In the Jan 1991 edition of The Ring ,Jake Lamotta was pitted against Tony Zale.I used to love these H2H matchups which sadly have been discontinued,possibly to make room for some ring-card girl in a bikini ,or a page telling us what music a couple of boxers like to hear,and what cars they drive.atsch Anyway the three experts chosen to give their views on the outcome of such a match were,historian/archivist Hank Kaplan,matchmaker Teddy Brenner,and trainer/manager Angelo Dundee. All three voted for Lamotta to win. Kaplan and Brenner by decision,Dundee voted for Lamotta to stop Zale in the later rounds , after wearing him down with body punches. How does the forum see it playing out?
I remember this article well and agree 100%. There was another that had LaMotta vs Graziano and all picked LaMotta in that one as well, which I also agree with.
Tough fight for both men. I'd probably favour LaMotta too, wouldn't be surprised if Zale won a decision though.
There was an interesting quote from Teddy Brenner in which he said that in 1946 Zale was offered a title defence against Lamotta, for which fight Jake would have took 10%.Zale was informed, should he defend against Graziano, Rocky wanted 30% because he was a big draw. Zale still said ,"I'll take Graziano". In no way am I casting aspersions on Zale who was on the way out and had lost some of his prime to WW2, but it is rather a revealing choice imo.:think
Agree 100% with mcvey about the decline of the print boxing media and 'The Ring' in particular. Those 'Battle of the legends' were superb, agree with the opinions expressed or not. 'The Ring' declined so badly I no longer buy it. Dettloff, Goldman and Collins out, a semi-naked woman pretending to be a boxing fan in. Not for me thanks.
Hard to pick accuarately without know what music each fighter listens to, isnt it? And if you want to talk about cool transportation it doesnt get much cooler than Jack Sharkey's ride down main street next to Wyatt Earp before his Fitzsimmons title fight. That's a centrefold worth looking at.
Zale put Rocky G on the floor multiple times in winning 2/3 from Graziano. Zale had a vicious body attacked that caused many of his opponents to wilt. If LaMotta can walk thru that type of Zale attack and show no harm, then LaMotta will win probably by decision.
I`d favor LaMotta. He had just an uncommon ability to absorb punishment. Saying he had a good chin isn`t close to an accurate description. The man was insane. Zale was a tough but he could be hurt and put down. I admire the fact that Zale was able to hold on and still be a good middleweight after World War 2. He lived a clean live and valued that title.
