Back when belts were belts

For mine Harding's career could've been soooo much more. He was a great fighter who just couldn't seem to land the bigger fights. That he defended his strap in France is a tribute to that. I'd love to have seen Harding fighting constantly against the likes of Hill, Williams, Hearns, Czyz etc.

 

Up until the 10-11th round he was behind Andries let alone the 2 other blokes.

 

The thing is lads back in those days it was hard for Harding to fight at that standard on a regular basis ,Geographical location contributed to this problem i should imagine ,imo IF Harding would have done as Andries did and up sticks to America and trained and sparred with some of the other top ten lads in his division who's to say he wouldn't have come TOP DOG ? . One things for sure he wouldn't have been shown up or failed through ( As DSS stated ) lack of ticker , If i was an Australian i would be proud of Hardings Achivements BTW it warms the cockles of my heart to hear he is cleaning himself up and looking good of late . :good

 

****ing hell Welshie - say no to drugs, Saad Muhammed, Qawi, Spinks, Bob Foster and Archie Moore would have used The Hitman as target practice

 

Few moments in Australian sport made the hairs on the back of the neck stand taller than that heady night of Harding's! Puts Rocky Belboa in the shade!

And yes, championship belts did actually mean something in those days.

I remember an analogy told to me years ago regarding martial arts black belts. Story went that you could earn a black belt with years of blood, sweat and tears, or you could simply buy one from a martial arts supplier for $20. Bottom line being if you didn't earn it wouldn't actually mean a damn thing!

 

Calm doon laddie , What i was saying is Harding had the heart and skills to be placed inside the top 10 of any L/heavy era not be undisputed champ in them , You seriously think i would have him beating Moore , Franklin , Charles etc :nono

 

the guy that Leonard 'won' his LHW crown off to beat Hearns to be the first to win titles in 5 divisions?

 

Yes, that guy. I also could have included Czyz and a few others.

What I should have explained a bit clearer is that, though there were some guys around of that era that weren't top tier, I don't think it was the worst era for Light Heavys.

 

I dont agree that this was a 'weak period' for the light heavies. Perhaps lean by comparison to others, lacking in quality scienced fighters and seeing less $$$$$ turned over in bouts..... BUT, the guts, tenacity and heart of Hill, Andries and Harding make for a strong arguement against the belittling of the era.

 

Harding certainly had a big heart but what impressed me with his fights against Andries was his body punching.

 

Yeah the 175lb division suffered in quality in that era. Spinks had moved up not too long before after cleaning the division out. Spinks beat a number of really good boxers too, most of them moving up to the cruiserweight division which was another factor in the division being weaker. Still, Virgil Hill was no chump. I wouldn't go as far as rating him one of the greats, but he was a solid fighter who would have competed well in most eras.

 

did anybody catch Jeff Harding the other night on Thursday Night Live?