Marciano was far more experienced when he went life and death with Ted Lowry who was a lot worse than Choynski
That's not even true. People have pointed out his slim grasp of the geographical realities of boxing, the difficulty he has in expressing himself (or minimal understanding of human biology), extreme temporal bias and possible racist tenancies. It's not just about disagreeing with his rankings at all.
You picked out one fight out of 49 that Marciano had issues with a guy who weighed 181 vs Marciano's 186, that is, Rocky outweighed the guy by 5 (five) pounds. Choynski weighed 167 pounds (!) vs Jimmy's 219 pounds, and Joe slapped JimBob around and cut him badly and some observers thought he deserved a win; instead it was a draw for a guy that outweighed his opponent by 50+ POUNDS. Yes, Rocky was far more experienced. He had 49 total pro fights plus 12 Army bouts. Jimmy had 22 bouts, usually not enough to be considered for any rankings, but still gets ranked on HW lists. And his most famous fight, the one he's most remembered for, is the Johnson fight when he (again) got his butt kicked. Yeah, I know, he was retired. Another famous fight Jimmy had was with a 39yr old Bob Fitzsimmons (and you guys give Marciano flack for fighting a 32 yr old Charles!). From Wiki: The much bigger man, he outweighed Fitzsimmons by more than forty pounds. Despite this, Fitzsimmons took the fight to the champion in the early rounds and inflicted a vicious battering. As early as the second, Jeffries was bleeding from the challenger’s sharp punches, which soon broke Jeffries's nose and opened deep cuts around both eyes. But Jeffries was nothing if not tough, and he waited patiently for his opportunity to strike back. So we have a muscle bound, crude, prone to cuts boxer being pummeled and cut up badly by men who he outweighed by up to 50(!) pounds. On the other hand, we have a muscle bound, crude (really not, but anyway) prone to cuts boxer defeating men who usually outweighed him by 5-15 pounds (30 pounds in the case of Joe Louis). Ok then.
Who said anything about people? I was simply cautioning one poster not to dismiss him, simply because he disagreed with the rankings, or found them improbable.
How many fights into his career was Jeffries when he fought Choynski? How many fights in was Rocky when he fought Ted Lowry? Not only that but Lowry was on a 7 fight losing streak, while Choynski won his last 3 including against Denver Ed Smith As for the Jeffries Choynski fight itself, Joe Goddard and Tom Sharkey both called it a draw. W. W. Naughton said a draw was just in the San Fancisco Examiner, and that "After last night few will dispute Jeff's claims to be considered as a possibility for the world's championship. He is a clever boxer, and while little more than a novice, he fairly puzzled a man who, while young in years, is a veteran at fisticuffs." The San Francisco Call said the decision met with the approval of the entire audience. The San Francisco Chronicle said Jeffries "guards his head and body closely with his hands and throws out leads with considerable speed and judgement" The main critisisms of Jeffries seem to have been that he was overly cautious, not following up on advantages, and didn't use his weight enough letting Choynski go when on the ropes on in close. On the latter Jeffries said he'd been threatened with police interferance if he hit in the clinches.
Lolol his Fly and Bantam rankings are disgusting, maybe worse than the heavier ones. He has Ricardo Lopez as the No 8 Flyweight ever when he never even fought at 112! No Miguel Canto is a travesty and instantly invalidates his list (seriously, a total disgrace. Lopez, of all people, but not mother****ing El Maestro?). No Harada at either weight (lol). Wolgast too low. Jimmy Barry at No. 1 (lol). Jimmy Barry as the No 3 Bantam, wtf? Pete Herman above Olivares! Wow. Just wow. I could go on.
I dismiss him because he prints myths on occasion,whilst not quite as bad as Bert Sugar ,he isn't any historian as a far as I'm concerned.
I have to say, I do very much respect his level of research on fighters in prominent old school eras. It's just his application of 'knowledge' is atrocious.
Fair enough. If I want a modern fight fan to take another look at say Sullivan or Jeffries, and perhaps change their mind, I would be far more inclined to direct them towards Pollack's work.
Ah, ok, i'd submit that "they are argued" is a plural generalisation and "you are arguing" is the phrase you were after, but fair enough.
I know I’m bumping an old post here but I’ve been reading some stuff by Tracy Callis lately, and I came across this thread. However, I don’t believe he lost two children…his son, Tracy Callis Jr, died in 2009, and then Tracy Callis Jr’s son, Shawn Callis, died in 2014 at only 13 years of age. So he lost his son and grandson. I have no idea what happened to either of them but it is just incredibly sad.
You could make a case Ezzard was the best pure boxer to exist in every weight class he existed in once he hit his stride.