harry greb, a powerful puncher?

Great stuff. Not much more to be said. As an aside regarding his style, from what I've read he seemed to be a lot more versatile than many people give him credit for. More dimensions to his attack than a Henry Armstrong, for instance.

 

I doubt that. I have the first picture of Greb in a fight pose while he was still an amateur and he was thin as a rail with a pencil neck.

 

Yup and Joe Williams had to yank Harry out of a rollicking hotel party to get him to the ring on time.

 

Old pictures can be decieving...In in old Ring Mag article I read from a friend of Greb he was refused by a gym owner in Pittsburgh becausr they thaught young Greb was musclebound...His pictures show Greb at various weights ...He did have bulging biceps, for what it's eorth....

 

so reading all this, he had a style to be compared to Joe Calzaghe?

 

Not really
First of all Greb had about SEVEN times more fights against much larger opponents
He threw punches from every angle possible
He was always bouncing in and out making him a difficult target to hit.
He fought EVERYONE, regardless of size , color etc almost WEEKLY..
Greb was one of a kind...

 

What has number of fights, or competition got to do with it? Style is style.

 

Burt just likes to repeat himself whether relevant to the question or not. He missed out his 15-50lbs with two exclamation marks this time though.

 

How many times do I have to tell that the articles in ring magazine are about as factual as jack and the beanstalk. Pictures can be decieving but this one shows Greb rail thin, with skinny, arms, legs, torso, and neck. He was clearly an 18 year old raw boned kid who had not begun to develop. That story was obviously written by someone who had seen Greb later in life, or photos of him later in life, and knew nothing about his young life. If you believe that then you probably also believe the story of Greb and Walker fighting on the street, Greb biting off Chuck Wiggins' nose, and all the other absolute myths that were published in the ring by Dan Daniels and Nat Fleisher to sell copy.

 

Don't you think the fact that Harry Greb spotted his opponents 15-50 pounds is important to the subject at hand ?For some naysayers 50-100
pounds heavier would make no difference, to a closed mind...
Besides, I repeat myself, because I own stock in Alka Seltzer...Burp, Burp.

 

Well manbearpig asked does Greb have the same style as Calzaghe. And the style you mentioned was similar to calzaghe style, you just felt the need to tell his life story once again

 

Klomptom, as Will Rogers said , " I only know what I read in the newspapers ".This supposed event might have been when young Harry was 15 years old...But read this tidbit I did.. I have also read that a common description of Greb, was 5.8 and stocky...The thin picture of Greb you have seen at 16, could have been later on in 1910, when he started training for being in the welterweight class ? Isn,t this possible ? b.b.

 

Just because you read something in a magazine doesnt mean its true. The picture I have is from 1913 when Harry was 18 years old. Harry didnt box at 16 and didnt box in 1910. If the picture I have was from 1913 when Harry was in 18 and didnt start fighting at MW until 1914, I think its safe to say that the idea that Harry was told he was too muscle bound to box when he FIRST stepped foot in a gym is another myth. The truth is that nobody who worked on Ring magazine knew Harry personally when he was a teen and most of what was published about from that era or any era afterwards was either made up or had been heard from secondary (or worse) sources. I really dont understand why you cling to these myths simply because you read them in your youth in Ring magazine. The bottom line is Greb was typical, string bean, gangly, awkward teenager when he started boxing who grew rapidly from a lightweight to a welterweight to middleweight and who ultimately could fight with great success in the LHW and HW divisions.

 

I find the first picture very interesting.

I know picutures always can look misleading and mean little (the corbett fitz bird dance picture comes to mind). Most old timers from Grebs era are criticised for using the low guard, not the modern guard, and leaving the head exposed.

I find it very interesting (I am sure that most if not all fighters of the time did the same) that Greb was using a high right hand guard with his right hand, as he throws the jab, though it does seem to parry with that right, by the way it is being held. Do others think this picture (so far as a picture can tell) is perfectly consistent with a modern technique, in this regard?

 

I Have read that story of a youngster Greb, being told he was too musclebound for a career in boxing...How old young Harry was at that time, or if the thing I read was true or not, who are we to say..But Nat Fleischer, was very familiar with young Greb,and Pittsburgh Fighters BEFORE Greb such as Frank Mantel, and Frank Klaus...
Who wrote that piece so long ago i do not Know in 2010...But write this .someone did...Whatever its possible faults rhe Ring Magazine s I have, [some from the 1920s] was called " The Bible of Boxing ", for a good reason...The early days it was the foremost boxing magazine in the country, with columnists such as Hype Igoe, Tad Dorgan, Damon Runyon etc...I shouldn,t be chastised for an article written 80 or so years ago...
Furthermore, after June,1908, when Harry Greb was FOURTEEN years old, he ran away from home..It is believed his father kicked young Harry out, because his father caught him involved in a boxing match....
This info came noy from the Ring Magazine , but from "The Fearless Harry Greb ", written recently by Bill Paxton...Page 17...Great bio of Greb , that
I treasure...So to sum up ,what I read many years ago about a very young Greb told by a gym owner that he was "musclebound',and really an innoccuous statement ,could have occured, at what age, I know not...
A sidenote...On the cover of the Bill Paxton book there is a picture of Greb, and his biceps are larger than usual, I believe...
I enjoy our little tussle...b.b.