A couple of days ago I wrote briefly on the Tunney-Carpentier fight. I didn't mention that that was the last Carpentier fight that I watched. Of course, it was the last I watched, cuz it was pretty much the last fight of Carptentier's career, at least in terms of name fights. I was talking with klompton2 just the other day in this very thread and he said that Carpentier made a career out of trying to claim key victories via DQ. I see the merit in that theory, and I think I'm on board with that theory myself. That aside though, I have to say enjoyed every one of his fights. There's nearly 10 of them on youtube, and while nearly all of them are short, and probably all but two are qualifiable as classics, he was a very skillful boxer and a real joy to watch. He was very fast, very mobile, and took a pretty good shot. For a light heavyweight, he packed tremendous power. What I enjoyed most about watching him was the combination of his speed, power, and incredible accuracy when he fought. He was a great combination puncher, and he delivered all three of these qualities when he fought. You just have to get a good dose of Carpentier's fights to see it. I do have to add though, that given Carpentier's great boxing ability, his attempt to salvage wins on the matter of a DQ is rather disappointing.
What do you think he would have done without WWI? He had a multi year layoff just as he seemed to be hitting his stride with a .win over Smith, and the age you'd think he'd be coming into his prime.
There's an interesting interview with Tunney in which he commends Carpentier for the brave fight he put up against him ,he said Carpentier was past his prime but he was as brave as a lion . Loughran said he fought his greatest fight against Carpentier ,who was past his best,Loughran, who never thought he deserved to lose a fight ,praised Carp,of course it was self serving,but he recalled Carpentier said he thought he had terrific fight against Tommy and that when he lost he knew it was time to get out. I had always rated the Frenchman highly, but after debating with Klompton my opinion of his ability was lowered significantly.Not one of the greatest light heavies, but he put up brave fights against Tunney,Gibbons, and Loughran.Carpentier was also only18 when he was overmatched and stopped by Papke and Klaus.
And he was one of the reasons women began to attend fights in significant numbers apparently. With his good looks he had em flocking to see him!
Its no big secret Im no fan of Carpentier. His reputation was largely built on his star quality and not his fighting ability. He came along at a time when boxing on the continent was in its infancy and he, being a full time professional fighter and excellent natural athlete, feasted on the sub par competition Europe had to offer. Every time he stepped up to fight a world class opponent the result was either disastrous or questionable. I think his skills are vastly overrated as well. He was a one trick pony who relied exclusively on landing his right hand. He would jab, throw a round house right, clinch (maybe infighting a little), wait for the ref to break them then wipe his gloves on the legs of his trunks and repeat the sequence, over and over and over. You can see this in 1912 all the way through his last fights. Despite the sport evolving in that time and hos experience against more sophisticated opponents he never grew as a fighter and never added any new wrinkles to his game. Carpentier was like a circus attraction that they would do anything to keep the show rolling and the money rolling in. There was always an excuse for his losses, a cry of foul to pull victory from defeat, or some other obfuscation to maintain Carpentiers reputation. He was a terrific athlete and his influence in popularizing the sport throughout Europe cannot be overstated but he was a mediocre fighter who at no time in his career was the best at any weight class he was in and could potentially lose to any one of the top ten fighters in any division within 10-15 pounds of him on a given night.
For starters he tends to jump around like a kangaroo. The Tunney fight was a perfect example. He looked like he had no idea of trying to work his way in besides literally jumping in. It was absolutely ridiculous
Good post. Carpentier is a guy that few people remember today and he really was very good. Not as good as the hype, but he had a lot of natural qualities.
