By Lee Groves

Just a few weeks ago – March 16 to be exact – I marked the 36th anniversary of the “thunderbolt moment” that made me a boxing fan. Since witnessing Roberto Duran’s 11th round destruction of Esteban DeJesus in the second of their three fights, I have admired and appreciated the talents of the sport’s best practitioners.

At various points in my life – sometimes to my great peril – I pulled on the gloves and tried to recreate what I saw. Though I won more than I lost, I eventually learned that I didn’t have the tools to turn my childhood fantasies into adult realities.

In recent days my mind drifted back to those youthful years of possibility and I found myself wondering what could have been had I been blessed with greater physical gifts. As I sat in the easy chair of the Home Office – continuing my quixotic quest to transfer my VHS boxing collection to DVD – I silently played the “what if” game. What if I approached the Great Gatekeeper of Talents and asked him to grant me the greatest weapons in boxing history, piece by piece? And what if he actually accepted?

I came up with a 15-item list that will encompass two parts. Today’s portion will deal strictly with armaments designed to wreak physical havoc on my opponents while Part II will address talents that are just as necessary but aren’t as directly damaging.

So without further delay, here is the first part of my arsenal:

The jab of Larry Holmes: The foundation of “The Easton Assassin’s” legend was the muscular stick that hung from his left shoulder. From the first day of his career to his last at age 52, Holmes’ jab was a fearsome presence. It combined the speed and accuracy of the prime Muhammad Ali with the power enjoyed by Sonny Liston and the latter-day George Foreman.

The secret of Holmes’ success – besides God-given talent – was that he “stepped in” behind his jab. Trainer Richie Giachetti correctly surmised that Holmes could generate maximum power, leverage and command of range by adding his springy legs to the equation. As a result, Holmes was capable of dominating a fight with the jab alone and in the end he rode his left hand to the second longest (seven-and-a-half years) and second most profilic (20 defenses) heavyweight championship reign in boxing history. While the jab wasn’t Holmes’ only talent, it is the punch that will forever define him in boxing lore.

The right cross of Thomas Hearns: With Holmes’ jab serving as the devastating “one,” Hearns’ right cross – pound for pound – is the greatest “two” I’ve yet seen. There was a reason why Hearns was called both “The Hit Man” and “The Motor City Cobra,” for his crippling cross left a trail of bodies ranging from welterweight to cruiserweight and he struck them with the velocity and potency of the deadly snake.

The fight that cemented my choice was his crushing two round knockout of Roberto Duran in June 1984. Up to that point Duran had only been knocked down twice in 82 fights (two first-round left hooks by Esteban DeJesus in 1972 and 1974) but against Hearns he suffered three knockdowns in less than five minutes.

The final punch came at the end of a wild exchange that left Duran impaled on the ropes. In that split second of vulnerability Hearns loaded up the Tommy gun, pulled the trigger and stepped away as the semi-conscious Duran fell at his feet.

To my generation it was as shocking a sight as Antonio Tarver’s thunderbolt left that knocked out Roy Jones was to fans of this era. For those who followed Duran closely it was unfathomable, but here Duran was, as helpless as he had ever been in his life.

In retrospect it shouldn’t have been that shocking because Hearns pulled off the same feat against the rock-jawed Pipino Cuevas four years earlier – again in the second round. A pair of gargantuan rights had Cuevas hanging in the air like a marionette with its strings gone awry and 10 seconds later a new prince – and potential king – of the welterweights had been crowned.

Over his 29-year career Hearns provided us a highlight reel for a lifetime courtesy of his signature punch and that will serve as his ticket to the International Boxing Hall of Fame’s Class of 2012.

The left hook of Tommy Morrison: Most boxing people would choose Joe Frazier’s prodigious hook, and for good reason. Anyone who has enough left-handed power to deck Muhammad Ali deserves the highest marks but in terms of sheer speed and one-punch destruction give me the gun that rests in “The Duke’s” holster.

Time and again Morrison delivered power lefts with incredible velocity that produced wickedly dramatic results. This was most evident during his appearances on ESPN, where he went 18-0-1 with 17 KO – 15 in the first three rounds. He became a TV staple because he gave fans the same body-splaying knockouts he delivered as Tommy Gunn in “Rocky V.” Whether he threw it to the head or the body, Morrison released his hook as if it were a coiled spring and few could withstand its impact.

The one hook that encapsulated Morrison’s virtues was the one he unloaded on Donovan “Razor” Ruddock in their Closet Classic in June 1995. Just when it appeared that “The Duke” was careening toward a KO loss, Morrison uncorked a bodacious left out of nowhere that sent the 243 ¾-pound Ruddock crashing to the floor.

Al Bernstein spoke for all of us when he screamed “BIG LEFT HOOK!” when its impact became clear. It was almost beyond belief that Ruddock managed to rise from that blow, for it would have decapitated most other men.

I witnessed that power for myself when I sat ringside for Morrison’s comeback fight following an 11-year layoff. It came against John Castle at the Mountaineer Casino Rack Track and Resort in Chester, W.Va. in February 2007. The 38-year-old Morrison, while a fit 220 pounds, was painfully slow and was thoroughly out-boxed over the bout’s first five minutes. All visions of a massive upset were erased when Morrison dug into his past and conjured a hook that had the speed and snap of his prime. The blow floored Castle and while he managed to regain his feet, referee Dave Johnson waved it off with little argument from the audience.

