Before SRR Challenged him for the title? So in a nutshell, Turpin gets a Crack at Jake Lamotta s title before Robinson does. Can Randy beat the Bull?
Could he? I believe that version of Randy could he was in his prime more or less. This would have been couple of years before he beat Robinson I believe, so yes, I reckon he could get an hard fought decision over the Bull.
Turpin could beat Jake ,with that prod of a jab and his power,but would he? He lost fights he should have won and was very inconsistent.Not a fight I would bet on.
It's maybe getting them both at the right time, Turpin with his head in the right place and Jake perhaps on his way down. Obviously still a hard fight even against an ageing Lamotta but sometime s its just timing as we know in no boxing.
Excellent point, Randy was a temperamental fighter, thinking he had a rather simple mind ( not in the disparaging way ) he always came across as very shy and introverted, not comfortable in his own skin, towards the end of his career the demons were gaining hold. So yes, that Turpin would have stood no chance of winning up against a non weight drained LaMotta, maybe an earlier version of Randy might just have the confidence and self discipline to out point Jake, it would not have been easy. stay safe guys.
Very possibly, it's an intriguing matchup really with ,maybe no wrong answer. Would have been a beast of a fight
Irresistable force v immoveable object. I think the location would be key here. As @Mike Cannon points out, Randy was psychologically quite fragile although at the time this fight would have taken place, there were no outward signs of it. Fighting in Britain would have meant Turpin would be living at home with his Mum and Sisters and training in the makeshift gym in the gelatine factory with his Brothers in Leamington. This would have given him a feeling of ultra security and confidence pretty much as he demonstrated against Sugar Ray. Flip this on its head and Randy finds himself, as a 21 or 22 year old, in the middle of the American Boxing world in New York or Chicago, training at the likes of Stillman's and finding himself surrounded by the classic 50's fight scene hustlers. He would think he had landed on another planet and would struggle to breathe. The questions of style and technique are self evident and I can't see fighting in the UK bothering LaMotta who was only ever truly at peace in a Boxing ring. If the fight is in the UK, Randy wins.
The version of Randy Turpin on his way up especially the night he challenged Robinson would have dethroned Jake LaMotta. By the time Jake actually held the crown he was physically not quite the force he had been. Losing and gaining so much weight over and over aged him as a fighter. Being a bit touched in the head probably didn't help his overall health either. Randy Turpin eventually succumbed to his own personal demons. IMO though the best I saw from him would be enough to lift the belt from Jake LaMotta.
Turpin could have beaten LaMotta, but everything would have to be on point. And, in a lot of ways, it may not have been.
