what's the point of probing punches?

[hma123]

Whats the point of probing punches? ex most relevant would be to probe your jab, a continous amount of jabs not meant to hit but more range finder or to distract? A more advanced example would be rigodeauxs unorthodox rear cross probe which he does in almost all his fights especially him vs kennedy i can note maybe 4-5 times alone in that fight....but what are the reasoning behind this?

[AdamGB]

To control your opponent's range and position and to see how they respond to different punches and feints.

Boxing is about thinking 2-3 moves ahead.

Make your opponent move where you want, throw the punch that you want, place their guard where you want it etc.

When you know how they respond to a certain punch then you can be a step ahead and ready to take advantage of their response.