Boxing History.

[darbo 4,774]

https://youtu.be/pHuIi96mpB8

Edited February 1, 2021 by darbo

[shaaark 10,714]

Some cracking footage, of some great fighters there darbo

[darbo 4,774]

2 hours ago, shaaark said:

Another one of mine lol

And the track!! Lol 

Darbo, have you read his autobiography, 'fighting was my business'? Fascinating

Yes shaaark ive read it plus many others. Jimmy wilde a freak of nature. In my opinion Wales has produced some real fighters over the years.

[shaaark 10,714]

13 hours ago, darbo said:

Yes shaaark ive read it plus many others. Jimmy wilde a freak of nature. In my opinion Wales has produced some real fighters over the years.

Yep, considering wales even now, only has a population of just over 3 million, it's had quite a high number of world champions. 

Did my 'presentation' in college on jimmy wilde lol.

[darbo 4,774]

6 hours ago, shaaark said:

Yep, considering wales even now, only has a population of just over 3 million, it's had quite a high number of world champions. 

Did my 'presentation' in college on jimmy wilde lol.

Nice one shaaark.

[Greb147 6,809]

6 hours ago, shaaark said:

Yep, considering wales even now, only has a population of just over 3 million, it's had quite a high number of world champions. 

Did my 'presentation' in college on jimmy wilde lol.

Did you write that he used to have a cup of tea and a scone in between rounds?

[darbo 4,774]

 

[jok 3,227]

The last bare knuckle boxing champion, John L Sullivan. Lost to James Corbett in 1892. Would love to see some of that. Jok.

[Billy b 762]

Strong boy: the life and times of john l sullivan, good read mate

Also, if you like the bareknuckle era, boxiana by pierce egan is quality for English bare knuckle history and fight recordings, it has them all, Thomas cribb, harry sellers, bill Hooper, tom tyne, jack Broughton, great read from a different era

[darbo 4,774]

On 01/02/2021 at 18:18, shaaark said:

My all time favourite fighter/boxer

Harry Greb, World Middleweight Boxing Champion 1923-1926, was the ever in your face nightmare, the supreme swarming style fighter. His Cyber Boxing Zone bio notes that "Greb was called “The Human Windmill” due to the constant flurries of punches he threw as well as the fast pace he kept throughout his fights." He had unending stamina, and he kept coming and you could not stop him. He had great hand speed and an iron chin. He was a whirlwind in action from the moment the opening bell rang. He could wear down any opponent given enough rounds. He sapped the energy out of his foes and battered them mercilessly from all directions. He was a ruthless master of infighting and was not adverse to using dirty tactics. Greb stayed in shaped by fighting often averaging about 22 fights a year, and in 1919 fought 45 times. At his peak he weighed between 158 and 165 pounds at 5 ft. 8in., and he often fought men who outweighed him by as much as 40 to pounds. Many consider Greb as the greatest middleweight champion ever. Heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey said that Greb was “The fastest fighter I ever saw. Hell. Greb is faster than (lightweight champion) Benny Leonard.” In 1920 Greb, who was in training for Billy Miske, sparred Dempsey a few rounds. The sparring sessions were so good that thousands of fans showed up just to watch. According to eyewitnesses Greb “slapped the crouching heavyweight champion around, and bounced away before Dempsey could do more than cock a punch.” Jack Kearns, Dempsey’s manager, ran Greb out of camp. There was much talk of a Dempsey-Greb match for the heavyweight championship, but it never came off. It seems Jack Kearns was unwilling to take the chance. Fighting Greb was like fighting a man with eight arms. “He was never in one spot for more than half a second,” said Gene Tunney, “All my punches were aimed and timed properly but they always wound up hitting empty air. He'd jump in and out, slamming me with a left and whirling me around with his right or the other way around. My arms were plastered with leather and although I jabbed, hooked and crossed, it was like fighting an octopus.” Greb would swarm over his opponents with his blazing fast hands while throwing punches from all angles. Veteran fight manager Dan Morgan said, “He threw so many punches that the breeze from his misses gave opponents pneumonia. He tossed leather from all directions in fusillades, barrages, salvo’s, and volleys. Naturally being so fast and throwing so many punches he was not a knocker-outer. To shoot a real shock punch a fighter must get set, be more or less stationary for a fraction of a second. Greb was never still in the ring, so most of his knockouts were of the TKO variety.” Greb threw so many punches, from so many angles and for so many hits that he would have drove today’s “punch stat” counters crazy. One of his opponent’s Pat Walsh said after their fight, “I thought somebody had opened up the ceiling and dumped a carload of boxing gloves on me.” Grantland Rice, one of the top sportswriters of the time wrote, “Harry handled Gene like a butcher hammering a Swiss steak. How Gene survived 15 rounds I will never know.” Tunney himself said, “Greb gave me a terrible whipping. My jaw was swollen from the right temple down the cheek, along the chin and part way up the other side. The referee, the ring itself, was full of my blood. If boxing was afflicted with the commission doctors that we have now, the first fight probably would have been stopped and no one would have heard of me today.” Greb and Tunney fought 4 more times and they were all good competitive closely contested fights and one must remember that Tunney was the naturally bigger fighter in all of these contests. Their second fight was highly controversial. Tunney won the decision in their rematch which many called the worst decision in New York history. Some sportswriters at the time declared that it called for an investigation. William Muldoon, NY State Athletic Commissioner, said in the Feb 24, 1923 NY Times “The verdict was unjust” and “(Muldoon) declares that Pittsburgh boxer (Greb) should have received decision.”

