Primo Carnera TKO 9 Ray Impelletiere 1935

Willingness to fight all comers is treated as a positive in virtually any other case.

The fact that it is not in this case speaks volumes!

 

Gallico was just trying to sell a good story, and I don't think that he particularly cared about the accuracy of it.

No I do not trust Tunney, he is one of the least reliable fighters in the history of the sport.

Yes I do trust Louis, and if you do then you should not quote him selectively.

 

Gallico stank. Sensationalist garbage. He never understood boxing. Those newsmen talked to people for good copy. They had no judgement of their own to trust.

 

I like the sliding scale of mediocrity that Primo is on. First people vehemently stick up for him, citing him as a lost skilled super heavyweight. A few pages later the same group is limply waving a white flag going while at the same time shrugging their shoulders saying "Eh, Well, you have to at least give such and such to him!" as if that's any kind of consolation or proves anything.

 

But among Superheavyweights though? Klitschko, Fury, Leroy Jones, Valuev, Abe Simon, jameel McCline, jack OHalloran, Bowe, Grant ...Primo is great among this group isn’t he?

 

Waving a white flag at what exactly?

do you think that a lot of bluster, and reasserting of your position without evidence impresses us?

Don't kid yourself!

 

Primo still has Neusel, Levinsky, Schaff, Lasky, Sharkey, Uzcudun and Loughran as credible wins over excellent fighters. Campolo, Seal Harris and Jose Santa would be in the top ten today. Primo beat them too.

 

Nope, Schaaf isn't a credible win and to claim such is rather shameful imo. Lasky was a 21 years old nobody at that time.
Seal Harris ? lol Harris was a member of Carnera's camp a regular sparring partner Carnera" beat him," in Brazil whilst on a South American tour they had boxed an exhibition a couple of days earlier in Uruguay! Campolo,Harris,Santa couldnt even make the top ten in the talent -less 1930's! Uzcudun had not been rated since September 1928,Carnera defended against him in the winter of 1933!

 

And then there were two!Agatha Christie lol

 

We have seen the game played enough times, with enough fighters, where their resume is spun either to their favor or their detriment.

Let's look at the salient facts.

Carnera was an undisputed heavyweight champion, who won the title by knocking out the incumbent.

He wasn't gifted his shot at the title either.

Outside of beating the champion, he beat a number of men who were clearly legitimate contenders.

And yes, he wasn't much more than that, but he wasn't any less either!

 

No and only the Klits,and Bowe could reasonably called great of those you named.

 

Actually he was gifted his title shot,he got it on the back of beating the tragic Schaaf whom we now know had no business being in a ring.
What had Carnera done apart from that to merit a title shot against Sharkey?
Schmeling was no 1
Baer no 2
Poreda no 3
Why did Carnera jump the queue over them?

 

Those are the end of year ranking's, so they don't necessarily reflect Carnera's ranking going into the fight.

Even if they did, a guy in the top four would be a strong choice for a title challenger.

That aside, Carnera had lost out on a title shot against Max Schmeling, and he had won an eliminator against Schaff.

He was obviously going to challenge for the title at some point.

 

The Schaaf fight should be thrown out and would be by any objective poster .What other wins had Carnera to deserve a title shot at that time?

 

Poreda had just been kayoed by Ernie Schaff and Carnera just beat Schaff. That was his last win before winning the title. Primo was on the best win streak of the contenders and was by far the more active fighter of the top ten. Primo won the title the same month Baer beat Schmeling. Until Baer beat Schmeling there was nothing more convincing on Baers record that there was on Carneras record. They both beat the same kind of guys only Max lost to Uzcudun, schaff and Loughran whom Primo beat.