short armed fighters that had good boxing ability

When Chavez turned boxer he was surprisingly very good, jabbing and moving aswell, and his arms looked rather stumpy.

Locche must be the outstanding candidate though! Although it was more due to immensely good reflexes, still though- hitting without being hit is the definition of boxing, and he did it with a very short reach indeed

 

Tyrone "Butterfly" Crawley gave a clinic on how to outbox a taller and longer armed opponent from long range in mid-ring when he upset undefeated (22[16]-0-0) 5'11" lightweight "Rockin" Robin Blake in Blake's Levelland, Texas hometown.

Likewise, Leo Randolph produced a masterful exhibition in outboxing 5'8" WBC Super Bantamweight Champion Ricardo Cardona, coming off the floor to stop Cardona in 15 rounds. For Randolph's challenge of Cardona, Muhammad Ali gave him extensive guidance in how to optimize the use of his jab. At one point, Leo wobbled and nearly dropped the defending champion with that newly improved jab. The ring in Seattle was only 14 feet square (the smallest I remember seeing in a world championship bout). Yet Randolph outboxed Cardona in the center of this tiny ring.