Worst lineal heavyweight champion of all time

But...his name is Marvin...

 

The original "Marvelous Marvin"!

 

I agree that losing to Carnera makes him look bad. In truth I have always been suspicious of that fight. Obviously I cant prove anything but the Mob was around then in boxing and it was a factor without question. As far as talent and class as a boxer I think Sharkey was quite good. I think he should've been able to stand out in that pre Louis ere {early 30s}. Kinda like a smaller slightly poor man`s version of Larry Holmes.

 

Carnera himself, does not belong anywhere on this list.

He was not one of the stronger lineal champions, but he built a deep resume against the contenders of the era.

I can more easily forgive Sharkey for losing to Carnera, than I can Tyson for losing to Douglas!

 

I disagree because most people who followed Douglas`s career knew that he had a lot of talent as a boxer. He was lacking in the dedication to the sport and the fighting mentality that his father {Billy} Douglas had. He was the polar opposite of his dad. With that said Buster had size, speed, power, ring IQ and most importantly the coordination to be a real serious force in any era. Buster put it all together one night under certain circumstances {mom dying} and other factors. In truth IMO more than a few champions would have lost to Buster that night. Not saying all of them but he beats some.

 

What influence do you believe the mob had on Primo`s career? if any?

 

Significant, but they weren't in the ring with him, when he fought the key contenders to get a title shot, or when he knocked out Sharkey!

Carnera did that on merit!

 

You don't believe they could have set some of those fights up? Even in later eras with Blinky and Mr. Gray they would approach fighters about either carrying an opponent or throwing a bout to set up a series. Perhaps he did win some of those fights on merit I just have some issues trusting what was real and what wasn't

 

Lets look at how the challengers were viewed before these fights:
Carnera - One of the better challengers on paper, but Sharkey should take care of business.
Douglas - The #7 ranked contender, lucky to get a title shot (why is Tyson fighting this guy?).

Now lets look how the champions were viewed:
Sharkey - He was kind of lucky to get the decision against Schmeling, but he is still the best we have on paper!
Tyson - This guy is going to be the next Joe Louis/Rocky Marciano!

 

You kind if have the same issue with every heavyweight of the era!

You didn't get far back then, without some sort of mob connections!

 

When you have a dominant champion like a Tyson he is going to go through more contenders and guys in the bottom. part of the top 10 or even 15 are gonna get opportunities. When you look at the two {Carnera} and {Douglas} as boxer/athletes judged on their ability there is really no comparison. Carnera was a novelty because of his size in that era.

 

For sure, i threw him up as a discussion spinner.

 

Not really. Most of those guys I can see their ability and their talent as boxers. Sharkey, Max Baer and Schmeling etc. could some of those fights that we don't know about have been fixed? Sure. I just don't see any of those fighters needing to be carried to the title like I believe Primo needed to be. His size was an attraction so it made sense.

 

I don't think that unproven accusations should be the base of ranking fighter. We pretty much know Holyfield used steroids but most people ignore that when judging him. We should apply the same benefit to Primo.

 

Clearly Briggs for me.

Hart may not have aged well and it doesn't help that surviving photos of him make it look like he was auditioning for a role as Cupid, but even if all he had was Johnson, that's worth more than Briggs' resume.