If Boxers hadn't passed away so young they would have been even greater than they are remembered

Greb had something closer to 300 fights. Tons of newspaper decisions.

 

Passing away early surely makes a fighter's greatness more mythical.

 

By the standards of his time, Greb wasn't a young man in boxing terms by 1926 when he passed. A lot of miles on the clock and coming off back-to-back losses (albeit not totally popular ones) to Flowers, he may well have been a shade past his best already. Also bearing the scars of a punishing career, which inadvertently brought about his death. I'm not sure if he'd have added all that much more to his legacy had he carried on for a few more years, but you never know.

Sal Sanchez and Masao Ohba are two painfully obvious examples. Sanchez of course gets plenty of attention to this day, but Ohba is relatively forgotten in comparison, which is a shame. You could throw Les Darcy in there, too. Still just a kid of 21.

 

Masao Oba

 

They are remembered 100 years later, so I don't know how living longer would've made them more memorable, unless they became famous broadcasters after they retired.

Otherwise, 100 years later is pretty good for an athlete to still be talked about.

 

Sanchez had the accomplishments to back up the post mortem hype. I think his passing was without question one of boxing's greatest tragedies. If not the most tragic. He was prematurely artful and poised, but had plenty of pepper when needed, too. A total master at a ridiculously young age.

 

Spot on with the Greb anthology, his best days were behind him, by the time of the Flowers fights, he was slowing down, and clinching more than he ever did, and by all the accounts I have read, he clinched and held a lot during his long and illustrious career.

 

Greb and Ketchell were both done by the time they had died.

Ones I think had a lot of potential were Les Darcy and Luther McCarty

 

Maybe Victor Galindez but I think his prime was already pretty much gone

 

Greb was almost blind when he fought Flowers. He died on an operation for his bad eyes. Ketchell was just 24 years old when he died. He would likely have 10 more good years to box.

 

I think Edwin Valero and Salvador Sanchez

 

I doubt that, quite a bit. Ketchel was supposedly showing signs of decline after the Johnson fight - and I doubt that someone with a style as raw and aggressive as that would last very long after turning 25 in that era.

 

I don't think he was declining. In fact, he was scheduled to fight a in a "Super fight "with Sam Langford.