Top 3 Heavyweight Jabs

Thanks. At 8:33 Louis is jabbing, just lightly, yet the power is obvious. Imagine him really putting something into it as he did in prime?
By the way, that was filmed in late 1950's, when film quality was better. Although older, Dempsey actually seems to move better on this film than old ones, showing to me that those old films dont capture true greatness of past fighters,

 

Ok, here is my question..Holmes had a great jab, but he also lacked head movement, so hence, I think he could be countered off his jab easier than prime Ali, even though his jab, in and of itself might have been better than Ali's..so do we consider other aspects, like difficulty in countering.

 

1. Joe Louis
2. Larry Holmes
3. Muhammad Ali
Honorable mention: Sonny Liston

 

5.Holmes at 63 years old.=)

I'd say
1.Holmes -The best: fast accurate,and powerful
2. Ali- blinding fast
3.Liston- long and powerful
4.Louis-accurate and powerful
5. Foreman (that telephone jab was brutal)

 

Holmes had good head movement. I always thought he was more of a complete fighter than Ali. But Ali was just so doggone fast and looked better doing it.Plus,he fought everybody and had an iron chin.

 

I think too many people are putting too much stock in power here. The jab isn't a power punch and shouldn't be rated as such, nor should it be seen in isolation. More than any other shot in a boxer's arsenal it is a punch that determines the texture of a fight. A good jab can dictate the range, the pace, the manner in which a fight is fought, it can control or stymie opponents and it can open up punching opportunities, it can be used to frustrate or to befuddle, or it can be used to break guys down, both mentally and physically. A good jab should ideally do all of these things in some measure, and be an integral part of that fighter's style. Having a good jab but not using it, or not using it in a way that allows you to control the fight in some measure isn't a good jab IMO.

 

Whatever suppositions you may have regarding how a "prime" Bowe may have fared against Golota, the fact of the matter is that the real Bowe, the one who stepped in the ring that night, was outjabbed, and in such a manner as to leave it in no doubt who the superior boxer was in that fight. The rematch I'm willing to let him off the hook for considering how overtrained he looked, but not that first one. Bowe may have been unprepared and out of shape, but if he had any understanding of how to use a jab effectively and was as good as you say he was, then there was no way he would have been embarrassed in that manner. Holmes fought well past his physical prime and routinely showed up to fights out of shape yet was still able to get his jab going against the best in the business, because he understood how to use it.

Bowe's jab was decent, if you looked at it in isolation, but it was clear that he had no idea of how to use it effectively against a big opponent with an equally solid jab. Even against smaller opponents like Hide, he routinely let them fight their way inside and hurt him. For such a high level fighter he had an atrocious understanding of distance or the types of skills he should have used as the (generally) bigger man.

Lennox, Ali, Wlad all used their jabs the way a bigger fighter should have used it. When did Bowe ever demonstrate an effective, consistent jab against a world class opponent?

Don't know if these are the five you mean, but the ones I can think of are:

Power jab - used to hurt, stun and break down fighters
Rangefinder jab - used to find or maintain range
Pecking jab - used to frustrate or befuddle opponents
Pawing jab - also used to frustrate opponents, can also be used to blind them to power shots or pull the opponent off balance
Combination jab - quick step in jab used to temporarily catch an opponent off guard and open them up for a power shot, usually a right hand

 

A good fast stunning jab is great of course, but sometimes you can put too much power into it so that it takes you off balance, or leaves you open, or makes it difficult to land follow up shots. Like I said, the jab isn't a power shot, it's a multi-purpose tool, and to focus overly much on any one aspect of it is going to leave you with weaknesses.

A powerful jab will only do all the above if it lands consistently.

Different fighters call for different jabs. A jab like Ali's was perfectly suited for dealing with Frazier, it pecked and worried at him forcing him to constantly move his head not knowing when a powershot was coming, kept him from closing the distance whilst still allowing Ali to move out of range. It was like the way a matador taunts a bull. A jab like Sonny's might have hurt or stunned Frazier but it wouldn't have controlled him in the same way, especially if Joe could have bobbed underneath it and got on the inside.

Liston's jab would have troubled someone like Wlad more than Ali's IMO.

 

Ali had the best jab. It would slice opponents to ribbons and was so quick opponents could not slip it. You don't see Ali being countered over his jab as Holmes would at times. Holmes left his left side wide open....dropping his left and lacking the very quick reflexes Ali possessed. Louis jab was very hard and quick but certainly a punchers jab. Tunney was akin to Ali with great quickness and physical agility. I would rate them as follows:

Ali
Louis
Tunney
Holmes

 

Fighting Harada

 

1, Ali
2.Holmes
3.Liston