Poll: How good was Primo Carnera?

Even if you are right on your final observation, which I personally doubt, he wouldn't even need to beat anybody on that list to get ranked!

 

This is a throw away opinion. (No wonder it is the minority carnera view on classic). it is a throw away view point because once you assess the fighters Carnera was fighting you can throw away all this bumph about Carnera having no agility. Compared to what? Guys 100lb lighter? How much agility has AJ or Wilder got compared with 180-199 pound guys? If you watch Primo against another SHW like Campolo or Jose Santa there is no noticeable deficit of agility than you would find among any two modern Superheavyweights. It is relative.

Same with blocking/ducking/rolling with punches. It is relative to the sized guys he was fighting. If Primo is 6’7” why is he needing to duck blows from 6 footers? He simply can fence them Klitschko style. He can parry and paw with extended arms and nobody will reach his chin. They punch up. He punches down. His whole style was developed around fighting those types of guys.

But against Superheavyweights his bouts just look like any Superheavyweight fight.

 

Exactly “cracking the top ten” today?

 

Brian London beats Bellew.

 

You say this like Carnera was a serious world beater which he clearly was not .. I sincerely doubt he beats any legit champ but based on styles , match ups , ref's and ring sizes he might win a few bouts along the way based on his conditioning and heart which were first rate.

 

Well he was the undisputed champion.

You can't get much higher than that!

 

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1935-11-01 : Walter Neusel 201 lbs lost to Primo Carnera 268 lbs by TKO at 2:23 in round 4 of 10

• Location: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, USA
• Referee: Arthur Donovan
• Judge: Bill Healy
• Judge: Billy Joh

No knockdowns -- Neusel cut in fourth and "retired" to his corner

"Primo Carnera, trying for a comeback, emerged from the smoky haze of MSG last night with a TKO victory over Walter Neusel, the blond German heavyweight. Refusing to be floored under a barrage of ponderous, sweeping lefts, Neusel threw up his hands and quit in the 4th round after Carnera inflicted a deep cut over his eye with a massive flying elbow. As blood spurted from the cut, Neusel's seconds jumped into the ring with a towel, but he beat them to the draw, walking away from the grimacing Carnera to his corner. The first blow of any consequence in the initial round swept Neusel halfway across the ring and nearly through the ropes. From that first blow to the end, Carnera mussed up Neusel at will, grinning and wielding the troublesome left that had sweeping power but not enough jolt to deliver a knockout." -Associated Press

• Attendance - 12,768

This was one fight after Joe Louis “exposed” Carnera. Walter Neusel was a legit contender at that time. Back when contenders had to beat other contenders in order to become ranked.

 

Carnera has no chance in hell against the top 8...

The number 9 he has a chance with. I think bellew knocks carnera out. I also think hugie fury would win every round against carnera

 

So was Leon Spinks.

 

This is fun!

Carry on.

 

I'll just step in for a minute and reiterate the point of the thread and why it's so important:

Primo Carnera was about as big as Anthony Joshua. If we assume Primo was as good as Joshua, then it's safe to say that Sharkey and Max Baer would terrorize today's division.

Primo and Fred Fulton=Joshua and Wilder

 

Ted Carroll was a friend of Joe Louis. So this comment from 1955 is interesting.

"Carnera would come apart at the seams when belted solidly, but to give the big fellow his due, he was a lot better boxer than he was given credit for being. Joe Louis among others is authority for this. Primo also had a ramrod left jab, which was an effective weapon. Heavier than Willard, Carnera lacked Big Jess' ruggedness but moved much faster than was to be expected from a man of his 260 lb. bulk."

Ring Magazine, June, 1955.

 

Considering there is evidence carnera was involved in several fixed fights, how can we trust his career record?