Everytime I watch this I am in hysterics. The comment left under the video is brilliant.. Who is he trying to kid by telling us what we are seeing is a "volley/barrage of punches twisting and twirling". HAHAHAH! Was he sitting in the corner of a smokey tavern with a cigar in hand when he left that comment?!! Please explain to me what is going on in this video. I'm not one of these, "athletes are better today" crew. Far from it! I believe fighters from the 70s, 80s and 90s were generally of a higher calibre than we see today. Then you had exceptions from before then like SRR, Ali etc. But from what I see on tape, fighters from the 10s, 20s, 30s, are subpar. Cmon McVey and co! Please tell me that this is the embodiment of the sweet science. How Greb is slipping and sliding like a young Sweet Pea! How he's throwing those punches with the menace of an Iron Mike! (Oops I just made Fergy and InmemoryofJakeLaMotta ejaculate at the words 'iron mike'). This is apparently the P4p GOAT: This content is protected
I just searched this into the forum and this video has been posted before. @reznick said this: "Also if you look at him shadow boxing, he kind of resembles that Lomachenko looseness and agility." HAHAHAHA WHAT!
Nothing against Greb at all. I just find this shadow boxing hilarious, and even more hilarious is the comments you get about it from wannabe cigar smoking boxing historian's as seen by Reznick above. Looks like Lomachenko!! Lmao! Cheers Reznick, that was the best laugh I've had in a while. What are you watching!? Greb looks like a disabled 8 year old the way he is shadow boxing, seriously. It is awful. What on earth is that?
Was he kidding? People who have been in a boxing gym with a trainer for 2 days look better shadow boxing than the guy in the video.
The comments are all serious. This was another classic in response to someone who said Greb reminds them of Calzaghe: "I was thinking the same thing just a high volume tasmanian devil, fast feet, angles, speed and energy, Lomanchenko also fits the mold, fast perfect timing, angles speed just incredible."
That was even weirder than I expected. Worked for him in his era but you would get laughed out of the gym for shadow boxing like that today.
And yet Greb has the single greatest resume in the history of boxing. And we have seen his victims Loughran, Tunney, Walker, Gibbons and others on film and they look fantastic. How do you figure that?
Well, there's a fuller, 9 minute version of this video that includes him sparring with Philadelphia Jack O Brien. Have you watched that? You'll see he looks somewhat different in style to the shadow boxing part there. I would imagine that is closer (but maybe not identical either) to what he would have looked like when actually fighting. I think that styles and ideas of boxing orthodoxy have changed over time. So watching fighters from the early 20th century can be a jarring experience from what you are used to. I wouldn't read too much into the shadow boxing part myself to make any judgement on Greb's greatness. Unless some actual fight footage turns up one day, we'll always be left guessing about what he really looked like in the ring.
I don't think boxers from Greb's time shadow boxed anyway close to how they do today. Back then they just had a different idea about how it should be done. Not long ago I saw a video (can't find it now) with Tommy Gibbons shadow boxing… and he looked just as funny/silly as Greb.
I wonder how guys like Loughran and Tunney prepared to fight him. Had either of them seen Greb fight before? Did they develop specialized game plans to deal with his aggressiveness? Did they bring in sparring partners with similar styles? I've asked about this stuff before--how early 20th century boxers prepared for big fights--but nobody ever seems to know much about it (or eager to share what they know, anyway).
That basically can be said about all sports … Things are just different today .. If that's how he shadowboxed and stayed loose then that's how he did it… But modern boxers wouldn't be laughing after Greb kicks all their asses and again at the bar after words
This content is protected "Carnera's inside game was better than either of the Klitschko's." "He (Carnera) was more coordinated (than the Klitschko's)." "Carnera has fast agile feet." "Carnera was good on the inside, good on the outside, and good anywhere between!" "Riddick Bowe is closer to Buddy Baers style." "Carnera used real footwork." "Carnera used agile distance control." "He (Carnera ) was a better technical fighter than Bowe." "Carnera was the better all-round technician." "Carnera was better (than Bowe)." "He knocked out more than twice as many people as Bowe." "Carnera has far better mobility (than Bowe)." "Primo is constantly moving around the ring, cutting the other fighter off or creating angles for his 85" jab." "Primo was as legit as any SHW there ever was." "You can't knock Carnera unless you are going to knock every giant heavyweight who ever won the world title." "Primo was a rare beast." "Primo was effective at world level." "Trust your own eyes. primo knocked guys out. It's on film." - Cigar Smoking Boxing Historian Gang
Don't know what weight Greb was at......but Dempsey shouldn't have too much problem with that Greb version.
