Max Baer is a Boxing God - Worhsip Him!!

[Zakman]

Originally Posted by Grebfan9

Hi Zakman,

There are THREE areas of boxing that Baer often neglected.

First, though he had a hard jab (as evidenced in the Schmeling
fight), I don't feel that he utilized his jab enough. If he jabbed
more, he would have been able to set up his right hand and
land with greater frequency.

Second, Baer should have punched to the body more often.
Against boxers like Tommy Loughran, body punching would
have improved Baer's chances greatly.

Baer did employ a VERY EFFECTIVE body punching attack in his
pier brawl with Tony Galento. Baer put a heavy hurt on Two-Ton
Tony with some really hard punches to the body.

Third, Baer could have tightened up his defense a bit. True,
Baer had a very good chin, but if he had a better defense, he
may not have gotten cut up and TKOED in his 1st fight with
Lou Nova.

As stated, Baer did, at times, display an excellent jab as well as
a crunching body attack. If he combined these with a better
defense, with greater concentration on his training, Baer would
have been more feared than Sonny Liston!!!


Grebfan9
[URL="***********.firstroundboxing.com"]***.firstroundboxing.com[/URL]

Thanks for the input - I agree on all counts. Nice to see that there are fans who are that familiar with Baer and his career.

I'm not arguing Baer was anything more than what he was, a guy with a LOT of talent, who never really fullfilled his potential. In fact, I think your comparision with Liston is quite apt. If Baer applied himself, I think he would have dominated the period between Tunney and Louis, and in fact, been Louis's major rival. Sadly, it wasn't meant to be.