The top 5 best jab of all time P4P

Well proven at the top level wasn't a part of my criteria for selecting top jabs.

Lopez had a deceptive versatility to his jab. He could slip it aroun the corner, and he also varied the pace on occasion depending on what had gone before, which I absolutley love to see.

This, I totally disagree with. He would hook off it too, and sometimes this blinder would set up a four or five punch combination that he isn't landing without it. It's also very very fast and a hurful punch.

Again, we're on a different vibe here, and how. "Snappy"? He scored knockdowns with this punch. As to it being limited or lack variety, I don't know what to say about that - I think it's maybe the most cultured left hand in boxing history. He won round after round establishing this jab.

I think Watt's persistent out-timing of Buchanan in a brave losing effort when the two met has created this myth.

Yeah, probably a good shout and unterated.

 

Fair enough, but Lopez was a champion who hoped weights and defended his title. If this isn't enough to qualify him at the highest levels you're basically excluding everyone who hasn't matched an ATG. I'm fine with that as a matter of mission statement, but it excludes more fighters than I am happy with as a matter of course.

Pernell didn't hurt guys with individual jabs, not in a serious way.

I think the #1 should be able to do that.

As for Lopez, I've never seen him control a fight with his jab, but the jab is the crucial punch in his controlling of some rounds. That's what a jab absolutley should be. I don't pick Liston out as the absolute best of the HW jabbers because it was such a hard punch, I like it because it covered for Liston's shortcomings, his lack of footspeed. He travelled in behind his jab and set up his faster punches of it.

As you've said, Lopez has a textbook jab - a perfect jab in terms of the textbook. He builds punches behind it. You say he doesn't control the fight with the jab. I agree with you. But his jab is the punch that allows him to control the fight. It's a difference, a subtle one, but an important one. And i'd say it's not jut "a" factor, it's the most important factor. A jab is never just a jab.

Taken overall, I don't have any problem at all with Whitaker being rated above Lopez in terms of jabbing. If you have Whitaker at #1, I think that's a little excessive, but say you have him at #4 and Lopez at #7, I don't think that matters. Obviously the shading here is even closer than the shading on an ATG HW list, for example.

Well, he was incredibly accurate with it (Watt fight aside) and he was capable of altering the punch mid-flight whilst keeping it's sting. He was rarely timed on it (Watt fight aside - not even Duran really timed his jab with any success), he used it up and down, he moved of it as beautifully as Ali. He threw it from a variety of heights, he used a variety of speeds (maybe not as many as Robinson, but I can't think of many guys who took the sting out of their jab to throw of timing like Ken - how about Whitaker?) and he could hide the left hook with his jab, which I love.

I don't think you can say with any sort of definitive authority who had the most cultured left hand of all time - I guess that was a silly statement. But if somebody asked me, this would be my pick.

Well we'll agree to disagree and let that one go then.

I think I might owe Whitaker another look at his jab, from the way that you and Sues2nd have been talking to me about it just lately. Maybe you should take another peak at Ken's.

 

Enought to be locked into the top 5? No, I don't think so. He does have a good jab. I think he warrents discussion in a HW five, but not all time, Christ no.

 

I like Ali's jab better and I like Liston's jab better.

 

:good