[shaaark 10,714]

1 hour ago, darbo said:

Harry Greb, World Middleweight Boxing Champion 1923-1926, was the ever in your face nightmare, the supreme swarming style fighter. His Cyber Boxing Zone bio notes that "Greb was called “The Human Windmill” due to the constant flurries of punches he threw as well as the fast pace he kept throughout his fights." He had unending stamina, and he kept coming and you could not stop him. He had great hand speed and an iron chin. He was a whirlwind in action from the moment the opening bell rang. He could wear down any opponent given enough rounds. He sapped the energy out of his foes and battered them mercilessly from all directions. He was a ruthless master of infighting and was not adverse to using dirty tactics. Greb stayed in shaped by fighting often averaging about 22 fights a year, and in 1919 fought 45 times. At his peak he weighed between 158 and 165 pounds at 5 ft. 8in., and he often fought men who outweighed him by as much as 40 to pounds. Many consider Greb as the greatest middleweight champion ever. Heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey said that Greb was “The fastest fighter I ever saw. Hell. Greb is faster than (lightweight champion) Benny Leonard.” In 1920 Greb, who was in training for Billy Miske, sparred Dempsey a few rounds. The sparring sessions were so good that thousands of fans showed up just to watch. According to eyewitnesses Greb “slapped the crouching heavyweight champion around, and bounced away before Dempsey could do more than cock a punch.” Jack Kearns, Dempsey’s manager, ran Greb out of camp. There was much talk of a Dempsey-Greb match for the heavyweight championship, but it never came off. It seems Jack Kearns was unwilling to take the chance. Fighting Greb was like fighting a man with eight arms. “He was never in one spot for more than half a second,” said Gene Tunney, “All my punches were aimed and timed properly but they always wound up hitting empty air. He'd jump in and out, slamming me with a left and whirling me around with his right or the other way around. My arms were plastered with leather and although I jabbed, hooked and crossed, it was like fighting an octopus.” Greb would swarm over his opponents with his blazing fast hands while throwing punches from all angles. Veteran fight manager Dan Morgan said, “He threw so many punches that the breeze from his misses gave opponents pneumonia. He tossed leather from all directions in fusillades, barrages, salvo’s, and volleys. Naturally being so fast and throwing so many punches he was not a knocker-outer. To shoot a real shock punch a fighter must get set, be more or less stationary for a fraction of a second. Greb was never still in the ring, so most of his knockouts were of the TKO variety.” Greb threw so many punches, from so many angles and for so many hits that he would have drove today’s “punch stat” counters crazy. One of his opponent’s Pat Walsh said after their fight, “I thought somebody had opened up the ceiling and dumped a carload of boxing gloves on me.” Grantland Rice, one of the top sportswriters of the time wrote, “Harry handled Gene like a butcher hammering a Swiss steak. How Gene survived 15 rounds I will never know.” Tunney himself said, “Greb gave me a terrible whipping. My jaw was swollen from the right temple down the cheek, along the chin and part way up the other side. The referee, the ring itself, was full of my blood. If boxing was afflicted with the commission doctors that we have now, the first fight probably would have been stopped and no one would have heard of me today.” Greb and Tunney fought 4 more times and they were all good competitive closely contested fights and one must remember that Tunney was the naturally bigger fighter in all of these contests. Their second fight was highly controversial. Tunney won the decision in their rematch which many called the worst decision in New York history. Some sportswriters at the time declared that it called for an investigation. William Muldoon, NY State Athletic Commissioner, said in the Feb 24, 1923 NY Times “The verdict was unjust” and “(Muldoon) declares that Pittsburgh boxer (Greb) should have received decision.”

Thanks for that darbo .

Recently bought his biography, The Fearless Harry Greb, a couple of weeks ago, so still reading it. Seen a few clips, and read bits and pieces of articles about him over the years, and been meaning to get this book for ages lol. 

Took delivery of another book I bought yesterday, BERSERK, about Edwin Valero, another of my favourites, so got enough to keep me out of the mrs' way for a while lol.

Fascinating how greb was the only person to defeat gene tunney, light heavy world title, and dempsey wouldn't fight him, even though he outweighed greb by about 25lb

Edited February 3, 2021 by shaaark

[darbo 4,774]

Greb must have been a unbelievable fighter shaaark a pity there is not much footage of him.  Valero a real wild card with real power.

[darbo 4,774]

 

[Greb147 6,809]

23 minutes ago, darbo said:

Greb must have been a unbelievable fighter shaaark a pity there is not much footage of him.  Valero a real wild card with real power.

Going by resume he is arguably the GOAT. 

[darbo 4,774]

2 minutes ago, Greb147 said:

Going by resume he is arguably the GOAT. 

He could well be Greb