Jerry Quarry Ranked Top Ten

Sam Langford, Harry Wills, Joe Jeanette, Sam McVea, and Jimmy Bivins were very good HWs who never got World Title shots and should have.

Jimmy Young at his best was a very good fighter. He beat a better Ron Lyle than Quarry beat x2. He beat Foreman. He lost fights to Ali and Norton that could have went his way. He was stopped early in his career by Shavers but fought him to a draw in their rematch... Young did enough to earn the decision in my opinion.

Lyle and Bugner did much better vs. the likes of Ali and Frazier than Quarry did.

 

There Is truth here. Although I think the first paragraph is a little harsh I believe he just blew the count against Chuvalo. His first fight with Frazier was great as well, no easy win for Frazier. He was shot and overweight for Norton, but was clearly a class below Ali and Frazier.

I would say Quarry was very good and fought everyone but was a shade or two below great.

 

Jimmy Young deserved those deciscions against Ali and Norton. I rate him better than Quarry. I rate Quarry above Lyle and Bugner.

 

Wills doesn't qualify.
Most of his career happened before RING magazine rankings.

 

Actually, Lyle was pretty close.

Joe Bugner #4
Larry Middleton #5
Earnie Shavers #6
Oscar Bonavena #6
Jimmy Ellis #7
Scott LeDoux #10
Gregorio Peralta #10

And Mathis was only unranked because he'd been inactive. As soon as Lyle beat him, Lyle was ranked, I believe, number six. So it was a big win.

Buster Mathis 1972
Larry Middleton #5 1972
Jerry Quarry 1973
Gregorio Peralta #10 (WBC) 1973
Jose Luis Garcia #13 1973
Oscar Bonavena #6 1974
Jimmy Ellis #7 1974
Boone Kirkman #11 1974
Jimmy Young #9 1974
Muhammad Ali (Champ) 1975
Earnie Shavers #6 1975
George Foreman #1 1976
Jimmy Young #3 1976
Joe Bugner #4 1977
Scott Ledoux #10 1979
Gerry Cooney #1 - 1980

 

Dude, you need to quit looking at Ring magazine so much. I have every issue from 1988-2000, plus plenty more from before '88 and a good bit after 2000... it's just a magazine man... calm down.

In retrospect many fighters who were at one time or another ranked in the top 10 or even ranked #1 get exposed as frauds.

Mac Foster, Middleton, Stander, Bobick, Kirkman, Zanon, LeDoux, Bodell, Bey, Spencer (he punched like my Granny and was about as durable as my sister) and plenty of others really weren't much to be honest. Just because a guy once had a high ranking doesn't mean he really was one of the 10 best in the world at that time. Hell, even if a guy is a world champ... he may or may not be one of the 10 best in the world... Leon Spinks was a GodDamn joke!

Quarry drew with and beat a post world champ Patterson. He beat a pre-peaked Lyle. He beat Shavers who, let's be honest, was not the most durable HW ever but he could punch. He beat Buster Mathis who was pretty much a bust as a pro (his only notable win was a decision over Chuvalo).

He had draws with far from great fighters Tony Doyle and Tony Alongi x2. He was dropped by Roy Crear, Al Jones, and Floyd Patterson, Rufus Brassell, and Joe Alexander.

I'm so sick of people making Quarry out to be so much better than what he really was. Look, Quarry was good, not great, not close to great, not... he would have been great in any other era. He was likeable and he was white. Young was better, it's questionable if Quarry was better than Bugner or even Lyle (despite Quarry's win over him). Norton was much better even though I've heard people say that Quarry could have defeated Norton had he been 100%. Too many people think Foreman was really afraid of him... Foreman would have destroyed him, Foreman says a lot of silly ****. He said he was afraid of Norton and Frazier as well.

Plenty of fighters did much better vs. Frazier, Ali, and Norton. Bugner and Lyle are just two that come to mind.

Put the magazines away and talk to your wife and kids. c -ya

 

No guarantee Foreman destroys him. Quarry did defeat Lyle and Shavers and Foreman had problems with Young. Not saying I pick Jerry to win but I think an argument can be made for a compelling contest. I feel Norton is overrated as well and let's be honest Jerry was not right for that fight. Peak Norton vs Quarry is very good match up.

I feel Quarry is overrated when people say he could of been champ in any other era that is overrating him. However he was a formidable fighter and won many matches where he was the underdog.

 

I wouldn't count Rondon as a top-ten win. Although you don't have his win over Peralta (five months before the draw in the rematch). I'm pretty sure Peralta was ranked before the first fight (when Lyle won), not the second.

Middleton (twice), Ellis, Bonavena, Shavers, Bugner, Peralta, LeDoux ... seven top 10 guys - eight wins.

I'd rate Quarry over Lyle (because Quarry beat him), but Lyle faced nearly all the "usual suspects" Quarry did (Shavers, Mathis, Ellis, Middleton)... and some names Quarry didn't (Bonavena, Bugner, Foreman, Young, etc.).

Lyle was closer (in terms of accomplishments) than you originally made him out to be.

Lyle was also top 10 contender from 1972 until 1979, when he beat LeDoux. He had a lot of fighters back out on him at the last minute, most notably Mac Foster (repeatedly) in the early 70s. He also was scheduled to fight Holmes in 1978, but the murder charge forced Lyle to pull out - and Lyle was replaced by Shavers (who Holmes dominated over 12 one-sided rounds).

Quarry was an excellent fighter. But Lyle was right there, too.

 

The Bill Corrigan (prime version from 1991) defeats Quarry in an all-Irish brawl. Oh yeah, the Quarry who lost to Ron Cramer in 1992 in his last bout. Corrigan would have had more trouble with prime Quarry.