wouldn't say Louis' jab is something he relied upon more than the rest of his offence, the rest of his offence wouldn't be nearly as effective without it. And as I said earlier in the thread, a great performance with just the jab is absolutely not necessary to have a great jab, especially when the jab is great in all of his fights, but I agree, it was a good showing against Farr. It also looks great in his late career when it was all he had left. Particularly against Marciano, Charles and especially Cesar Brion.

Yeah, I think Louis' style and dimensions are selling his jab short to some here, in a similar way to Tyson. Plus, imo, Louis is very much a big moment type of fighter, where his game is built upon setting a trap, forcing an engagement and getting a KO. He doesn't chase people, he hunts them and the jab (and his feet) is what lets him do this so well.

 

My favourite thing is that he can analyse a Wlad fight - who he clearly hates - until the sun goes cold, but still couldn't read my post.

 

Trust me, you don't need to convince me.

The best four jabs in the division for me belong to Ali, Holmes, Louis and Liston and tell truth, the more that I watch Liston, the more that I see a subtly skilled fighter whose jab, whist elite, wasn't actually his best weapon IMO. It's weird what I'm starting to see with Liston - I can't quite explain it yet but know that I'm increasingly intrigued.

Anyways back to Joe - an absolute piston, elite jab, thudding and visibly knocking heads back. I just think Ali's is quicker and harder to time/counter when he's not bouncing, holding ring centre and boxing off the pivot. Holmes is more consistent with it but I would always agree that Louis is a better technician than often credited for.

Here's why I think Joe is actually top of the tree for overall skill - parrying, glove placement (for the most part), head off centre and slipping, rolling, ducking, punching technique, punch placement, punch timing and punch selection - I think the closest to him are Liston, Holyfield and Usyk (I predominantly view Charles and Moore as a LHW despite having good above weight résumés) and even then, there's still a gulf.

If I were to be critical, it's the footwork around the jab potentially, and even then, I often offer the Max Baer performance as an example that Joe was much more layered than people think. It probably speaks more to his efficiency and economy rather than he couldn't.