At his very best, How good was Max Baer?

Creamed him...jus creamed him!!!:bbb

 

6'2 210 lbs of muscle...had one of the best right hands ever...he seems to have never been the same after the Campbell and Schaaf fights...good chin...big personality...who knows how good he could have been...he'd have been a big star today...

 

With his over the top like able personality combined with his ferocious punching power he would be a shot in the arm for boxing and the heavyweight division today for sure. There was a day that the Heavyweight Champion was arguably the biggest name in all sport, if not the world.





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this is a perfect description of Max Baer :good

 

In the end, he was a hack, a talented, but not hyper-talented, guy who learned only to over commit on his punches, had no balance or sense of pace, who never understood economy or form, who had almost zero defense... Everyone wants to play armchair psychologist but even after the Schaff debacle he went out looking to knock guys heads off. Guys like Liston, Holmes, Ali, Tyson, Lewis, Wlad would brutalize him.

 

More likely than not yes. But having a solid chin and a big punch has carried a lot of guys pretty far in the HW division. Mercer KO'd a hanful of decent fighters and gave a prime Lewis fits with those attributes alone.

 

I think he a great sense of pace, as shown in the Carnera and Schmeling fights.
Very confident in going a distance.

 

Yeah, whiskey makes me rather harsh.

I'll give you my vino appraisal later. Should be more forgiving.

 

Switch to blended? :banana

 

:good

 

good points and very true how a solid chin neutralized big punchers, Mercer is a fine example and Quarry is another. Max had a Murderous right hand, he was also not always in condition but if he landed that right hand you would be fortunate to survive it. I can see him landing it on Holmes, Lewis,etc. but Max would have to be in condition

 

Baer never liked boxing. He did it because he was good at it. How good was he? He had an all time right hand, and took a good punch. That would make him dangerous in any era. I do not see Baer being a champion in either the 70's or 90's, but I do think he could have a signature win or two, and rate as a top 10 fighter for a few years.

I find Baer's skills on offense to be lacking. Baer wasn't much of a jabber. I also find his skills on defense lacking. In his time he was able to get away with a lot of things because back then he was a big man who can hit.

 

Max Baer was a terrific physical specimen, had tremendous punching power (especially with his right hand) and could take a punch quite well. But he was a bit of a front runner and lacked the dedication, desire, consistency and skill to be a all-time great fighter.

- Chuck Johnston