Was Marcel Cerdan really that Great? Everything I read about him was all good! French fighter from (1934-1949) 111-4 Characterized in the movie Raging Bull Died in a plane crash. Had his picture on a postage stamp. Was the lover of Edith Piaf. Do any of you know more?
I think opinion on him is divided. Some think he was a genuine great, others that he was overrated, and his reputation was enhanced by his early death.
114 fights with only 6 really noteworthy wins on it indicates a lot of filler on his record. A very good fighter but short of a great one imo.He never established supremacy over Cyrille Dellanoit and there were other European middles he did not meet who might have beaten him.Villemain and Dauthille to name two of them.
Wildly, wildly overrated. Nobody he defeated on this side of the Atlantic really went on to make anything of themselves. It's not like he was boxing in a thriving scene that delivered a dunt of ranked contenders across varied divisions. He was the very best of a mediocre bunch who taxed a couple of ranked guys. Best win is Holman Williams, Williams went into that fight carrying not one but two injuries, and it was still very close. Looks tidy on film.
From what I've seen of Cerdan, he did impress me. Tight guard, good combination puncher (threw triple left hooks), seemed like a good technician. I know Cerdan was nearly KO'ed in last round against Anton Raadik. He did beat some good guys when he came to the US, like Georgie Abrams and Harold Green... From what I read, he didn't look good in fights against Cyrille Delannoit, and he lost one of them, (Robinson demolished Delannoit pretty quickly, it's on youtube I think). I think dying tragically early in life elevates how great a person is remembered. Hard to say, all you can do is look at the record and judge him by who he did fight.....
Overrated. His record is 98% padding against nobodies. He never even proved to be the best middleweight in France much less Europe or the World. If he wasnt hooked up with Lew Burston and the mob he wouldnt have even gotten a title shot. When he stepped up his competition he looked anything but an all time great. Hes reputation today is based mostly how he looks on film. Yeah he looks great but look who he is fighting. Total nobodies. Of course hes going to look invincible. The most comprehensive win on his resume against a top fighter was a totally shot Tony Zale. I think the best thing you can say about him was that he never really got to prove how great he was. The worst thing you can say is that he was an overrated fighter who happened to be well managed but would have always struggled against the upper echelon.
Never knew he was going to challenge Armstrong for the welter title... interesting.... yes, he was old when he came over to the US, (especially by 40's era standards because they fought so many times back then). Still accomplished a lot. I would like to have seen a rematch with him and Jake, and possibly Robinson....
I don't know much about Cerdan, I remember reading in one of the boxing magazines years ago, that a writer loved talking boxing with an insider in the sport, and he said if Marcel Cerdan had lived, you wouldn't be hearing about Sugar Ray Robinson today.
