In June, !930, Max Schmeling captured the vacant Lineal HW Title by a win by DQ (Foul) over Jack Sharkey. In June of 1932, Jack Sharkey won the Lineal HW Title by a Split Decision in 15 rounds over Max Schmeling. It is now June, 1933, and they meet again to settle this rivalry. Who wins the Trilogy That Never Was?
I would favor Schmeling. From what I read he got shafted in that 15 rd decision. He should be up 2 - 0
Sharkey was done by ‘33, in fact he was basically done by ‘32 as well. The slow, blubbery man in the Schmeling rematch is almost unrecognizable compared to the guy who battered Carnera first time around.
Sharkey is a curiosity. His performances were up-and-down and a bet on him was a gamble on which Sharkey was going to show-up. That said, at this best, Sharkey was at least on a par with Schmeling and was probably capable of beating him, even though a Schmeling with a game plan was going to be a hard man to beat, either way. The unsatisfactory ending of the first fight and the robbery of their second encounter is something perhaps Sharkey would want to redress - to stamp some authority on the title he was gifted when they last met. I think this would make for an interesting first half. However, it's Schmeling's discipline and dogged determination that are the difference here. Sharkey couldn't be relied upon not to implode against a peer who was his equal in a fight and who was unlikely to be going anywhere until the final bell. The second half of the fight would see Schmeling take control and across the finish line ahead. On fair cards, Schmeling W UD (close but clear).
