ATG LHW Tourney - Round 1 - Harry Greb vs Lloyd Marshall

Damn, Ladies and Gentlemen please put your camera's away for this one! We can't afford to let slip what Greb really looks like.

we get into the nitty-gritty of this intriguing hypothetical, I wanna quickly explain the rules of this little tourney. #1 the guys who are pitted against one another are hand picked to get around the small problem, that most of them already fought eachother amongst themselves.

All fights take place under early 50s rules, with a ref from the same era, over 15 rounds in an 18x18 foot ring between both men at their respective peaks.

The winner of the whole thing faces the defacto Numero Uno... Ezzard Charles.
_______________________
Alas, onto this fight. The man, the myth, the legend... Harry Greb (Seed #2) takes on the Roy Jones before Roy Jones, Lloyd Marshall (Seed #16).

Harry Greb, well you know the stories. The man who beat the Walker's, Rosenbloom's, Tunney's and Loughran's off the world, and has been described as a superhuman through texts at the time. His style was built around ferociousity without power, an offensive blur of punching volume, unorthodox angles, head-movement at a speed unmatched at the time. The man who fought for a stretch with one eye and one arm, routinely beating HOFers and amassing a roster with a claim to be the GOAT. The fabled fighter who fought dangerous HWs and even supposedly beat up Jack Dempsey in sparring. All we know, is just how damn good the men he beat were.

In the opposite corner, we have another mythical like fighter. Lloyd Marshall in his career was apart of the strongest era ever, and beat fighters like Charley Burley, Jake LaMotta, Holman Williams, Joey Maxim and Jack Chase. He certainly was no joke, the fight I've linked is his fight with caveman-esc future champion Freddie Mills. It's a decent watch for sure, and should definitely give you an idea of Marshall's style. A respectable puncher who could box with the best of them, claiming Jake LaMotta was easy work and even accusing Sugar Ray Robinson of ducking him.

This content is protected

Interestingly enough, these two would most likely be MWs, or within 5lbs or so, on fight night. These men are among the best LHWs ever, whilst not even being fully fledged LHWs...

Be the judge people! Who takes this one?
No post, no vote... Ardies.

 

ATG résumé. Minimalist style, awesome off the ropes. Troubled by fouling, not impervious to damage, but decently durable, and didn't fight many guys like Greb (ie: swarmers) but soundly beat the best one he did. He definitely had an affinity for fighting the boxers of the era, rather than the scrappy fellas. Still, he fought an absolutely insane roster. A fight with Lytell would've give us an idea of this one, although Bert was a lefty. Marshall is packing decent pop too. Rocking Jake LaMotta multiple times and stopping an injured Charles.

Anyways, he had Marshall used a reaction based defence, wide stance and a nice lead hand. Good timing and trap setting abilities. Well placed feet when he moved, smart pivots and set properly to throw his punches. He's not slow, but he isn't a prime Billy Conn or anything.

I firmly pick Greb.

 

2 days left

 

Or obviously, Tommy Loughran