I’ve seen some say we have no footage of a peak LaMotta (Outside of the DeJohn fight which was taken off of YouTube) cuz by the time he actually got his shot at the title he was on the decline. Is this true?
Hi Melankomas. I have myself have not seen that in print, or discussed at any stage during my time following boxing, not to say it isn't so, there are dozens of very knowledgeable posters that can answer that with the utmost alacrity, the two who I would say have a better take than most imo, would be @mcvey and @Greg Price99 their combined wealth of fights and fighters is insurmountable, and I find myself rarely disagreeing with pretty much all they write, imposters they are most certainly not. stay safe buddy, chat soon. Mike.
I certainly do not have the knowledge of many so I am going by what I see in BoxRec. I would say that LaMotta may have been at his best during the 16 fights between the infamous Billy Fox fight in 1947 and his 1951 loss to Ray Robinson. LaMotta was 14-2 in those 16 fights which included winning the middleweight belt and defending it a couple of times. LaMotta had just 30 knockouts in 106 career bouts but nine of them came during this 16 fight span.
I appreciate the kind words, Mike. I don't consider myself an authority on LaMotta's career, but for what it's worth, I think he was still prime when he beat Cerdan. He may have been past his absolute peak by the time he lost it to SRR and almost certainly was after.
Hi Greg. Your more than welcome, I tell it like it is, and I am in full agreement with your thought process. stay safe buddy, chat soon. Mike.
I genuinely don't think we can know for certain, but it's worth bearing in mind his weight fluctuations from one fight to the next, aren't as extreme as some fighters from one day to the next in the day before fight weigh in era.
When raging bull came out. He was never more famous or as more highly thought off as a boxer as when that came out
Williams was in '46. Probably his best win over a MW if you factor in that Cerdan fought with only one good arm. He beat Villemain between those two as well. So probably around those years, when he was in his late 20's.
Hard to tell when Lamotta´s peak was because of lack of footage,weight disparities but if I would have to guess it would be between 1945-7. During that time he beat quality middleweights like Jose Basora (coming off a draw with Robinson+Holman Williams who he would later beat twice), George Kochan, Holman Williams, Bob Satterfield, Anton Raadik (would later drop Cerdan 3 times in the 10th round before losing on points)+infamous win over Tony Janiro (Lamotta´s wife thought Janiro was pretty!). After the Janiro fight he lost to Cecil Hudson even though he had 10 pounds on him, Billy Fox controversy, Dauthuille loss, dodgy decision over Villemain who he would then lose clearly to in a non-title fight straight after beating Cerdan. This content is protected
When talking about ones peak I always try to make it their 3-bout prime. And for me, when all cylinders were firing for Jake, I would pick as his prime, 1945's Basora - Kochan - SRR (5th meeting) as his absolute peak. Again, it appears all cylinders were firing at that time. He had youth and consistency. As for your mention of the first fight with Villemain, that was very controversial as you said. In fact, it cost the referee and 1 judge a suspension. We need more of that today. Here's the scores on that fight. Scorecards Referee Harry Ebbetts - 6-4-2 LaMotta Judge Harold Barnes - 6-5-1 LaMotta Judge Charley Shortell - 7-4-1 Villemain Unofficial UP scorecard - 7-3-2 Villemain Unofficial AP scorecard - 7-4-1 Villemain 13 ringside reporters polled had it for Villemain 12-1 On March 28, 1949, three days after the bout, NYSAC chairman Eddie Eagan suspended indefinitely referee Harry Ebbetts and judge Harold Barnes because of their scoring in the bout, with them not to receive assignments for an indefinite period. Eagan stated, "In view of the international importance of the bout and the fact that their cards were contrary to the viewpoint of practically all those who witnessed the contest, especially the members of the commission, it was felt that disciplinary action was required."
