Fitz had very long and successful career, but when was he at his absolute best? Is it around 1890, when he destroyed Dempsey and beat contenders like McCarthy? Is it in 1994 with domination over Creedon and (an unofficial) win over Choynski? Is it in 1896-97 period when he beat Corbett and Maher and should have won against Sharkey? Or finally in 1900 when he beat Daly, Dunkhorst, Ruhlin and Sharkey within 5 months (Ruhlin and Sharkey fights were within 2 weeks)?
Fitz was one of those fighters with incredible performances all through his career. Only when Father Time caught up with him did he falter. He really was one of boxing’s all time greats. A true enigma.
It's such a shame that we don't have any variety in available footage. The only thing we can tell for sure is that Fitz looks definitely better againt Corbett than against Lang.
There is a very clear 3:00 film clip of the Corbett Fitz fight on YouTube from the US Library of Congress. Much more easier to follow. Here you see Fitz throwing combinations. Short right to the body and left hook to the head. First time the hook is blocked. The second both appear to land. You can see Fitz sliding foreword in attack mode and then back to lure Corbett to him. Wish someone could stabilize this film to a point where it’s perfectly easy to follow. It’s the only evidence we have regarding Fitz. It should be studied hard to understand this great fighters true capabilities.
Yes and he has very long footage in that quality, it would be pleasure to watch it full and understand Fitzsimmons strategy and abilities.
Around the second Jeffries fight, but his destruction of Ruhlin and Sharkey makes me think that his hands were still fine in 1900.
