Freak Genetics

Tommy Hearns- tall rail thin but could crack and was wiry
Jim Jeffries- a Rock solid tank pre weights and PED's one of the strongest
Bob Fitzimmons- All upper torso and hit like a truck
Harry Greb- Stamina and speed unmatched
Jake LaMotta- Chin and toughness
Archie Moore- Old age didn't slow him
Sonny Liston- Had the ape factor in spades in reach and giant hands with power
George Chuvalo- Chin and stamina like LaMotta
George Foreman- Strongest man to ever hold the belt
Ernie Shavers- Hardest puncher in heavyweight history
Kenny Norton- Physique
Mike Weaver- K Norton 2.0
Tyson- Speed and Power
Julian Jackson- Freakish power and tendon strength
John Mugabi- Brute Power
SRL- Fastest hands in the game
RJJ- Fastest reflexes

 

I got invited to one of my boxing buddies parties. I met pro boxer Ranee Ganoy (36-13 32 kos) a tough Filipino journeyman. We were all the same height and weight as him but he was built like a caveman. Wrists, neck and hands were huge. His head was like a brick, wide and strong. I asked him to show me his hands because I couldn't believe how big they were. Of course he punches very hard, they looked like mallets. He had a very poor diet and drank a lot yet carried so much muscle. He was made for combat with that body. Most guys try to lift weights to achieve his look, but he didn't even lift, he just worked construction and boxed.

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With my dunce cap off for a moment, I'm not entirely sure that one was what he preferred to do there. Johnson's usually pulling the fist waaaay back or skip-lunging for most of his straight lefts, as he does immediately after the 2:33 punch ends. But Burns is about to make some kind of move, and Johnson doesn't have his normal setup, so he throws out what he did to interrupt Burns. Kind of like how Foreman would push people to prevent them from setting themselves.

It's certainly jablike, and it's being used for a more or less jablike purpose, but I think it's a very situational tool in Johnson's game. It's not yet a refined fight-control and combo-enabling weapon like Louis would use. Against someone who has a genuine, modern game built around the jab, and in adult-sized gloves, I think Johnson's Swiss army knife of straight left punches would took archaic.

 

Panama Al Brown was pretty blessed, 5'9 bantam with a 72" reach and as durable as a tank. Freak or what? He matches a guy like SRL for height and surpasses him in reach. That's a tough night out when his durability is the polar opposite to expectations of the build.

 

I met someone who sparred him.

 

Glad to see we're on the same page with respect to Johnson; moreover, yo momma had carnal relations with Butterbean.




...After he left boxing for MMA.

 

This provides for a good opportunity to slip this tidbit in. We all know Johnson's right cross is the final punch shown before the film stops on 99.9% of available versions, which appear to be all sourced from the same original, arbitrary editing to suggest it was the EXACT moment the police shut down the cameras. Like one of those stop and pause moments when you're then asked "So what do think happens next?" Well, Tommy does look like he's heading face down toward the canvas for ALL money.

You guys might've discussed this before but I doubt that I am the only one to have seen a few extra seconds beyond the point that most Johnson v Burns footage stops. Tommy definitely does not in fact go down at that point, he somehow remains upright and Jack lands a few more shots if I recall that part correctly. I've made a recent push to find said footage but no luck so far.I bought a set of VHS tapes years ago from a nondescript discount store that were called Fights of the Century or something like that. They weren't from Jimmy Jacob's GFOTC series. Each volume just included randomly spliced HLs of old time fights, you could be watching Baer v Galento one moment and then it would be Willard v Moran the next. LOL, it was all over the place. Anyway, If the commentary wasn't original it still sounded very old all the same. I'm only guessing that's where I saw the unedited footage. I would assume it was simply artistic licence for the film to be edited and halted as it was because it did appear that Burns was going to hit the deck a split second later. Anyway, can anyone please corroborate me on this so as to avert me from thinking that I'm taking crazy pills or self implanting false memories. LOL.

PS - Also, eons ago I saw footage of Jack Johnson bull fighting in full matador garb. Very fuzzy memory on that mind you but I'd put money on it being out there.

 

Your Momma IS Butterbean so that means your daddy is Larry Holmes... Which means...?

 

...that Carnera was just two Harry Grebs in a costume?

 

So you got to bring race into this huh?

 

Same weight? Wot?
Kids a monster. Could you tell me more about him?

 

All Grebs look alike to me.

 

I've heard somewhere that someone discovered that Henry Armstrong's heart is twice bigger than usual, maybe that explains the unlimited gas tank he possess

 

A +3" "ape factor" is not very much.
But his toughness when so lean is unusual.

 

Do we have any sources for that, as far as we know? The LA Times reported on his death, but despite going into detail about various other ailments he had, they sadly don't mention any autopsy exam of his heart.

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-10-24-sp-113-story.html?_amp=true