Ali is a special case imo. Ali was Picasso to boxing, he invented a vocabulary where he reduced all form, all effort and strategy to a minimalism that expressed itself through the simple act of the jab. Ali could literally beat you with that jab and nothing else. Behind that jab was natural movement, speed and timing, with the jab becoming simply an extension of those qualities imposed upon the opponent.
So Was the jab that good? or was Ali that good and simply used the jab to express those qualities? Ali took all the sweet science and reduced it to clear categories of speed and timing and the jab was simply the most convenient way to express that approach. Ali was a departure from the vast technical skills of the puncher, the craftiness of the counter puncher, etc... Ali abhored the need for a big punch, a reliance upon technical skills... All that was needed was the natural application of speed and timing. The jab simply was for Ali the first thing that one could encounter the opponent with, the thing one could extend the speed and movement of the body with into the opponent's area.
Other fighters had great technical jabs. I like Liston's Jab because it could fell a moose! Also Liston could use that jab to set up combinations.
So Was the jab that good? or was Ali that good and simply used the jab to express those qualities? Ali took all the sweet science and reduced it to clear categories of speed and timing and the jab was simply the most convenient way to express that approach. Ali was a departure from the vast technical skills of the puncher, the craftiness of the counter puncher, etc... Ali abhored the need for a big punch, a reliance upon technical skills... All that was needed was the natural application of speed and timing. The jab simply was for Ali the first thing that one could encounter the opponent with, the thing one could extend the speed and movement of the body with into the opponent's area.
Other fighters had great technical jabs. I like Liston's Jab because it could fell a moose! Also Liston could use that jab to set up combinations.
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