A Re-assessment Of Gentleman Jim Corbett

Let's be honest, if this guy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpDhbpmtpvo exactly as he was, fought Kimbo Slice, exactly as he was, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iSD9l77cWw , Kimbo would be a boxing legend. People would still be discussing whether any boxer in history could have beaten Kimbo. Kimbo, the 4 round fighter of the last few years would have dominated the Corbett era.

After watching these old time fighters on video it's obvious that some old champions wouldn't be good 4 round fighters today.

 

I agree 100%

 

To be fair on one point, there are contemporary books and articles that confirm Corbett had many more bouts than those listed on boxrec.

 

I'm confident that at least 25% of the male regulars over 16 years at my gym would have beaten Kimbo Slice under boxing rules. Well, I probably know 4 or 5 old men who never trained properly who would have beat him in a street fight.
He was the epitome of a postmoden "15 minutes of fame" internet media creation, and I admire him for that.
So if Kilrain and Corbett were not on that level, I don't know what to say.

Maybe I would have been champion in those days. Or anyone on this board with a time machine.

Certainly I would have beat the sh!t out of any of those tramps and fat boys that Kimbo made his name on at barbecues and car parks.

 

Corbett's record prior to facing Peter Jackson is 59-0-3 if you use news decisions and count shorter fights.

Many historians viewed him highly in his times and so did the fighters.

 

Above what weight limit? Why are you so confident that the boys at your gym would be able to withstand Kimbo's power punches?

The fact that you think you know untrained old men who would have beaten him in a street fight is pretty interesting...

 

What kind of matches were these (ie rounds, rules, conditions, size and experience of opponents, etc.)? How many were against full time professional fighters?

 

I'm not claiming that Kimbo is anything more than a 4 round fighter, but when I watch video of him and watch video of Corbett, it's obvious that Kimbo is a much better boxer than Corbett. Corbett fights with his chin up, he turns his head, he arm punches, he fights like a kid slap boxing with another kid.

The videos and arguments for the old fighters remind me of the short story by Hans Christian Andersen, The Emperor's New Clothes. Like the little boy who pointed out that the Emperor wasn't wearing clothes, a few of us who have watched videos of the old boxers are stating the obvious, the old boxers had no boxing skill.

 

You've lost it.

Anyone who think Kimbo Slice, stamina-less after one round, could square up with someone who can move for 20 rounds has had too much to drink last night.

Wash your faces with cold water, and let's get back to talking real boxing!

 

1. Mostly middleweights and above, up to super heavyweight. And some standard meatheads, bouncers and powerlifters from the weight room too. Some of them. Kimbo is that level.

2. Kimbo wouldn't have land a punch on a young fit fighter who could actually box.
His power was ordinary for a man of his size. Any big man has power, it's no mystery.

Yes, guys who work the doors and/or have a long record of street fights.
- When I say untrained, I mean not constantly combat sport training, just big blokes (and ex-military) with fighting ability and experience. Men who can fight for sure. And ones who look better doing it than Kimbo looked pummelling bums in someone's back yard.
- When I say old, I mean 40s to 50, too old to be a boxer anyway. I thought Kimbo looked at least that himself, 10 years ago, tbh.

Kimbo was just a standard meathead, and an internet creation. He became famous beating up fat slobs in the backyard, incredible at that seems. From there, the MMA world cash in on his fame. Taught a few moves and matched with some has-beens. And even a win over a totally TOTALLY shot Ken Shamrock was questioned for its legitimacy.

And in the boxing ring his credentials were even worse. 7-0 against nobodies in fights that even look like they might have been fixed.

If i said I knew some guys who I think would probably beat Sean Gannon, would anyone doubt that ?

If you live in a decent sized city or town, chances are there are at least a dozen men in a half-mile radius who would have smacked Kimbo around.

No disrespect to the guy, he made a good effort and was 100 times more scary than an average Joe. But he was a very mediocre fighter.

 

This^ I remember being disappointed when he moved to the UFC and big country Roy Nelson handled him pretty easily. He was really overrated for awhile.