The jab is said to be the most effective punch and an underutilized weapon in boxing. This week, we look at the 13 best jabs among active boxers.
Super middleweight Diego Pacheco has one of the best jabs, and he faces Kevin Lele Sadjo on Saturday night at the Adventist Health Arena in Stockton, California.
We have seen examples of great jabs in boxing history. ProBox TV’s Paulie Malignaggi and Chris Algieri had masterful jabs, which led them to become titleholders. Gennadiy Golovkin’s jab was compared to the right hand of most world-class fighters. Andre Ward had a jab that would attack not just the head, but the body of his foe. Floyd Mayweather became an all-time great with his jab. Wladimir Klitschko could keep opponents at the end of his right hand with his masterful, thudding jab. There are so many great jabs, and most are forgotten as it is not as memorable as a knockout blow. It is a subtle punch used in various ways.
After compiling the list, we got insight from boxing trainer John Pullman on each fighter's jab, and what makes them so special.
13. Daniel Dubois
Record: 22-3 (21 KOs)
Dubois has a thudding jab. It is not quite the legendary “Golovkin jab,” which was extremely powerful, but it is a strong lead hand that is both quick and brutal. For Dubois, his jab is his table-setter for his explosive offense.
John Pullman’s thoughts: He is using his jab to set up something big. You can hear his trainer always telling him to keep using his jab. He can be in a really tough fight, but he never abandons his jab. He might be in a shootout, where the other guy wants to get some payback after Daniel hit him with a big shot, then comes Daniel’s jab. He is really good at using a jab in a shootout-type fight.
12. Diego Pacheco
Record: 24-0 (18 KOs)
Pacheco is a 6ft 4ins super middleweight and has a 79-inch reach. He maximizes his physical advantages with his ability to stay long behind a deliberate jab that forces opponents to be methodical in their approach.
Pullman: To use the jab, you have to control the distance very well, and Pacheco, for being such a young guy (24 years old), he lets the fight come to him. He has excellent patience, and he knows who he is. He knows what his body is built for, what his assets are, and what his weaknesses are. He really leans into his strengths.
11. Jaron “Boots” Ennis
Record: 35-0 (31 KOs)
Ennis has a laser beam jab. He is so good that he hasn’t had to show his jab often in his career, as he has been a dominant power-puncher. When Ennis does jab, it is highly accurate and effective. He is just so good. He can win in so many different ways; his jab often gets overlooked.
Pullman: He has a great jab from both stances. He is a true switch-hitter, able to jab well as an orthodox fighter and as a southpaw.
10. Naoya Inoue
Record: 31-0 (27 KOs)
Inoue uses his jab to create distance, but also to set up big blows. Whether it is a feint or dictating the rhythm of the fight with his jab, Inoue is looking to do damage behind his jab.
Pullman: Every punch he throws is hard. When he hit Stephen Fulton with a body jab, it looked like it took the wind right out of him. He uses a jab as something to hurt you, and he is looking to knock you out.
9. O’Shaquie Foster
Record: 24-3 (12 KOs)
Foster is one of the more underrated fighters of the modern era. His jab is both offensive and defensive. Foster uses a simple but effective jab to command the tone and temperament of a fight, which was seen recently against Stephen Fulton Jnr.
Pullman: He has a power jab, a keep you at a distance jab. He has angles, and his defense, along with his reflexes and distance control, are elite. Foster is so athletic, but he is disciplined with the use of his jab, which is what makes it so great. You can tell, instead of being in the gym working on a bunch of fancy stuff for social media, Foster is in the gym working on his jab.
8. Shakur Stevenson
Record: 24-0 (11 KOs)
Stevenson's great ability to control distance comes from his jab and footwork. It allows him to walk an opponent down or move backward. Not unlike Oleksandr Usyk, Inoue or Terence Crawford, Stevenson has many weapons. It is hard to focus on just his jab. Stevenson showed his effective jab against Joet Gonzalez when he won his first title. As the pressure fighter, Gonzalez was offset by Stevenson's lead hand.
Pullman: He uses a range-finder measured jab. He throws a nice jab from the measure. If you hold your lead hand out straight, just measuring your opponent with it, and try to develop power off that jab, it takes a lot of effort and a lot of work. He coordinates with his footwork, his distance control, and timely jabs. He is good at what I call a “gray area jab.” Floyd Mayweather was good at this as well, where he will be on the ropes and as soon as there is some space and the opponent isn’t expecting it, he will throw a jab.
