Harry Greb vs. Rocky Marciano

Of course, it could happen and remains a possibility.

But Greb was extremely elusive on his feet, especially in the early going. As he aged, he found the need to conserve his energy and fight a more paced, deliberate fight. Dempsey, a guy quicker of foot and hand than Marciano, found Greb perplexing for the few rounds they sparred and Dempsey was notoriously hard on his sparring partners.

A guy as strong and determined and powerful as Marciano is going to catch up at some point. It's just a matter of when.

 

I agree, its just easy to play devil's advocate in this situation. That its even a debate taken seriously is testimony to Greb's legend.

 

To all ye of little faith, do not sell a prime Harry Greb short ! Aside from his perpetual motion attack , no one was more elusive to corner than Greb, who as Gene Tunney proclaimed , "was never in the same spot for a second"....And Marciano was not the
fastest puncher ever or the most accurate....Tough, tough matchup for both great
fighters....Lest we forget Rocky was about 20-5 lbs heavier than the Iron City Express.

 

Oh, brother, I have faith. Of any middleweight ever, Greb has the best chance against Marciano. But Marciano had his own inexplicable genius... and I think 15 might be just a bridge too far.

 

I agree with Seamus it is a step too far for any damn middleweight especially from Greb's era. Boxing evolved into a far superior sport by the 30s and beyond and the fighters of the 1940's were far more technically superior and just as in any era the TOP among them the best at it.

Greb would fight to win, of this there is no question, but lose he would and painfully too, just as many other great(er) fighters did to the Rock!

 

Greb has a chance up to 6 rds after that his fortunes dip alarmingly imo.
I dont agree with your premise that the 30's & 40's had technically superior fighters than the 20's. Just a cursory glance shows us
Slattery
Loughran
McLarnin
Leonard
Berg
Greb
Shade
Walker
Dundee
Brown
Mandell
Sharkey
Rosenbloom
Dempsey
Norfolk
Stribling
Delaney
Weinert
Tunney
Genaro
LaBarba
Villa
Taylor
Terris
Smith
Gibbons
Wills
These are easily the equal of the fighters of the two decades that followed.

 

your right McVey great list of GREAT fighters for sure and there would have been hundreds more. However the sport DID evolve and the mid-30s to the early/mid-50s WAS "the Single Greatest Period" in Boxing's rich and elaborate history.

it was and IS known as such and these men were truly the greatest ever... before and since. Allowances from any era of course, but overall they were the better fighters!!!

 

Terrific post ..

 

Dempsey thought the heavyweights from the 1950's were mediocre. Many others thought that TV killed the sport. I tend to think that the 20's and 30's were probably the best era's until the 60's and 70's.

 

Over a couple glasses of wine last night, I did a punch count on Marciano in Walcott I. He never breaks 50 punches a round by my count. in the 7th and 8th, he does not even throw 30. He's constantly looking for openings for the one big shot, not the dozens... and to his credit, the shots he lands are hard as hell and he does find the finisher.

 

you all know a lot about greb without having watched him

 

While its true he didn't average 100 punches a round in every fight, nobody has, especially against the dangerous and elusive Walcott, he did appear to break 90-100 punches a few times.

-Round 9 in the LaStarza rematch, he throws about 90, could be more or less.

-Round 15 of first Ezzard Charles fight, he throws approx. 95-100 punches. He throws roughly 90 in Round 6, and appears to break 100 in another of the late rounds too.

-Round 8 of Kockell he appears to throw well over a 100 punches.

-Against Moore, he appears to throw 80-100 punches a few times.

 

I think the 40's and 50's were significantly worse then the 20's and 30's. WW2 had a major impact on boxing with some champs being in service and many young boxers serving too, this contributed to some of the older guys hanging around longer than perhaps they would have done otherwise. TV in the 50's built the sport up but ultimately killed off talent , and the little clubs with its demands. A good book on the subject is Jacobs Beach by Kevin Mitchell.

 

I have watched many of his contemporaries who he thrashed. Some of those guys look absolutely fantastic on film.

 

Just look at the 1920s champions
HWT- Jack Dempsey
LH-Gene Tunney /.Tommy Gibbons
MW-Harry Greb / Mickey Walker
WW- Jack Britton / Ted Kid Lewis
LW- Benny Leonard / Lew Tendler
FW- Johnny Dundee / Johnny Kilbane
BW- Pete Herman
FW- Jimmy Wilde / Pancho Villa
The 1920s was considered the "Golden Age" of boxing...