ATG FLYWEIGHT TOURNIE: QF 4 - MIDGET WOLGAST UD15 FRANKIE GENARO

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by McGrain, Apr 25, 2020.


Who will win?

Poll closed Apr 28, 2020.

  1. Midget Wolgast

    4 vote(s)
    80.0%

  2. Frank Genaro

    1 vote(s)
    20.0%
  1. McGrain

    McGrain Diamond Dog Staff Member

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    Would have been a worthy final. Midget Wolgast chopped up Horacio Accavallo in the first round for a clear UD while Frankie Genaro unleashed a body-attack late to place Hiroyuki Ebihara under control and coast home to a decision. Now they come up against one another, two guys who could reasonably have expected to be in the last two.

    Midget Wolgast (Seeded 4) is one of the most outrageous geniuses in fistic history. His boxing was a conflation of dizzying defensive wonderment and mobile attacking brilliance. He feinted his opponent forwards and then moved off the center line, his reactions to any offensive foray a deft slip of the head, but his own offense was what differentiates him from other great defensive wizards. Wolgast, who couldn’t punch to save himself, was unequaled at firing off blows while on the move. His bread and butter was a shrill pop of a jab that he could land whatever angles his balletic movement inflicted, and as an improviser, he was second to none. When the time came to scrap, he moved in on his man, head working like a cat about to strike, deploying a swarming body attack of dizzying variety. He was a jazz musician in a pair of boxing gloves, and domination was his art.
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    Olympic Gold medal winner Frankie Genaro may have been a genius. We have to be careful about hanging such a tag upon him as footage is at a premium, but nothing I have ever read has dissuaded me from this thinking. His brilliance was most crystallized in his three-fight series with the puncher Pancho Villa. Just as the fights between Pone Kingpetch and Fighting Harada represent a special clash of styles so too do these two seem to have sapped the far reaches of excellence from one another although here there was never any doubt as to who was the better; Genaro took the decision from Villa on all three occasions.

    Genaro’s great career was defined by Villa but not limited to it. He also defeated many of the finest names from a stacked era, many of whom will be familiar to readers of this series. Valentin Angelmann, Ruby Bradley, Emile Pladner, Steve Rocco and Frenchy Belanger all fell to him at one time or another (though Pladner also once defeated him with an exquisite sounding liver-shot). It adds up to one of the most rendered resumes in the history of flyweight boxing.
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    Who would win this clash of the titans under the following rules?

    15 round fight.
    1950s referee.
    8oz boxing gloves.

    Cast your vote and explain yourself in a post below! You have 3 days.
     
    McGrain, Apr 25, 2020
    McGrain, Apr 25, 2020
    #1
    roughdiamond likes this.
  2. Eye of Timaeus

    Eye of Timaeus Well-Known Member Full Member

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    I've got the feeling Wolgast embarrasses him.
     
    Eye of Timaeus, Apr 25, 2020
    Eye of Timaeus, Apr 25, 2020
    #2
  3. roughdiamond

    roughdiamond Ridin' the rails... Full Member

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    Wolgast was truly a phenom and one of my favourites; a bebop boxing frenzy of attack and movement, with fierce speed, a brilliantly unpredictable jab, mastery of shifting stances and inside fighting tricks. He has some of the finest instincts seen in any fighter. I am acquainted with Genaro and his outstanding abilities, but I can't say I know of his depth - and I find it extremely hard to favour anyone at 112lbs history over a peak Wolgast. My vote goes to Wolgast, but I cannot give a more detailed breakdown as last time.
     
    roughdiamond, Apr 25, 2020
    roughdiamond, Apr 25, 2020
    #3
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  4. roughdiamond

    roughdiamond Ridin' the rails... Full Member

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    I don't think anyone 'embarrasses' Genaro. The guy was at the highest echelon of boxing class.
     
    roughdiamond, Apr 25, 2020
    roughdiamond, Apr 25, 2020
    #4
  5. McGrain

    McGrain Diamond Dog Staff Member

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    Nobody has a case for Frank?
     
    McGrain, Apr 27, 2020
    McGrain, Apr 27, 2020
    #5
  6. Tin_Ribs

    Tin_Ribs Me Full Member

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    I mostly agree, I think. I know more about Wolgast than Genaro, mostly due to more extensive footage of the great midge being available than of Frankie. It was the same with Ebihara in the first round but I couldn't on instinct pick against Genaro; the principle is similar here but reversed, and I can't go against Wolgast. If we had more footage of Genaro I might change my mind but it's hard to imagine many flyweights beating Wolgast, possibly any. The two who stick out to me are probably Harada and Chang and they're off the table. Zapata too I could see being hard for him to a lesser degree with his own eccentric brand of defensive wizardry and freakish physicality, though obviously Wolgast was greater.

    But yeah, I've gone for Wolgast on points.
     
    Tin_Ribs, Apr 27, 2020
    Tin_Ribs, Apr 27, 2020
    #6
    roughdiamond likes this.
  7. Man_Machine

    Man_Machine Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    I'll back Genaro; if only on the basis that, when he and Wolgast did actually meet, it is quite likely Genaro who deserved to edge the decision.

    The fight that was "Supposedly to Determine Something" and ended in a Draw, was roundly criticized for its dull lack of action. The extent of the disappointment was no doubt augmented by big pre-fight expectations. Perhaps it was a case of when the two masters met in combat, the cerebral aspect of the duel somewhat overshadowed the physical entertainment value.

    Whatever happened to create such a perceived stalemate, it is interesting to note that in three separate articles, including two documented Round-by-Round analyses, that I have found, all had it for Genaro, by a smidgen - Wolgast unable to tip the balance on the two or three rounds scored even.

    Moreover, in describing the action, it seems that however little that might have been, it was in the main decisive stuff. That is to suggest, any action clearly stood out in what was a relative scarcity of meaningful punches. And, if there is one thing, other than some of the press scoring I have read, which was made apparent in the reporting, it is Genaro's assaults to the body having been enough to stop Wolgast in his tracks and give Frankie the upper hand.

    Of course, Wolgast was able to launch attacks in such a way that made the expected appear unexpected and so he would also be in with more than a shout of taking rounds from Frankie, but I think Genaro's two-fisted attacks to the body would be the difference here. He was able to find the especially evasive Wolgast enough, to make a good argument for his taking 8 of 15, in December 1930. I would have bet on Genaro to take a legitimate Decision Win, in a rematch.

    UD 15 victory for Genaro.
     
    Man_Machine, Apr 27, 2020
    Man_Machine, Apr 27, 2020
    #7
    Tin_Ribs, roughdiamond and McGrain like this.
  8. McGrain

    McGrain Diamond Dog Staff Member

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    Midget Wolgast dominated the first three rounds and the last three rounds to emerge victorious from a tangled middlegame and to add his name to the ledger of semi-finalists. Frankie Genaro repeatedly sought out the punch that placed Wolgast in his box for their drawn 1930 contest but couldn't find the troubling shot until nearer the tenth, by which point Wolgast had scored with troubling volleys of his own. Despite being favoured by most observers for 10 through 12, Genaro clearly and decisively let the fight slip in the championship rounds.
     
    McGrain, Apr 28, 2020
    McGrain, Apr 28, 2020
    #8