"Greb is one of the most peculiar boxers in the business. He seems to be wide open, yet is a difficult man to hit. He tears in, you can't cross him, at least Levinsky couldn't. He's strictly an awkward clever boxer." Buffalo Commercial, February 18, 1919
I can imagine how much criticism Greb would get by the modern eyes if we had footage, no way he would be considered the GOAT pacifically (not that he is but it would be harder to make a case.. maybe).
What I have heard concerning Greb has been non stop punching but also non stop holding and hitting. I’ve read he was “guilty of holding and hitting in his every bout”.
Only after 1921, when his eyesight began deteriorating. Loughran and Tunney were actually quite adamant about Greb not being a dirty fighter and that he had too poor a rap
It honestly wouldn't make any difference to me whether he looked sublime or awful. He still did what he did.
You could counter that Tommy Burns looks rather good, and that Ketchel still did better vs the same opposition.
Too many wrote Ketchel was the best to think otherwise. Problem is the only filmed bout of Greb was vs Papke (aside from a very possible faked bout vs Johnson) and it was an absolute stinker and thought so at that time. So we really have nothing visual to assess Ketchel.
as I always say there is Enough Film Footage of Plenty of TOP Fighters from Every Era, yes much of it Shite, however from what we can SEE, we just need to Cross Record Check - see Who Beat Who - How they did, Winning or losing and how the fight(s) are described.. That's ALL One Needs for Any Fighter... how can you not make assessments from that Plus, coupled with all that are Numerous - HUNDREDS & Thousand even of REPORTS! I don't need to see anyone really (though obviously I'd Love too), to believe & envision how they fought. I will say again, putting things in perspective there were & ARE Better Era's that followed, so, for me this Era - though Tough, Hard and Capable Prizefighters, falls short from the late 1920s onward!
If Ketchel had anywhere near Greb's resume, hell, if he had 4 months of 1919 of Greb's resume, he would be easy to defend, no matter how he looked.
Nobody should look that crude... Papke included. I´m sure they both had qualities that from the outside we can´t see though, like ring IQ (in order land the best punches or whatever). Yeah, even if I find the "Burns looks good" narrative a bit exaggerated, there is much more to it than punching form or sharpness of movements, I agree....
Sure, Seamus, but listen, it would be so much better if Greb looked like a Fighting Harada type rather than a Sam Soliman kind of guy in the ring... we´ll never know, but I was reacting to what Corbett says there "wide open". I can only imagine how the 'textbook nazis" would react to him...