Jim Corbett v Harry Greb 20rds prime for prime. NB Greb beat 26 men over 180lbs. Corbett beat 3 Greb beat men such as Brennan,[ 194lbs for one of their fights ,]several times Miske 197lbs Renault 182 &187lbs Weinert 186lbs Madden 184lbs Rojas 195lbs Greb gave 175lbs , 49 fight Gene Tunney 12 lbs and beat him up. He is the more proven fighter against the big men imo. I think he beats Corbett and anyone Corbett ever beat, all 11 of them .
Corbett was deeply unimpressive to me on film especially when contrasted to his reputation. Greb on the other hand beat guys with top flight records that actually look good on film. So, I will take Greb.
I will start with the obvious disclaimer, that we don't have a very clear idea of what either man looks like from ringside, and what we do have doubtless doesn't show us everything they could do. I suspect that most people will pick Greb, and that is in no way a bad call. Corbett is very much within Greb's prey size range, and he might outmatch him in areas where Corbett was accustomed to having the advantage, such as speed or cleverness. However we shouldn't close our minds to the idea of Corbett winning with the right fight plan.
What would be the right fight plan for Corbett to beat Greb? Could he outbox him? Overpower him? Out last him? Outspeed him? Which would be IYO his best option? Who did Corbett beat that Greb wouldn't? Greb beat full sized class heavies like Brennan and Miske Clever men like Gibbons, Weinert,Levinsky,Loughran. A 49 fight 175lbs Tunney. Would Corbett?
If he asked my advice, then I would direct him to the Tunney series. I would suggest to him, that he should forget out boxing Greb, and go for a focused body attack. That seems to be the way to fight Greb, if you are a classic boxer. Just forget everything that you thought you knew, and turn tiger on him!
The Tunney series swung in Gene's favour as Greb aged yes? Serious questions Is there any record of Corbett winning a fight with a focused body attack? Is there any record of Corbett flooring anyone with a body punch?
Mm. I don’t think you can really analyse these kind of fights reliably without just making broad statements and comparing resumes. it lacks substance without seeing Greb fight I can’t tell you if I see something Corbett does specifically that would give him the edge. Without film how can you talk strategy with any certainty?
Yes, but there might have been other issues. Please don't trouble me with any other kind. No, but like Tunney he was adaptable, and might well reach the same conclusions.
Look Corbett was a magnificent athlete but watching him on film is almost painful ... he was a transitionary figure in a very preliminary period of the sport .. from 1890 to 1900 it really seemed like a different game that morphed quickly in the 20th Century ... Greb in addition to being not that much smaller fought so many more fights and had so much more ring experience against quality opposition that the comparison is likely to result in a massacre ...