As I wrote at the time, “Morrison lost all but 10 seconds of the fight, but the 10 seconds he won was all he needed.” What more can anyone ask of a punch? For me, that would be all I would need. Then again, why not be greedy…

The lead left uppercut of Ricardo Lopez: Most right-handed fighters deliver the uppercut with their power hand but “Finito” did things his own way – and to great effect. It’s strange that the lead hand uppercut is a rarely used weapon, for it travels a shorter distance and is easier to target. The downside is that such a blow thrown from too far away could create a potentially fatal opening for his opponent’s right hand.

No other fighter had featured the left uppercut so prominently in championship competition than Lopez. For example, Lopez polished off Kittichai Preecha with a knifing left uppercut that followed a fast one-two. Preecha managed to get to his knees at four but the brain-scrambling effects were such that he stumbled and crawled on the canvas until Dr. James Jen-Kin counted him out.

And this wasn’t a one-time phenomenon; against Ala Villamor a single left uppercut – with no other punches to adorn it – caused the Filipino to crumble flat on his back and barely lift a shoulder off the canvas as the final 10 was tolled.

The reasons why this maneuver worked so well for Lopez is threefold: First, it carried the element of surprise. Second, the 5-5 Lopez was often taller than his challengers and thus was able to generate superior leverage. Finally, Lopez possessed a highly developed sense of movement and timing. Every punch seemed to flow into the next and the left uppercut often served as the capper to an already superlative effort.

The one-punch power of Julian Jackson: Of all the fighters I’ve seen over the years, “The Hawk” has scored more spectacular single-shot knockouts than anyone. I’ve said more than once that Jackson would be my choice if I ever wanted to hire someone to deliver a single punch on my worst enemy. Of course, the deeply religious Jackson would never agree to that kind of proposition, but you get my point – this Virgin Islander had Hall of Fame-caliber cannons for fists and he wasn’t shy about using them.

When I think of Jackson, three extraordinary finishes spring to mind. The first is the right-hand bomb that exploded on Terry Norris’ chin in round two of their WBA junior middleweight title fight in July 1989. Norris’ body stiffened into a semi-conscious state the moment Jackson’s punch landed and the two follow-up blows only served to finish the job the monster right had started.

Number two was his third-round left hook that felled the usually durable Buster Drayton like a piece of petrified wood in February 1989. Drayton’s eyes spun up into his head and his torso wavered as the consciousness drained from his body. The courageous Drayton tried to regain his feet but when he rolled onto his knees the fireflies in his brain and his slushy equilibrium kept him where he was.

Number three was the hammering right hook that sent Herol Graham into dreamland in the fourth round of their November 1990 contest. Graham – a slickster who sported the ironic nickname of “Bomber” – had dominated the first three rounds and had one of Jackson’s eyes nearly closed when disaster struck. Graham had just maneuvered Jackson into a corner pad and was charging in behind a pair of left crosses. As he wound up on the second one Jackson unleashed a thunderbolt that had “timber” written all over it. Referee Joe Cortez could have counted several hundred times over Graham’s inert form.

Jackson once said that he felt a “shock” run up and down his forearm whenever he landed a knockout shot and he often confirmed it by pointing his glove in a “thumbs-down” motion the instant he felt his night’s work was over. It must have felt wonderful to possess that kind of fight-ending power and 49 times out of 55 wins (including 42 of his first 44 wins) Jackson felt that special brand of omnipotence.

The body punching of Joe Frazier: “Smokin’ Joe” may have lost out to Morrison in my left hook derby but there was no way he would be pushed aside in this category.

No fighter ever worked his opponent’s flanks with such drive and desire and at 5-11 204 pounds this strategy was born of necessity. The former slaughterhouse worker knew very well about how to tenderize meat and the constant work downstairs prepared his victims for the booming hooks that eventually ended their personal nightmares. One could almost hear “The Godfather of Soul” James Brown belt out tunes as Frazier belted out opponents.

Anyone who watched Frazier whack away at the body got the sense he enjoyed his work immensely. Each meaty blow was accompanied by a grunt that communicated maximum effort. The damage he wrought on countless ribs, kidneys and other vital organs was inestimable but none felt Frazier’s wrath more than Muhammad Ali.

Frazier pounded Ali in a seething rage, a rage fueled by verbal barbs that went far beyond the usual schoolyard taunts. In Manila, the man derisively dubbed “The Gorilla” pushed Ali to physical realms even he never knew existed. After a frightful 10th round Ali told his corner that he felt close to dying. Only Ali’s massive reservoir of pride – combined with Frazier’s horrifically swollen eyes and Eddie Futch’s mercy – delivered him from disaster.

Disaster was the usual fate for Frazier opponents and that magnificent body attack was the route by which he built his legendary resume. He scored 27 knockouts in 32 wins and his victims included Doug Jones, Eddie Machen, Jerry Quarry (twice), Jimmy Ellis (twice), George Chuvalo, Buster Mathis and Bob Foster. Each graphically experienced the slow-cooked agony only a body attack could deliver and as such they were confronted with two choices, neither of them good – quit and lose or absorb a prolonged beating and lose.

The lone tonics against Frazier’s buzz saw were the Kong-like power of George Foreman, the black magic of Ali and the ravages of age in his one-and-done comeback against Jumbo Cummings. But in the end, Frazier’s bodywork created an immortal body of work.

What other tools would I have chosen if given the opportunity. Log in next time and find out.