Two-Ton Tony Galento vs Eric "Butterbean" Esch

Like many here, you are not getting it.

Fleischer and his minions had no choice but to rank Galento #1, because he beat their previous #1.

Therefore whatever you think of Galento as a fighter, it is hard to argue with this ranking on paper.

The fact that he was able to obtain this ranking, in an era where fighters like Joe Louis, Max Schmeling, Bob Pastor, Lou Nova and Tommy Farr were in the rankings, should tell any reasonable person, that neither Butterbean nor any of his opponents woudl have a ghost of a chance against him.

If they would then by extension they would have had a chance against the other top fighters of that era, but nobody has ever suggested that, because it is obviously unrealistic.

Galento get singled out from the other contenders of the era, for comparison to Butterbean, solely based on his aesthetic.

There is not other basis for the comparison.

 

He exposes how poor that era was and makes the study of and obsession with it seem less meaningful. A 5 foot 9 teak tough but utterly unskilled bar fighter was the #1 contender.

Where is that breed today? Weeded out by a legion skilled and talented athletes befitting a much improved era. Study the sport today. It is a much more worthy subject.

 

Then the same inference must be extended to every other top contender of the era.

Where are the people asking how Butterbean would do against Max Schmeling?

The rankings have been populated by overweight fighters for most of the 21st century.

He is more normal now than he was then.

 

I can’t connect with the sport today, that’s why I hang out at this forum mostly.

Floyd Patterson would have rendered Butterbean unconscious inside of 30 seconds.

 

That's a great match-up.

Yes, but the Buster Mathis, Andy Ruiz, Tony Tubbs and James Toney's of the world were quick as lightning and extremely skilled. Different animals all together. Being overweight is the least of Galento's issues.

 

Start wagering on it. Makes it really connectable.

Might take him 90 seconds but I agree.

 

I don't like to watch fights like Galento - Baer because I'm afraid that if I watch enough of that it will start to look "normal." To "appreciate" Galento - Baer, one has to believe that all eras are equivalent. I don't believe that and I know you don't either. Joe Louis looks amazing fighting the contenders of his era, but I suspect that Thad Spencer, Ted Gullick caliber fighters would look amazing fighting them too.

If Spencer or Gullick had come along in that era there would be monuments built to them and people today would be debating whether Usyk, Lewis, or Holyfield could beat them.

 

Yet you give Butterbean 90 seconds against Floyd Patterson?

 

The important thing to understand there, is that Tony Galento defeated Lou Nova, and Max Baer defeated Max Schmeling.

However bad you think think they look on film, they were beating elite fighters who look good on film, even by todays standards.

However unaesthetically pleasing their methods were, they clearly worked, and worked against men who were nuanced.

Not everything that is gold glitters.

 

Louis was amazing in his day, but I do think he gets overrated on a H2H basis. We've seen how primitive guys like Galento, and Buddy put him on the ground. You'd honestly have to suspend disbelief to imagine him going up against guys like Tyson, Lewis, Wlad, etc

 

Galento very easily and quickly, Butterbean was a journeyman/club/area level fighter who was given even worse fighters to build him up because he brought a lot of eyes to his fights.

 

Don't forget that Lou Nova, who Tony Galento dominated, twice beat Max Baer, who dominated Galento.

The moral is there's no real pattern to this stuff.

And I think Galento does catch heat here because he was rude, crude, ugly, allegedly stinky and thought the rules were optional.

 

The thing is, a crude durable puncher like Galento or Buddy could really catch anyone in the way they caught Louis. A hard punch by huge guys with momentum in their favour when the punch landed. It’s not like he’s the odd one out in that regard, especially at heavyweight. He was still making them miss plenty before and after those punches landed.

What it does say, imo, is that Louis can and would get caught by such bigger men but would still recover anyway. I don’t see Lewis or Wlad stopping Joe because they’d probably prefer minimizing their output and box him from range. He’s just such a dangerous combination puncher and finisher, with proven power against durable bigger men, that the fact that he’s proven that he can potentially stay in the fight for the entire duration against elite super heavys is what makes him so dangerous H2H. He can be outboxed and outmuscled for a good chunk of the fight against a Fury or an Usyk, sure, but he will still be there and won’t get tired. And he can certainly finish them.

 

Galento had good timing, could punch and had good boxing tricks if you know what I mean

He is joking around in this video