… by Steve Springer and Blake Chavez. I bought it because I sincerely wanted to learn more about the guy, and I am well into it. I don’t regret buying it, but honestly it’s more hagiography than biography. (Google it.) My assessment so far is about like I figured it would be. He was a tough, courageous, talented, valiant man who got everything there was to get out of his skills before he topped out against superior forces. He’d fought too many damn fights by the time the 1970s came around, when he was 25 years old and should have been getting into his prime. He’d sparred for too many damn fights sans headgear. Given the description of Frazier II … I need to rewatch that … and how after a decent first round he pretty much disintegrated and abandoned what he’d been trained to do to the point where Gil Clancy dropped him, I am wondering if that was the harbinger of what was to come on all levels. And that was a rather dysfunctional family. Oh, something that popped out at me was the authors’ inference that Ron Lyle’s tales of being stabbed and actually “dying” in prison were BS … But honestly I better understand why he’s so beloved after reading the book. I remember seeing him fight in real time but I was really too young when he was at his best to understand it, when I really started following boxing he was already on a downward trajectory.
Your assessment is exactly as mine has been. I too saw him fight "live" in real time back in the day. He was really a classy fighter and I think he would have done better if he paid more attention to his own skill set rather than to try to out-perform his opposition by fighting on their terms. Too much testosterone and not enough intellect. I've seen him box and mimic Ali's style to dazzle the crowd against lesser opposition, i. e., Charlie Reno. He should have employed that style against Frazier off and on to keep Joe out of his rhythm. Instead he decided to go toe to toe.
I've always felt he should've never laced up a glove again after that fight. It was obvious that there was something not right w/ him by that time. In his previous fight only a month earlier vs. unheralded clubfighter Joe Alexander, he was down & hurt badly in the 1st round before rallying to KO Alexander in the 2nd. I don't think he'd fully recovered from that heading into the Frazier rematch only a month later. This content is protected
I think Jerry was a very hard-headed guy who was going to do it his way, often to his detriment. He thought he could out-tough tough guys and that his offense would prevail even as his defense (or lack thereof) was failing him … that if he kept wading in he’d break through. It worked against a certain level of opposition but once he went above that level … no dice. And he was too stubborn to adjust. Or maybe that ‘manly’ slugger style was just so ingrained into his DNA and approach that he couldn’t veer away from it. Too bad, because he was just a hair short of world class, and those adjustments and adding tools to his belt might have been enough to get him over. Mike, I admit I’m less familiar with, but my impression has always been that he wasn’t as gifted and was just a tough guy who was bound for journeyman/trial horse status.
"because he was just a hair short of world class", how in the world do you figure Jerry Quarry not world class? Jerry Quarry biggest detriment was his family. Start with his POS father, exclude his mother and add everyone else in. Edit: Oh let me add his wife "Charlie" as a BIG problem. I've read the book multiple times. Jerry fought way too much and sparred way to much. Better management, actually a "lot" better management and Quarry would have had much more productive career and would actually been around to enjoy his senior years.
Actually the story line on Lyle in the 70's was he was pronounced dead in prison. Not saying it was true, but that was the story line. FYI, one fact about Lyle that never got mentioned was he damn near killed Duane Bobick in 1971 in an amateur fight, as Duane was unconscious for over 5 minutes.
I guess it depends on how one defines the term. He lost to most of the best people he fought. A few good wins but when he stepped up to the very top he came up short … hence “a hair short” in my reckoning. But I realize we all reckon such things differently. I know he had a rough upbringing and wasn’t handled as correctly as he could have been, but that of course doesn’t figure into whether he was world class or not … you don’t get an asterisk that says *but he’d have been much better if not for this. And those things are hard to figure. It’s messing with the space-time continuum. Like Roy Jones’ father was overbearing and abusive, but that played a part in shaping him to be the great fighter that he was. And if Quarry’s dad didn’t have his kids sparring each other like real fights on the regular coming up, maybe Jerry isn’t quite the fighter he would become. You take on ingredient out of the cake (even an imperfect cake) and you can ruin the whole recipe. Lots of great (and near-great) fighters have it rough coming up. If they hadn’t, we don’t know if they’d have achieved what they did. With a different set of parents (throwing out that Jerry would then also have different DNA … he’d literally be a different person), maybe Jerry joins the drama club or debate team and never boxes … or walks away from it before finding out how good he could have been. I don’t feel like I’m hating on Quarry to say he was a hair short of great but obviously we can disagree.
Wasn't arguing the "great", it was the "a hair short of world class" that I disagree so strongly on, as he was the No.1 ranked contender 4 separate times between 1968 to 1974. It's all good, as I don't think you were hating on Jerry.
Yeah just a different definition. I’d say if you’re world class for that long, you win a world title. Maybe in eras where there’s one champion and that’s the only person you’re second to, you could be that — but if/when that person disappears from the scene (regresses, retires or in lower weights moves up) then you’re the one who steps in. I see him as a bridesmaid rather than a bride, and whenever there was room above him someone else filled the space. But he was a top heavyweight for quite a while, whatever term we want to use to describe that.
Like I said, the authors offered no evidence that the tale was BS, they described it as “he claimed” that happened, but I thought I would at least bring it to the table given how beloved Lyle is here and how much that prison tale drives a lot of that. Honestly, at least to my eyes, the authors for some reason pretty much displayed total disdain if not outright contempt for Lyle.
Quarry IMO needed 2 more inches in height, 2 or 3 more inches in reach and 10 more pounds consistently, without it impacting the skills he did display, to get over the top against the elite people of his era.
