The jab is widely considered the most important punch in boxing. When a boxer is in their stance the lead hand is the closest, and therefore quickest, to their opponent. A good boxer can sting an opponent with their jab before they even know it’s coming, whereas the rear hand is further away and therefore takes longer to travel, giving the opponent the time to spot the punch and avoid it.
As Norman Mailer said in The Fight: “Champions do not hit other champions with right-hand leads. Not in the first round. It is the most dangerous and difficult punch. Difficult to deliver and dangerous to oneself. In nearly all positions, the right hand has longer to travel, a foot more at least than the left. Boxers deal with inches and half-inches. In the time it takes a right hand to travel that extra space, alarms are ringing in the opponent, counterattacks are beginning. He will duck under the right and take off your head with a left. So good fighters do not often lead with their right against another good fighter. Not in the first round. They keep the right hand.”
No one’s getting knocked out by a jab though. It is instead the rear hand that is the power punch. This is because the extra force is generated by the rotation of the body and the shifting of body weight.
Knocking out an opponent in football is considered poor sportsmanship but these same principles cross over from the sweet science of boxing to the art of tackling in football.
With the help of Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Nico Elvedi and Manchester City’s John Stones, we look at how.
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