Jab duels.

To be fair, Paulie's power shots have the weight of jabs.

 

With the likes of Norton-Ali, Holmes-Williams and De La Hoya-Quartey already mentioned, these ones sprung to mind;


• Tippy Larkin vs. Billy Graham
I'm basing this nomination on the 14 minutes or so of balcony footage that exists of the bout, and the knowledge that both men were excellent jabbers, although I've seen much more of Graham because this seems to be the only tape that exists of Larkin. That said, he looks fantastic despite the distance and low resolution. You've got to be some kind of boxer to handle Graham so clearly; a result which, when coupled with his wins over Willie Joyce, suggests that Larkin's was a special talent, albeit one which was badly held back by a chin that couldn't hold up when matched with punchers. Tippy looked to have all the tricks in this classic fencing duel - would that Graham's chin could only have been welded onto him, we'd be talking about an ATG.

• Ray Robinson vs. Jake LaMotta VI
This one was a fine jab duel through the first six, with LaMotta providing the go-to exhibition in how to fight small and outjab a rangier man, foot placement and timing belying his 67" reach. His form began to sag around the 7th, however -- a likely combined legacy of a titanic struggle with the scales and some well-placed body shots from Robby -- as his discerning left lost its jolt and consistency. Ray's jab really took over herein, with LaMotta's ability to slip the long, stinging left of Robinson also deteriorating. Most here will be familiar with what followed after LaMotta's final spirited, urgent bid to defy the inevitable and put Ray away early in the 11th, with Jake spent and ragged enough by the back end of the round for Robinson to be able to turn the remainder of the fight into a showcase for his virtuoso offensive skills, eventually stopping the Bronx man on his feet after two more sessions of pure punishment.

• Michael Spinks vs. Dwight Braxton
Somewhat reversing the previous example here, with Mike Spinks outjabbing a shorter, crouching, educated jabber (and showing Matthew Saad Muhammad how it was done). Spinks appeared to have jabbed and slipped Braxton's own left into submission at points in the mid-late going, as the latter would spend spells preferring to stalk with timely power punching raids in mind. This fight has an undeservedly negative rep among some fans, being a fine technical battle pocked with violent outbreaks and creeping periods of suspense, with Spinks overcoming rocky spells to assert a clear victory. It's worth noting, too, that Spinks turned his jab into a hook beautifully at times in this bout.

• Lennox Lewis vs. Ray Mercer
I was surprised this one hadn't been mentioned already. A real heavyweight jabfest, with jabs accounting for 59% of punches thrown and 52% of punches landed.

• Marco Antonio Barerra vs. Johnny Tapia
As studies in how one fine jab can utterly negate another go, this takes some beating - jabs account for 53% of punches thrown and 44% of punches landed in this one, with Barrera bossing things in the former distinction and almost entirely eclipsing Johnny in the latter.

• Devon Alexander vs. Andriy Kotelnik
You'd be hard-pressed to define Devon Alexander's southpaw jab as a "great" one, but it was certainly busy on this night, albeit to little effect. The far cannier left hand of Kotelnik gave Alexander an endless amount of grief, meanwhile - not that you'd know it from the judges' scorecards, as they chose to reward unimaginative quantity over consistent, creative quality for a 116-112 consensus in Alexander's favor, with unofficial scorer Harold Lederman erring to an even greater degree. FWIW, my scorecard for this one was 117-111 (nine to three) for Kotelnik. Jabs accounted for 51% of punches thrown, 58% of punches landed.

• Sergio Martinez vs. Serhiy Dzinziruk
A southpaw jab clash, with the athletic Martinez beating the touted jabber at his own game. Jab stats for this one = 62% of punches thrown and 59% of punches landed.

 

You read my mind.

 

i cant think of one nowone else has said but i like maidana mayweather thats a good shout.

 

Golovkin has a really good jab, he has a jab to keep you confused, off balance and a jab that can stagger his opponent, such as Jacobs, at the end of one round, let, he staggered Jacobs with a left jab, never underestimate Golovkin's jab. Vlad used to have an excellent jab, jab off the hook, hook off the jab, left hook, right hand, he because too inactive by in the later years.................