7. Oleksandr Usyk
Record: 24-0 (15 KOs)
Usyk has a lot of variety in his jab. He is able to keep opponents away with his jab, while his feet keep his opponent turning. Usyk even knocked out Daniel Dubois in their first fight with a jab. Usyk’s jab can come from many different angles and distances.
Pullman: Not unlike Crawford, he does everything well. He can fight from every range. He can use a jab from the mid-range, he can use a short jab, a long jab, he can jab with both of his hands up. Being a left-hander and having a great jab isn’t common because there are more right-handers than left-handers. It is harder for a left-hander to land a jab on a right-hander and vice versa. So the fact that he is a southpaw who utilizes his jab is impressive, too.
6. Erislandy Lara
Record: 32-3-3 (19 KOs)
Lara has a traditional southpaw jab with which he keeps opponents at range. He dictates the action, but his jab is most effective because of his brilliant ability to punch at any spot in the ring based on his footwork, and he has a dynamite left hand that can render a foe unconscious with one blow. He is such a smart fighter that while his opponent respects his powerful left hand, he is able to jab and score points. It takes talent to make a fight boring, and Lara’s jab gives him the ability to control the tempo and slow the fight down, allowing him to dictate the action.
Pullman: It is amazing how he can control the tempo of a fight with a jab. The fight will be such a slow-paced fight because he has such a good jab. Every time you make a mistake, he is cracking you with that jab, and I have seen him hurt people with his jab.
5. Richardson Hitchins
Record: 20-0 (8 KOs)
Hitchins has the traditional stick most think of as a jab. He keeps opponents at the end of his punches and dictates his range based on the leverage of the full extension of his shots. Hitchins’ ability to control range and fight long is mostly based on his great jab. Hitchins is creeping toward being one of the 20 best fighters in the world, and at some point he could have one of the best jabs among active boxers. Hitchins’ success as a pro boxer is heavily reliant on his jab.
Pullman: He is a world champion who has a beautiful, classic jab. He is a good boxer, controls the distance, and is super fast. He became a world champion behind his jab.
4. Devin Haney
Record: 33-0 (15 KOs)
Haney’s most effective tool in the boxing ring is his jab. Haney controls the rhythm of the fight and dictates the distance with his jab while also relying on his conditioning to force a strategic fight upon his opponent.
Pullman: It is fast and accurate. He dresses the jab up in the beginning and end with his patience after each move he makes, either with a slip or he steps back. His jab is powerful, too. For someone not known for his punching power, he has a deceptively strong jab.
3. Terence Crawford
Record: 42-0 (31 KOs)
Crawford doesn’t just have a good jab. He can jab well as an orthodox fighter and a southpaw. Crawford has one of the best jabs in boxing, but it is hard to single out one great trait with him, as he does everything well. It is important to note that, as of recently, Crawford has fought mostly as a southpaw.
Pullman: Crawford does everything well. He is an A+ fighter, all the way around. He fights right-handed and left-handed, and jabs well from both stances. I have seen him control fights with his jab against Israil Madrimov; that fight was competitive, but Crawford’s jab set him apart.
2. Tyson Fury
Record: 34-2-1 (24 KOs)
Fury has size, but a lot of what makes Fury great is his jab. Fury can move. That said, he has one of the best jabs of the modern era. He out-jabbed one of the best modern jabbers in Wladimir Klitschko, and he used the jab well against Deontay Wilder. Few got more out of a jab in their career than Fury. He can throw every punch in the book, but everything he throws is off the jab. Fury also might have the most variety in the types of jabs he throws, such as a jab that starts low and goes upward, an up jab, a range-finding jab, a jab to the belly, and more.
Pullman: He has a fast, effective jab. He is so big. He doesn’t have to throw it hard. His size gives him an advantage. He just focuses on his speed, and that is smart. He can throw it so fast, while being so big and coordinated, which makes his jab so impressive.
1. Dmitry Bivol
Record: 24-1 (12 KOs)
Bivol’s jab is his everything. He has great footwork and movement, but the jab is the key weapon. Bivol is able to go in and out of different ranges while controlling the distance and the pace of a fight with his jab. Without his jab, Bivol wouldn’t be the world-class fighter he is.
Pullman: He is one of the best fighters in boxing, and the jab is his primary weapon. He is able to fight at a high level without being a power-puncher by utilizing his jab.
