Schmeling does not have the range or durability to win. He's too short to counter punch effectively ( one of his best things ) and would not last in a firefight. Vitali inside 9 rounds.
Baer repeatedly used backhands in The bout, illegally pushed Schmeling into the corner, rabbit punched repeatedly along with several other fouls. I have to watch again for the full rundown but klompton touched on the subject several months ago in another thread.
What I saw of that fight showed that Schmeling clearly had better skills than Baer, but that he insisted on fighting Baer in the wheelhouse mashed up to him. Baer was able to bring his power to bear and it simply came down to the fact that Baer was bigger, stronger and that he could hurt Schmeling and Schmeling couldn't hurt him. There's no doubt in my mind that Vitali, who is not only far larger and stronger than little 205 lb Baer, but much more skilled and awkward to boot, would take Schmeling to school in one of his classic "why do you keep running onto my jab" type fights where the smaller guy desperately tries to get into range and gets countered a few hundred times. And even if Max managed to engage Vitali in a firefight, what's he really going to do to him? He's severely outgunned and Vits has an armour plated chin.
I agree with most of this assessment. I wasn't saying that Baer won because he fought dirty just pointing out that he did. Max received very little help from the refs and judges in some of his biggest fights.
Let me see Joe Louis a glass chin 190 to 200 pound fighter knocked out the 190 pond Max Schmeling in the 1st round. Yet 6'8 240 plus pound Vitali Klistchko would lose? Yeah that makes a lot of sense.
Thing is watching the boxing skills Schmeling possessed he far outskills any of the hwts today. Talk about the lost art of boxing!
Klitscko is to big, to awkard and don't get hit nearly enough for it to be a competetive fight. Either late KO ala Klitscko or a one sided pounding of the non romantic kind.