Do you give Zale a pass for fighting graziano over number 1 rated Lamotta?

Zale joined the Navy in March 1942 and didn't get out until October 1945.

Your "greatest era in middleweight history" seems to overlap with the time so many young men and boxers were tied up in the armed forces. To me that seems highly unlikely.

Don't be silly. He LOST loads of fights on his way up and had to adjust and improve and test himself again and again to reach championship class. That's the opposite of being "untested".

 

There are some people who will never be content until the reigning champion fights seven times per year and against the #1 mandatory every single time. Its just not how reality works.

 

Good. I don't want you to go anywhere.
I'm just saying, your recent constant threads on Zale, and before that on Dempsey, have been boring a lot of postors. I know that because I read the responses (and note the lack of responses on some of the threads).
It seems excessive.

I don't think anyone is telling you to rate him highly.

 

:good

This is what I don't understand.

In the case of Tony Zale, he was champ for about 18 months before war interrupted his career. In that time he was supposed to defend against "murderer's row" ?

4 years in the Navy.
And when he came out of the Navy he needed money and fortunately had a huge gate attraction to defend against, so he did.

Somehow those basic facts have been twisted into him ducking about 10 ATGS

 

I suppose it's possible that Zale was behind the Pearl Harbor attacks, he planned the whole thing with the Japs so he could sit on the title instead of fighting Holman Williams.

 

It depends who you call an ATG.
Are you saying he never fought a single ATG his entire career ?

 

Sands was the no2 rated contender in1949 and the number 3 in1950 that's who the hell he was.

You slag off Graziano for fighting welterweights ,which he did, then in your very next post, you praise Lamotta for fighting Robinson 6 times!
What the f*ck was Robinson if not a welterweight!
How about the 4 fights Lamotta had with welterweight Fritzie Zivic? The ones with welters George Sugar Costner,Tommy Bell
,California Jackie Wilson, and one with Jimmy Edgar when Edgar weighed 149lbs?

 

The only one of them rated before Zale went into the Navy was Charles.