{"id":7745,"date":"2011-02-17T00:00:35","date_gmt":"2011-02-17T05:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=7745"},"modified":"2011-02-16T21:26:52","modified_gmt":"2011-02-17T02:26:52","slug":"floyd-mayweather-jr-the-lost-art-of-the-jab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=7745","title":{"rendered":"Floyd Mayweather JR & the Lost Art of the Jab"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Gina L. Caliboso<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe lead jab is a \u201cfeeler.\u201d It is the basis of all other blows, a loose, easy stinger. It is a whip rather than a club. Ali\u2019s theory is to picture hitting a fly with a swatter.\u201d (Taken from Bruce Lee, The Tao of Jeet Kune Do).<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let me explain what I mean about my idea of the lost art of the jab.<\/p>\n

The jab is consistently thrown to keep a boxer off balance. The jab is used as a precursor to a combination. If thrown correctly and consistently, the jab annoys and irritates. The jab can be both offensive and defensive. The boxer that throws the jab executes the punch flawlessly and constantly hits his opponent. Think Muhammad Ali. Think Vitali Klitschko. Even in MMA, think about how Georges St. Pierre worked Josh Koscheck. The jab is irritating as hell \u2013 but effective \u2013 and makes the opponent look like a punching bag.<\/p>\n

As there has been recent criticism about how boxing has been lacking in too little KO\u2019s and too many decisions, I\u2019d like to take a look at the current boxers at the top of their perspective weight divisions and break down their jab to a sweet science. Or, at least offer a list of those boxers that have a potential for a good jab, but the art of the jab is now a lost art. Or, as I point out, perhaps even among the best, the jab has been lost. Please also keep in mind that my homage to those with potential for the art of the jab is by no means a \u201cjab\u201d (yes, bad pun here) at the boxers of the past who have excellent jabs.<\/p>\n

Light Welterweight: Among light welterweights, I\u2019d have to give the artistic nod to Freddie Roach\u2019s upstart Amir \u201cKing\u201d Khan, 24-1, 17 KO\u2019s. To accompany his jab, Khan also has excellent footwork and a good height advantage. Khan has one of the best jabs, but still needs some belief on his part that it can be executed through the course of a 12 round bout. In his bout against Marcos Maidana, Khan used it in the opening rounds, but as the fight continued, it started to fade and he didn\u2019t use it continuously and effectively. A good jab never goes away and if a fighter knows his jab is HIS jab, he\u2019ll continue to use it.<\/p>\n

Welterweight: Out of the top 4 welterweights, I\u2019d have to argue that Floyd \u201cMoney\u201d Mayweather, JR., 41-0, 25 KO\u2019s, has an excellent and well-timed jab that is always the precursor to a speedy combination flurry of punches.<\/p>\n

In his fight against Juan Manuel Marquez, Mayweather, JR., kept his jab fairly consistent and accompanied with speed, it put Marquez off balance.<\/p>\n

Light Middleweight: In his bout with Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, 35-2, 28 KO\u2019s, threw a jab in the opening round that stunned Pacquiao. It knocked back his head and it showed how an effective jab should be thrown as the \u201cfeeler punch\u201d suggested by Bruce Lee. Again, Cotto has a good jab, but it was even more effective when he did manage to execute the jab in combination.<\/p>\n

These days, the artful jab is not used as a single direct punch defensively. But even as I take note to Khan, Mayweather, and Cotto, I\u2019d still put them under the category of a great jab in combination. I know I missed the light middleweight, the middleweight, and the super middleweight divisions, but I really don\u2019t see the top two fighters of each division as boxers with an effective jab.<\/p>\n

Heavyweight: Vitali \u201cDr. Ironfist\u201d Klitschko, 41-2, 38 KO\u2019s. Klitschko has an excellent jab. Even though I find his fighting style boring for a heavyweight, I have to acknowledge that how effective Klitschko executes his jab. It\u2019s well time and he uses it both offensively and defensively. It\u2019s all he does.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d also have to recognize Chris \u201cThe Nightmare\u201d Arreola, 30-2, 25 KO\u2019s. In his bout against Klitschko, he showed the remnant of a jab to keep him at bay, but again, it\u2019s being able to throw the jab consistently over the course of 12 rounds. A boxer with a good jab doesn\u2019t break down structurally or in combination when used.<\/p>\n

Consider this definition: \u201cUsed correctly, it (jab) is the sign of the scientific fighter, who uses strategy rather than force. It requires skill and finesse as well as speed and deception (broken timing). Keep in mind that there is nothing worse than a slow jab, except one which is telegraphed.\u201d (Bruce Lee, Tao of Jeet Kune Do)<\/p>\n

Finally, I\u2019d like to leave you with another way to look at the jab. I had approached this article thinking I could easily come up with current boxers that have mastered the art of the jab. And while I did a mental checklist for my favorite boxers, I honestly couldn\u2019t come up with anyone who I would label a \u201cjabber.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, there it is, a very brief discourse on the lost art of the jab in the sweet science of boxing. I know that all sports undergo an evolution, a transformation for the better. But I don\u2019t think boxing with its current state of decisions instead of KO\u2019s has evolved into something better. Instead, the missing link of the jab has made boxing even less technical.<\/p>\n

Consider the definition above. Maybe it\u2019s not the jab that has been completely lost. I\u2019d offer perhaps it\u2019s the modern boxer that is lost in being the \u201cscientific\u201d fighter that can box with the art of the jab.<\/p>\n

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By Gina L. Caliboso \u201cThe lead jab is a \u201cfeeler.\u201d It is the basis of all other blows, a loose, easy stinger. It is a whip rather than a club. Ali\u2019s theory is to picture hitting a fly with a swatter.\u201d (Taken from Bruce Lee, The Tao of Jeet Kune Do). Let me explain what […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[105,267,2669],"class_list":["post-7745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-boxing","tag-floyd-mayweather","tag-jab"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7745"}],"version-history":[{"count":-3,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7745\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}