I have a hard time believing this. Quarry had some mixed results against the second teir of his own era. If he had fought in the 30s I would expect him to pick up a loss to sombody like Loughran or Rosenbloom.
I agree he had his limitations and of nights, this is why I chose that specific era .. I think the same can be said of Schmeling/Sharkey/Carnera/Baer or Braddock ...
You make some very good points, and I'm not disagreeing with any of them. But, you have to consider that the era stretching from about 1968-1974 when Quarry was basically in his prime, had a lot of depth, even in the second and third tiers. At his best, Quarry was convincingly and even easily beating Ron Lyle, Earnie Shavers, Buster Mathis and Mac Foster. He also won a close fight against an aging Patterson, who although was past it, probably still had more skill than a lot of the early 30's crop. Jack Bodell was not much of a great fighter, but he was on a pretty good winning streak and the EBU champion, when Quarry dispatched him in one round. Not saying that this would have guaranteed Quarry the rights to the title back in the day, but I firmly believe that he would have been among the elite contenders. He was still pretty green when he lost a close decision to a seasoned Macken. He was handely beating Chuvalo when he got careless and was decked, only to miscalculate the clock getting back up.. He was also beaten by near prime versions of Frazier and Ali, who I think would have beaten anyone in the 30's, perhaps even a young Louis who lost to Schmeling. While these were all valid losses, I would not necessarily use them as a measuring stick when sizing Quarry up to the best of the 30's. At 6'1", 195 lbs, Quarry was on the smaller end of the spectrum for his era, but still faired quite well, especially for being a white man fighting during one of the best periods for black heavyweights ever. He actually would have been a man who's size perameters ranged anywhere from average to slightly above in the early 30's. His boxing skills, counterpunching ability and even to some extent, KO power was better than most. I think he could have decisioned, Baer, Braddock, Carnera and an aging Sharkey. Schmeling is a toss up. Louis is the only man that I would have comfortably bet money on to utterly destroy him..
The relaxed, cool, smart and elusive version of Jerry who took Thad Spencer to the woodshed would have driven the Max Baer of the Schmeling fight up a wall like Loughran did. (To appreciate what Quarry did to Spencer, it contextually helps to have seen Thad's preceding win over Terrell. Then it can be understood why Spencer was originally favored to win that WBA tournament.) Maxie would not have surprised Jerry with unexpected power like Chuvalo did. Quarry was much quicker with his hands, had better mobility with his smaller base (where Baer had to widen his stance for maximum power), and would likely be spidering Max into the ropes and corners where he could spring his entangling webs. No knockdowns, no stoppage, and no question about who the winner would be at the final bell. Max might take an early lead, but Jerry could come from behind with a vengeance, as he did with Mac Foster and Joe Alexander. (As for catching Quarry cold out the gate, ask Shavers and Bodell about that chance.)
I think Quarry would go Braddock one better, and outbox Maxie plus land some good power shots that may have discouraged him from the clowning around like he did with Braddock. I think Baer was convinced that at least Braddock couldn't hurt him, even if he was being outboxed. With Quarry, I think Max would have had more respect for Jerry's power.
Christ, I know Quarry was a good counter-puncher with decent boxing ability and power, but Quarry was no "Slick Willy" for cryin' out loud....... He was very hittable.... I also know Mad Max Baer was a plodding slugger with great power, however, he wasn't a total derelict at boxing; he just wasn't very good either...... MR.BILL
Quarry will never have the claim to having been a world champion the way that Max Baer was, but I DO feel he was a fundamentally better fighter and a man who both beat and lost to greater fighters. The only man from Baer's period who I feel was comparable to the 70's greats was Joe Louis... Baer fought the bomber when he was 22 years old and only a pro for a year, and got destroyed within 4 rounds. Carnera was viewed as a mediocre champion at best, fought Baer with a sprained ankle, had him outboxed for most of the early rounds, and took Baer's best before finally being beaten into submission. Braddock was one of the biggest underdog stories in the history of the sport and outboxed Baer convincingly... Baer's style on film reflects a man who left himself open nearly everytime he threw a punch, which is a bad thing to do against one of the division's greatest counterpunchers.. The only thing that makes Max a force in this fight, is Quarry's tendency to cut and bleed combined with Baer's raw power and aggression.... For this reason, I think Baer has a real chance at a stoppage, but I would not make him the favorite... From a skills standpoint, this is a technical mismatch..
Young Jerry Quarry, of the Thad Spencer fight was one helluva good fighter..this was before he matured and filled out...