Packey McFarland

Officially, he didn't beat Welsh. I don't have time to look through the clippings, but after Packey's return to USA, the day he was to fight Dick Hyland, NY Times wrote:

"So far as condition is concerned, Packey McFarland, whom many good judges of pugilism believe to be the ablest lightweight in the business"

NY Sun writer (could be Hanna or Villa, I'm not sure who wrote "current sporting gossip" column at the time), wrote after the fight his opinion that if McFarland were allowed to weigh in at 135 pounds at 3 PM "He would probably have outpointed Wolgast with ease in a ten round bout"

 

Cheers mate.

 

It'd be more difficult to find quotes from 1908, as Nelson beat Gans and McFarland drew with Welsh on the same day, there are too many write-ups. Had McFarland received the decision over Welsh, in all probability he'd have been the next opponent for Nelson.

 

All in all he must rank very highly atg.

he also spent a while as the best WW imo after beating Bronson. Plus he beat the beat mw in the world in mike gibbons (some reports say bartfield beat him prior but I've read conflicting storied and see it more like a draw).

Shame he never got the fight with wolgast nor nelson.

 

Based on what I've seen, I also have Bartfield-Gibbons a draw.

 

I did come across a scathing report but it just seemed wholly biased against mike. Saying he lost clearly to soldier, packey and Lewis. It also referred to Lewis as a second rate welterweight!

 

I have

Bartfield: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn Citizen, Brooklyn Standard Union, Brooklyn Times (searched by Jack Kincaid).
Gibbons: NY Sun, George B. Underwood (NY Press).
Draw: NY Tribune, NY Times, NY Evening World, AP, other New York City newspapers (searched by Jack Kincaid).

 

yeah I had the 4 brooklyn as they're mentioned on boxrec. the rest seemed to paint a draw more than anything else like you say.

 

1914-05-25 The Buffalo Enquirer (Buffalo, NY) (page 8)
(BY FRANK G. MENKE.)
(By the International News Service.)
New York, May 25.--"The crop of present day pugilists isn't as good as that which used to be harvested back in the old days," remarked Frank Erne, once the lightweight champion, and regarded by many as one of the brainiest fighters that ever donned the mitts.
...
"Packy McFarland is the peer of all boxers in the ring today. He is the type of the old-time generals. He is as brainy as any man that ever stepped within the ropes, and he uses those brains every moment of the time. His brains control his feet and his hands. His brain always is trying to figure out the other fellow's plan, and Packy usually doesn't have to figure long before he reaches his answer. And then it's a walkaway for Packy.
...
"In my opinion Joe Gans was the greatest fighter that ever was seen in the lightweight division. He was a wonder. But Gans made the mistake of his life when he trained down to 133 for Nelson. It weakened him so that he was only a shadow of his former self, and Nelson won from him. Nelson never was in Gans's class and never would have had a chance with him if Joe hadn't weakened himself too much for his first fight, and then hadn't been broken down physically when he tackled Nelson for the second time."


Another write-up with Frank Erne's thoughts, published one day earlier - https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn99021999/1914-05-24/ed-1/seq-58/

 

Obviously McFarland was one of the ever p4p

 

An amazing fighter who does not get his propers.

Ripe territory for a great boxing book to be written.

 

http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/Article-PackeyMcFarland.htm

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/...d&y=19&x=19&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=274