what if zale was prime....

what if Cerdan was prime?

they both had fought as long as one another, there's only about a year or two in it...

Cerdan too was at the latter end of his career!

 

Tony Zale, pre WW2 stops Cerdan,[whom I saw against Geogie Abrams] in 12rds. In fact I pick Freddie Steele, Fred Apostoli, and the murderous hitting Al Hostak to beat Cerdan. Probably the best French MW was Marcel Thil...

 

It would have been an even greater fight. especially if cerdan was prime too. i've heard he was at his absolute best during the war years. thats a shame

 

Aye, Cerdan was past his pomp as well.

Zale was a killer, but I prefer Cerdan who I think is always sold a bit short.

 

He would've been a WW, and therefore a fight with Zale likely not viable.

 

i think cerdan was still around his prime when he moved up to middleweight about 3 or 4 years before he fought zale. i dont think he was miles past his best even for zale

 

Very astute M.Cerdan during the WW2 years was a welterweight, whilst Tony Zale was a MW.:good

 

I know this, I was merely pointing out that Cerdan wasn't prime either. Zale being the naturally bigger man adds even more to the Cerdan strength and ability.

also I think Cerdan was more talented as a fighter than Thil, Solid & Strong as Thil was, Cerdan too had all that, but Cerdan was also a much better boxer and controlled fighter!

 

Cerdan moved up to middleweight in 1944 and won the inter-allied boxing championships for professional fighters in Rome

 

This was Cerdan during the war years:
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He may well have been better here, but his quality was not proven against world class opposition during this stage of his career. Plus, he was still only a WW in this video.

Maybe, but as I said said above, most of his "pomp" was actually spent at WW. The post-war years may possibly have been as good as Cerdan ever was as a MW. By contrast, Zale was clearly better as a MW in his pre-war years, as this video of him shows:

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Yeah, those who were closest to Cerdan said they preferred the nippier, welterweight version, though I think he could have easily put on a few pounds and done good.

I don't think it was so much a weight thing with Cerdan but mileage. By the time he got to America his joints were already giving out distress signals.

 

yes its a shame he didnt get the chance to come to America at this stage of his career.

 

I thought of Zale/Cerdan during and after the Ward/Froch fight.
ANd esp after Froch's comments. Paraphrasing, "I didn't know he was gonna bull me into the ropes and fight that way. This is so new..."