How good was Marcel Cerdan?

that was the question i actually asked jake la motta.i also asked him to be honest about the result of the rematch,had it happened,if cerdan would have had two arms not one.
he rated cerdan as the best boxer he ever faced with the exception of robinson.he rated him as the greatest fighter to ever come out of europe and admitted the rematch had every likelyhood of a reversed result to their original fight.

 

Wow, Jake said that? Remember LaMotta won because Cerdan hurt his shoulder. I think Jake threw him down in a clinch.

I think Cerdan is extremely under rated. He is your rare technical offensive and defensive power puncher with an excellent chin. The hook of Cerdan should rate among the best in the divison's history. Watch him on film sometime.

 

Cerdan was a great fighter. I often ask people of the time about LaMotta and Cerdan and they almost always say it would be a close thing but if push came to shove they'd go with Cerdan.

Good of Jake to be so gracious.

 

Wow, LaMotta said that ?.Well I saw Marcel Cerdan fight Georgie Abrams in Cerdan's first fight in America,Dec 6,1946 @MSG. Cerdan won a very close decision over the underated Georgie Abrams. I also believe that
Cerdan would have licked LaMotta in their rematch if fate hadn't intervened..Marcel Cerdan flattened an acquaintance of mine Harold Green
three months later in 2 rounds...Cerdan was very aggressive and strong...
Great fighter...

 

yeah,i was actually very impressed with his refreshing honesty which is so absent amongst most fighters.

 

there is footage available and he is amazing.

 

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Lucky to survive against Anton Raadik.

No, he was very good, but I think his record would have looked far less "glorious" had he tangled with the best welterweights and middleweights more regularly.

 

But then again he may be more highly thought of if he had more big names. If it wasnt for WW2 he'd likely have fought Armstrong and I think he would have won, that could have made him a 2weight champ. If he goto fight Lamotta injury free he may have that scalp. It really depends who he tangled with though - Robinson, Burley, WIlliams, Marshall, Charles. He's bound to pick up losses but each win boosts him up too

 

Maybe but I don't think so. He did not exactly fight the best Europe could offer either, yet he struggled with men like Delannoit and Raadik.

Against top class foes, he managed close, debatable wins over old versions of Holman Williams and Georgie Abrams, savagely beat a used up Zale and was then beaten up by a fired up LaMotta. At the time he died, Cerdan was already 33 years old, so barring him being a miracle worker like Archie Moore, he likely wouldn't have gone on for too long.

Obviously he was a very fine fighter, anyone can see that on film, but I think he gets over-estimated. Basically he was a former welter fighting at middle, who relied on an educated pressuring style. A strong middleweight like LaMotta would always have been tough for him.

 

Good points any fight reports on Williams-Cerdan, Williams is an ATG himself and Abrams a handful for Burley and Robinson too

Don't you buy into the shoulder injury GA?

 

I think he injured his shoulder, whether it was very serious or not is debatable though. But if I talked about all the times LaMotta injured his hands in a fight, we would be here all night. Holman Williams also tore his leg against Cerdan, and could hardly move.

Two accounts of Williams-Cerdan:

"Williams gave a fine display..He was scrupulously fair, fast, and tough. He took everything Cerdan had to give him, which was plenty, and could have taken a little- though not much- more. Although he has no more punch than a flea, he was not scared to get in close and mix it...Cerdan was handicapped by a damaged right hand--which he was unable to use with any effect after the fourth round. He fought hard and hit hard, and deserved his victory..Even when a recurrence of his leg injury in the eighth round slowed Williams down, and left him with no option but to cover up and absorb all the vicious left hooks which the Frenchmen could dish out, he never looked like being knocked out..I enjoyed the fight, because it seemed to me to be a good exhibition of boxing science and fighting determination between two men whose styles are poles apart."

"Marcel Cerdan, leading French middleweight boxer, won a 10 round decision last night over American Negro Holman Williams at Roland Garros Stadium. Cerdan weighed 157 and Williams 160. There were no knockdowns. During what was a slow bout all the way, very few solid punches were landed. The judges scorecards were not available for press inspection."

Unofficial AP scorecard - 4-4-2 Draw

 

Burt saw the Cerdan-Abrams fight, perhaps he could lighten things a bit up on this.

 

Thanks for the quotes it sounds a close fight but edging an ATG like Williams is a quality achievement, despite him being past prime

In my experience fighting with a rotator cuff injury is worse than a hand injury. With a hand injury you can use the other part of your knuckles, throw the glove open or just bite down and punch with it hurt. With a rotator injury depending on the sevirity it can be near impossible to punch and if not severe when you do punch its agonising and you can't punch nearly as hard or fast or with the same techique or have the variety of motions.

Any reports of Holman-Lamotta by any chance?