Sharkey vs. Carnera II, Was it fixed?

Carnera had killed a man in the ring which led to a strong "ban boxing" movement. This might have played some role. Admittedly, the reps of Carnera's connections were shady, and that probably also played a major role. Honoring him was probably not considered good for boxing. I wonder why Nat just didn't give the award to someone else like Barney Ross though.

Has the ring fighter of the year award ever gone to a boxer who killed an opponent in the ring the same year?

 

Thanks for printing this. It again illustrates the tremendous gap between how Carnera was perceived while active (at least prior to the Baer fight) and how he has been judged (or slandered) by history.

 

I think it was legit.

The New York Times preview on the day of the fight made Carnera a real live underdog. The odds I think were 6-5 Sharkey.

It might not have been clear at the time, but Sharkey was also past it and was never to beat a top man again.

 

On a side note, the article talks about Baer's cross arm deffence, which I had thought to be a feature of his later fights.

Not wishing to digress.

 

schaff was a rated fighter. even ray implatiere was rated. sharkey fell in exactly the same way aginst louis. It seems sharkey always crash landed onto both knees in that way, even went down in a simular way when demspey decked him.

 

How many do you think have been eligible for it? IE killed a man and gave performances in the ring that year , to merit the award?
The only other time the award was not given was in 1966,the stand out for the award was the Heavyweight Champion ,Muhammad Ali, who defended his title 5 times that year, 4 by ko, signed to fight his number one challenger Terrell, only to have Terrell back out.
Ali was reclassified A1 for military service that year and appealed the decision.
Your question is akin to me saying how many other boxers refused military service yet won the Fighter Of The Year Award in the same year?
And just as stupid.
ps Ross shared the award the following year with Tony Canzoneri ,and ,won it again the following year.

 

I have always been anoyed that the mainstream perception of carnera has thanks to budd schulbergs film "the harder the fall" been that primo had a sham career.
as that excelent piece in the pitsburg press proves at the time this was not the case. Like many house fighters primo had the odds on his side many many times and much of his fights were litle more than glorified exhibitian tour stuff. He did beat legitimate rated guys in front of huge outdoor crowds like sharkey, uzcudun, laughran, strribling, neusel and stanley poreda.

 

"And just as stupid."

Sorry for offending your matchless intellect.

Personally I think the reason Ali did not get the award in 1966 was because he refused military service. And it is very possible that the reason Carnera did not get the award in 1933 is because he killed a man in the ring that year. And yes, there were other men who were eligible. Sugar Ray Robinson in 1947, Ezzard Charles in 1948, Emile Griffith in 1962, Sugar Ramos in 1963, and Jose Becerra in 1959, come to mind off the top of my head.

 

He was certainly using it when he took on Schmeling. Don't know if he began his career utilizing it, but he was certainly exposed to it himself over 20 rounds with Uzcudun in 1931.

 

Neither Dempsey or Louis kod Sharkey with an uppercut.Impellietiere was not rated when he fought Carnera.
Schaaf was a sick man recovering from the effects of a severe battering against Max Baer, Baer tagged him in the closing moments of their fight ,and Schaaf had to be dragged back to his corner it was over 10 minutes before he regained consciousness , he then went down with a severe case of influenza and was hospitalized prior to his fight with Carnera.
Schaaf dropped from a weak left jab in the Carnera fight if you want to count that as evidence that Carnera was a hitter ,there is no further point in discusion.

 

Louis did set up Sharkey for the knockout with a big uppercut.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1gcmVwRnJE[/ame]

8:45

 

Thanks great a, thats just as i thought, sharkey fell exactly the same way.:good

 

I think it was fixed ... Carnera never knocked out anyone legit and he one punches Sharkey ???

Then again, Sharkey would never take a dive, would he ?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Al-Capone-Jack-...ltDomain_0?hash=item20af4347df#ht_2474wt_1167

 

I've known people who were at the fight and none of them thought it was fixed. I believed them when they were alive (I've seen nothing through the years to change that belief.) and I still believe them now.