Lennox Lewis vs Jack Sharkey

Sharkey would do okay if he was at his best.
Lewis didn't fight many boxers as good as Sharkey.

 

It comes down to this.

We have a complete record for Burns, not so for Wilder.

Before Wilder had beaten anybody of note, Burns was the favorite over him by default.

Wilder's case became stronger with every fight that he won, until he replaced Burns as the favorite.

I will not make an active fighter a favorite over a proven champion, because they are big, or because they look good on film.

They will have to earn it.

 

So do I, but I would expect it to be a much more competitive fight.

 

Come off it.

You would never predict that somebody to stop an active fighter in 1-2 rounds, if you knew that your prediction was actually going to be tested.

Even if it was somebody like Deontay Wilder, fighting a fringe contender, you would shy away from this sort of pick.

When you factor in that Sharkey was a world champion, who had fought a huge number of world class fighters, of every size and style imaginable, and had always proven themself elusive, it becomes a very far fetched pick.

 

Are you saying that Sharkey had always proven himself elusive? If so, how had he done so, 'always'?

Could you please point me to the fights where Sharkey fought a punch perfect blend of defense and offense, against a high caliber opponent - say, on the level of Lennox Lewis?

 

I'm curious: In your opinion, how many fights did it take Wilder to "earn" the right to be considered the favorite against Burns?

 

Very few of the heavyweights that we discuss on this forum, met a prime all time great, while they were themselves in their prime.

Larry Holmes didn't, but that doesn't mean that you pick Lewis to go through him in 1-2 rounds.

You still look at the fighters style, and how they did against the best they faced.

 

I wasn't keeping a calendar on it you understand, but it would have taken some king of world level win.

Even if a young contender has been an Olympic medalist, they might turn out to be another Lennox Lewis, or they might just be another Audley Harrison.

 

I kind of take on board what you are saying here, but you've only answered half the question, really.

I'm still not convinced that Sharkey was all that "elusive". He did meet an ATG, when in his prime, and was knocked out (and Dempsey not being in his prime does not do Sharkey any favors, here). And, I'm prepared to be corrected, but the Dempsey/Sharkey fight seems to represent the very antithesis of Sharkey being elusive.

That said, I do not necessarily believe it is a given that Lewis would make short shrift of Sharkey; I just wouldn't discount this outcome as a likelihood either, due to the fact Sharkey did take risks; could find himself in a fire fight and paying the price.

 

On one hand you are comparing a pair of fighters 20 years apart and on the other 110 years apart. I'm thinking those extra 90 years might mean something.

 

I dont think Sharkey was a bum, he was erratic and emotional but held his own with some good fighters. he split with Primo but although Primo was beaten by Louis and Baer pretty badly he kept getting up so lets face it Primo didn't quit and has underated skills. A lot of fighters coming up got the build up and the Italian Mob was not the only culprit in boxing history. Remember Don King paid ring magazine to rate a Holmes opponent higher and look at the records of most of Foremans 1st 37 guys on the way up

Anyway Sharkey was KO'd by a rusty Dempsey and Primo and I think Lewis can get the stop but the fight should offer some competetion but Lennox great offense should be able to time Sharkey coming out of the crouch by rd 8

 

Perhaps I chose the wrong word in "elusive."

Sharkey was a defensive specialist, who always seems to have presented people with a puzzle to solve.

He was very beatable, but not easy to stop.

Of course a fighter like Lewis might show you something new here, but you are not going to predict that as the most likely scenario.

So to get down to brass tacks:

Jack Sharkey had 53 professional fights, most of them against name fighters, and he was stopped four times.

The first time was against Quintin Romero Rojas, when he was a rank novice.

The second was against Jack Dempsey when he was a top contender.

The third was against Primo Carnera when he lost the title.

The fourth was against Joe Louis in his last fight.

I don't think that we can hang to much on the losses to Rojas or Louis, due to where he was at as a fighter.

This leaves the case for the prosecution hanging on the losses to Dempsey and Carnera.

I have often defended the legitimacy of the outcomes of these two fights, but the outcomes were still somewhat fluky.

In the Dempsey fight Sharkey completely lost his head, and got clocked while he was trying to appeal to the reff.

In the Carnera fight he got caught with a big uppercut, while he was bouncing off the ropes, and probably completely failed to anticipate it.

You wouldn't necessarily expect either man to replicate these results in a rematch!

 

Y'know, speaking of Dempsey-Sharkey, this is a bit of the old elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about - or maybe it's just me, so I'll bring up what's on my alleged mind. Did it ever seem a bit funky to anyone else how Sharkey went down - straight to his knees? Ehhhh, I don't know. The only other time I saw that was when Willie Pep went straight to his knees against Lulu Perez. And we all know how that fight smelled. Now I'm not saying Sharkey went into the tank. Far from it. I'm saying he was complaining to the ref about the low blows, got clipped, and went straight to the knees, but not groggy/out of it, but rather, clutching his twins and making a real production out of it. OK, Jack, which is it? Think about Gratien Tonna in his bouts with Rodrigo Valdes and Carlos Monzon for a minute. Everybody remember? My opinion? I don't think he was anywhere out of it. It wasn't planned, it presented itself, but I think the temperamental Sharkey was trying to win it on a DQ. Hey, guys, it's just my opinion.

 

That's a fair post.

All I would add is that, it was not uncommon for Lewis to ask questions of his opponents early. If Lewis decided to go for the KO, it tended to happen inside 6 rounds and rarely, if ever, beyond round-8.

Any time Sharkey attempted to engage, the risk he would run in an exchange with Lewis is significant; more so, I believe, than with any opponent he faced.

 

I watched Dempsey's KO of Sharkey the other day.
All I can say is that I was immediately reminded of the way Sharkey fell against Carnera.