Did Jerry Quarry became underrated ?

Shavers was all of 6 feet tall, and was lacking in skills. Wilder was/is to but he has a good 7 inches on Shavers, was much faster, more accurate, and had a much better chin.

 

Agree. The guy took just about every fight that came his way unless there’s some obscurity that challenged him and didn’t get the fight but I don’t think it matters. He took on more than enough monsters. The dude wasn’t born with extravagant physical gifts either but he made the very best out of what he had.

 

I've never understood this Foreman ducked Quarry logic. Quarry lost to Frazier, Norton, even Chuvalo, all of whom Foreman wiped the floor with. He also lost to Ali, who Foreman didn't duck. Maybe if he'd won some of these fights, Quarry would've gotten his chance (and inevitably lost just like he did in all his other big fights).

 

Yeah, that's something that Foreman has given wings to, in the way Old Foreman spins yarns. I can believe that Foreman and his camp weren't overly keen on facing him, though, and wouldn't if they didn't have to. But, as you say, he was never put in that position.

 

I don’t think foreman ducked Quarry either and likely would have mopped the floor with him if they HAD met. But I think Quarry was in pretty good position to challenge for the title in 1973 to early 1974.

 

I have him as 5th best heavyweight of the 70s.

 

Those losses don't really mean anything to Jerry's potential title shot, it's all about time and place (which was late 73 / early 74 on the back of the Lyle/Shavers wins). George was basically told he needed to sign to fight a decent opponent or potentially be stripped of the title- after basically taking the p*** out of the crown for nearly a whole year and Jerry looked set for the shot in early 74, after Foreman initially agreed to the fight- and there is a photo of him and Quarry after the Shavers KO, so the fight looked very much on.

The Ali / Joe rematch was already scheduled, so that left the #3 & #4 contenders and it was 50/50 that either Jerry or Norton would get the chance. After stating it would be Quarry, George's team decided to fight Norton instead (in Brazil initially)- for a much smaller purse than what Teddy Brenner offered to fight Quarry at the Garden. So Jerry would have felt hard done by not getting that shot.

By the time Quarry lost to Frazier, the Foreman-Ali fight was on, so that- and the later loss to Norton- are irrelevant here- the much-talked about Quarry 'slot' (which actually featured as the cover on Ring before Norton beat Ali) was given to Kenny, so he and Gil Clancy felt aggrieved that Ken had jumped ahead of him in the queue.

 

Well, at that time, Quarry was the most logical fight for George, and would have been the biggest money fight in the division due to Quarry's name recognition and the public would have ate it up. Quarry was on quite a roll at the time. His wins over the much feared Lyle, then Shavers were very impressive.

Instead Foreman fought Norton, who was coming off a loss (disputed) to Ali

Apparently Foreman's people saw something in Quarry that caused them a great deal of concern.

Until age set in, Quarry continually rebounded from his loses. Compare that to today's heavys who rarely fight, much less fight risky fights against each other, it puzzles me why Quarry doesn't get much respect with today's present boxing fans.

 

It's too bad there wasn't a cruiserweight division back in the 60's and 70's, it would have been perfect for Quarry. As far as him even being competetive with Wilder or Tua I find ridiculous. And I like Jerry.

 

I can picture George Foreman in a rocking chair spinning yarn . And then Holyfield runs in the room, snatches the yarn and quickly runs away maniacally laughing

 

Hi Buddy.
Thanks for a excellent and informative backdrop to the heavyweight goings on of the early to mid 70s, I also remember seeing a photo of Foreman and Quarry together, it was in Quarry's dressing room after the Shavers win, Jerry was stripped to the waist with his right hand in a large ice bucket, while sitting on a bench, Foreman was in civvies, I have a special place in my boxing journey of 50 years for Quarry, he loomed pretty large in the years 71 to 76, coincedently my formative and favourite years, many a month his photo would adorn the front of the mags, Ring, Boxing Illustrated, etc, he always reminded me of a rugged Glen Campbell, obvs being white and very marketable helped his cause, his peers were on the whole mainly black, Ellis, Ali, Patterson, Spencer, Mathias, Shavers, et al, so he sort of was the " white hope " in a bad tasting way, on his night, and just before he put on weight and slowed somewhat, he was a formidable adversary, he could punch, box, was strong, and had a rock solid chin, and one of the best counter punchers in HW history.

When he came over here to " fight " Bodell I was lucky enough to be picked to go and see Jerry in his dressing room after the fight, in the flesh he was very imposing, broad of chest, huge thick forearms, and strong sturdy legs, as Mailer once said " Quarry has the sort of face that would a marines sergeant pause in a bar room brawl " he was really a quiet man I believe, he didn't say that much to us, but thanked us for coming, so yes, when I want to go back in my mind and memories, Jerry Quarry is ever present.
keep up your always interesting and informative posts matey, which I enjoy on every occasion.
stay safe buddy, chat soon.

 

That's a great post Mikey. The way you close every post always makes me smile a bit. You're a gent.

 

He was a very good fighter in one of if not the best era ever for heavies.

 

Thanks Mike, it's always a pleasure being acknowledged from someone with such great experience attending big fights back in the day.

Yes, that's the pic Mike, well remembered.

I've always thought that too- although when it came to the Foreman fight, "offers coming over the phone" were only temporary, and after the Shavers KO, the line was engaged.

Great stuff Mike. So you may recall who Quarry called out after the Bodell fight as early as late '71? Yes, Big George. Which looked set for 1972 in London too...but George's team felt it too risky on his path to the title shot (which made sense to be fair).

 

So he choose Norton for less money? That's really interesting since Norton looked quite formidable at that point. The problem he seemingly had with punchers wasn't known then. He had taken Ali's best better than Quarry had and also hurt Ali worse in both fights than anyone since Frazier.

But Foreman and his people must have sat up and taken notice of how Quarry looked against Lyle and Shavers, and MacFoster a few years before, otherwise they'd gladly have cashed in on the payday he offered.