How well would Sam Langford do today?

In summary, Pat M has better boxers in his gym than Langford, we should start discussing about his fighters rather than Sam.

 

Canelo has always used the high guard plenty. He uses it to apply safe pressure watch what his lead leg does whenever he walks his man down. It inches forward covering ground giving his torso more room to pull back and counter while sitting in this spot he uses a high guard to draw jabs to punish his "turtling"

 

Sure you can with grit and gumption. He was tougher than his opponent , thats why he won more often that not . not because he possessed a superior boxing brain or a better set of skills.

Facing civilians who were fighting for food helped as well.

How hard is it to defeat this guy?

https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/39816
Andy Watson 5-24-44. Sam didn't even fight the guy in his prime. He fought him two fights away from retirement.

What about Bogardus Hyde- The Foster Toothpick? 6-5-0

Or what about Chick Monahan who was 3-0-1 going into the fight.


We see Brian Neilson rack up a record of 64 wins during the 90's.. Not because he adjusted his skillset to overcome high level challengers but because he fought soup cans and old cadavers

Sam Langford is more myth than legend. You buy into it because you respect the sports history and you respect what was written about him at the time.
But the journalists who wrote about him at the time had to context and believed that was boxing at its best. . We can look back and see that the sport came a long way since then.

Sam Langford could never adjust to the techniques that came through a few decades later. He'd a tough time with Eubanks Jr as you can see by his struggle with Joe Janette.

 

I think this is an excellent post! It doesn't hate on the old-timers, on the contrary they are praised for being trailblazers, who laid the foundation for later generations to build on.

No doubt, Langford was a very special fighter! A standout in his own time, for sure. His record is amazing - but, honestly, he looks less so in the video against Jeannette. And yet, there's no shortage of the suttle skills and techniques some people claim to see in the video. Skills modern fighters can only dream of. And if you don't agree, it's proof that you don't understand, what you're looking at! Couple this with the obvious trolls, who join in just to talk nonsens... and you have an environment, that makes it difficult to have a meaningful discussion. A pity, it has to be like this!

 

Put the crack pipe down.

 

What a stupid post.

Every boxer has some easy fights, especially when fighting insanely often. Langford had two other fights that month when he had the fight you refered to including against Dave Holly, and had fought twice the next month, one was against Jack Blackburn, and at an age of 21.

 

Bert Sugar had charisma and was nice to watch, but he's by no means the greatest boxing mind of all time.

 

https://www.boxingnewsonline.net/bn/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/SamLangfordBillLang1.jpg

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcROSBAWgsqGmmDTh2pOd_LgoUDSwoVDtfn8cw&usqp=CAU

Look at that. . The stance , the wide legs , the position of the hands.

Striking and grappling , thats what it was. They were strikers back then not boxers.

There was no use of a stiff cororaniated jab. Knocking at the door , parraying and lunging at the opponent with two arms often compensated for a jab.

Sam never fought anybody that could pump a jab straight into his face. Never fought a guy that could setup shots from different angles to catch him unawares. Never fought anybody with the precision to target weak spots on the body.
Guys didn't know know to pivot or walk him into an ambush. The list of ways this guy would come unstuck against skilled boxers in endless.

 

This thread is getting ridiculous...

 

The modern one imo. The first one seems like it's sped up. The 2nd one is also more beautiful because it's in color, but truth be told I've been there countless times, it's now so boring and I actually dread going there now.

 

We can both agree he was great for his era and for his own division. But without the cavates you mentioned above there's no way he's doing what he did in his day in a modern setting

Manny Pacquaio for as great as he was wouldn't stand a chance against Golovkin , lets not even mention a guy like Beterbiev.

There are guys who peddle the notion Sam could be a HW Champ on here with a straight face. Im speaking from a reality perspective here. Getting carried away is arguing how this little man could beat a tank like Luis Ortiz. Why are these delusions based on hero worship not a waste of everybody's time?

 

I think you don't realize what Langford's real size was. He wasn't the size of Manny, he was cut at 170 lbs.