Bruno is a comparable win to who on Johnny's resume? I find all three wins better than Johnny's best.
1. "World beater" is not a fact. I've never known that word to be interchangable with "rated." 2. No. See above. 3. Payne was top 10 for sure. I showed Mcvey when he questioned it. 4. Because this era is different. Records are protected better. If Smith was fighting that frequently against tough opposition. Yes. When Smith did , we saw similar results..lots of losses, a few wins.
Flynn. Coming off wins over Maxim, Murray, Cominsky....maybe better actually. And before you bring in size, Flynn was only 10 pounds lighter than Bruno.
Then chalk it up to an "opinion" and one that rating forces both formal and informal agreed with at the time. I don't know what else you want. What haven't I stated that's factual? Just because you disagree doesn't mean I'm wrong. Fine... Whatever... How does that address the other 90% of the material in my post? you know, that whole part about Shkor being years removed from his best wins, only appearing for one round in the last 14 months prior to fighting Rocky and having won only 5 of his last 15 fights??? This is the REAL crux of the issue..How he was against Marciano.... Not the little tid bits of good that he did in pockets over the course of a whole career but what value he held at the time he fought Rocky. I don't know how much you know about James "bonecrusher" Smith, bro.. He was HARDLY protected.. He turned pro in his late 20's with practically no amateur career. worked full time as a prison guard while doing boxing on the side... made his debut against an undefeated former olympian. Fought a myriad of unbeaten prospects and tough journeyman. Beat an undefeated contender in only his 14th bout and challenged for the heavyweight title in his 15th.. Not to mention fighting in an era where he fought guys who were a lot closer to his size than Shkor had to..
Anything that even remotely casts a shadow over the sacred cow that is Rocky Marciano is infra dig. Rocky himself was a modest man ,a regular guy,I think he would be totally bemused by the mythical god- like status his rabid fan club have bestowed on him. His best win ,over Mauriello was the result of a cut eye and Mauriello bitterly protested it.
I mentioned that earlier as well. I'm fine with anyone who wants to eliminate Smith's win over Witherspoon on the grounds that it was a potential dive. But if one does this then they should at least be willing to put a question mark next to Shkor's win over Mauriello which may have been a premature stoppage.. Hell, Mauriello even threw a punch at one of the officials for intervening !!!!
1 & 2. I explained. 3. Fringe contender, supposedly a stern test. 4. I don't say he was protected. It's a difference of eras. Records are more valued in general. Shkor fought 6 top 10 fighters in 46 alone, that just doesn't happen today, even to fighters like Smith.
Smith didn't turn pro till he was 28years old, he beat. Bruno Weaver x2 Bey Tillery Ferguson Ribalta Sims Martin Went the distance with Tyson, and went into the 12 th rd before being stopped on cuts by Larry Holmes. I don't see the comparison to Shkor at all:huh:-( One was a journeyman ,the other was rated as high as number 2 at times and held a version of the title. Smith had 44 wins out of 62 fights and 9 of his losses came at the age of 38 or older . Compare that with Shkor's win /loss record Won 13 Lost 19.
You're explanation doesn't negate the fact that he was a top three fighter who for the most part had earned that rating. Nah. A guy who had been inactive for the better part of a year and had lost most of his last 30 fights isn't even fringe. Smith fought the following 11 men in procession and beat 6 of them while taking a fair number of the rest the distance. Frank Bruno Larry Holmes Tony Tubbs Jose Ribalta Tim Witherspoon Marvis Frazier Mike Weaver Jesse Ferguson David Bey Tim Witherspoon Mike Tyson Shkor never had a run like that, let alone doing as well against that type of schedule.
But if you're taking the specific version of Shkor who fought Marciano and trying to say that he was the equivalent of Smith at his best or the one who fought Tyson if you will, then they're not equal.