Primo Carnera: In Summary

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by William Walker, Feb 22, 2021.



  1. William Walker

    William Walker Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    I don't know anything about Carnera's careers in wrestling and acting, but I don't think they should have any bearing on the matter, since this is a Classic BOXING forum.
     
  2. reznick

    reznick In the 7.2% Full Member

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    Carnera is one of the most mobile SHWs in HW history.
    At his best, a fantastic technician for his size.

    Not the best puncher, but clearly had very solid power (Haynes, Sharkey, Campolo, Meen)

    Became the lineal HW champion, and successfully defended his title twice, until he met a ferocious challenger.
    Against Max Baer he sprained his ankle on the first knockdown, got battered around the ring. Somehow stayed up, and actually started winning some of the mid rounds until Baer eventually stopped him.

    Never knocked out cold.

    Fought a ridiculous amount of solid boxers from his era.

    Earned some solid peer respect during his career.

    One of the worse victims of unfair press and post-career 'lore'.

    Lewis and Klitschko had a hard time earning their proper due during their careers, largely due to the boxing worlds slow progress to appreciate SHWs. Carnera was from the 30's.

    Totally undersold on this forum, however there has been noticeable progress since he became a subject of interest in the last few years. And it'll only get better for him as time goes on.
     
  3. William Walker

    William Walker Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    I do think there was a brief period when Carnera looked alright, when he fought Schaaf, Sharkey, and Baer.
     
  4. mr. magoo

    mr. magoo VIP Member Full Member

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    For being the kind of freak of nature that he was you’d think he could have done more with his physical tools. The guy was huge and strong as a beast
     
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  5. Jackomano

    Jackomano Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    You seemed to have misunderstood. Boxing and Wrestling at the highest level have always been very interrelated and only the biggest stars in boxing can successfully cross over such as Jack Johnson, Dempsey, Galento, Baer, Moore, Ali, Tyson, Floyd, Etc.. This was just in response about the point you made on his legacy, since he left a large impact on both, but if Carnera wasn't such a big attraction this would've been impossible.

    Also, a big man like Carnera brawling with smaller guys would've spelled trouble, since smaller guys are most dangerous when they punch with bigger men. Archie Moore crushed a lot of big men doing this as did Satterfield. Some other examples of a big men making this mistake is Joshua standing and punching with Ruiz, Lewis in the first fight punching with McCall, Wlad punching with Corrie Sanders, and another more obscure one would be Buster Mathis punching with James Beattie and putting him on the floor. Carnera's style was actually effective, despite not pretty or appealing to watch for some, but he was very good at pacing himself, good defensively, and against guys he could land on he was able to do a lot of damage.

    He also didn't end his career in obscurity, but the leg injury that he suffered against Baer never fully healed and plagued him the rest of his career. Promoters were still willing to shell out big money for Carnera, since he was such a big attraction but in both Leroy Haynes fights his leg problem had deteriorated to the point that his ankle was useless after a couple of rounds. This effectively ended his boxing career, since it was now obvious to everyone that Carnera was damaged goods.

    All that said It's nice to see a young guy like you be willing to watch some of the older fights and give your viewpoints. Many younger guys are unwilling to watch or seriously study the older fighters in any depth.

    Since you've contributed so much here are some photos from the Carnera-Gross fight. Jack Gross was a hard hitting southpaw. Footage of this fight is at the Skirball Museum and this is also the case with the Loughran-Gross and Godfrey-Gross fights.
    https://i.imgur.com/gCf7dQm.jpg
    https://i.imgur.com/zxgLoHD.jpg
    https://i.imgur.com/Fu7H83o.jpg
    https://i.imgur.com/wbjP1ht.jpg

    Carnera, Godfrey, and Santa the biggest Heavyweights.
    https://i.imgur.com/3wm1Ij3.jpg

    What Carnera had to say after the Loughran fight.
    https://i.imgur.com/qFx2w5X.jpg

    What Loughran had to say after the fight
    https://i.imgur.com/N52epDg.jpg

    Some Carnera cartoons
    https://i.imgur.com/3pvjl0k.jpg
    https://i.imgur.com/vyQKHxX.jpg
     
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  6. William Walker

    William Walker Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Good post. The only thing I have a problem with is wrestling. I don't think it has much to do with boxing, since it is fake after all. Otherwise, great explanations of big men slugging it out with small men. Thank you. And thank you for the photos as well. I'm taking a look at them now.
     
  7. swagdelfadeel

    swagdelfadeel Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    You would think he'd be a monster puncher based on his physic. Which couldn't be further from the truth.
     
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  8. Fergy

    Fergy Walking Dead Full Member

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    He was extremely lucky to win the title I've always thought. What ever happened between him and Jack Sharkey, well we'll never know for sure if it was a dive /fix but the fact is he was one of the poorer champion s imo.
     
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