Best fighters of the Decade - 1920 to 1929.

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by Boilermaker, Jun 12, 2011.


  1. janitor

    janitor VIP Member Full Member

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    He did climb to about #2 in the rankings, so lower end of the top 5 might be argued.
     
  2. lufcrazy

    lufcrazy requiescat in pace Full Member

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    Heavyweight only pal
     
  3. Duodenum

    Duodenum Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    A real case can be made that Dempsey, Greb, Wills and Tommy Gibbons, all peaked during the previous decade, and that Tunney clearly was the best HW during the 1920s. Wills was already 30 years old when Dempsey dethroned Willard. Gibbons was 28 when Toldeo took place. Greb's peak performance may well have occurred before a record crowd in Tulsa on the very day Jack ascended to the throne, when Harry thrashed Brennan over 15 rounds, his first of only two matches over the championship distance that year. Gene himself wrote that he felt his peak performance was in his final bout with Heeney.
     
  4. Boilermaker

    Boilermaker Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    I think that definitely that could be an argument but i am looking for more of a consensus and as unbiased as possible. I am thinking that realistically, you cant put him above the Tunney, Dempsey, Wills trio, despite the recent point that dempsey and wills might have been past prime. Also, looking at the two records, i dont see a realistic way to rate him ahead of Jack Sharkey, either. Sharkey was too consistent, and did actually beat him.

    It is quite clear that Jack Johnson's age and his losses to Wright, Lawson, Simmons have eliminated him from the top 10 of the decade. Sam Langford might be a different story. He beat Bearcat Wright, George Godfrey, Tiger Flowers, Bill Tate, Brad Simmons, Jim Flynn, Bob Devere, Jim Barry, Jeff Clark which is quite a decent run of fighters despite him retiring and winding down in the decade.

    Plus you can also add draws or no decisions with Wills, McVey, Jamieson. there are quite a few losses due to his high activity level but none of them are particularly damaging until about 1923, which makes him a factor for 3 years and he fitted more fights into that three year period than most do into a career. I think he might have done enough to push his way ahead of Godfrey and into the mid to lower half of the top 10. What does everyone else think of Langford's possible standing? He surely has to rate ahead of Godfrey doesnt he? Not a bad effort for an old blind guy whose career was finighed with the Fred Fulton result.
     
  5. Boilermaker

    Boilermaker Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Kid Norfolk is another who needs to be considered. The list of talent in this decade really seems to be endless. The Kid, had wins over Jeff Clark, John Lester Johnson, Bill Tate, Tiger Flowers, Battling Siki. He also has a close decision with Greb and a DQ win over
    Greb, where he seemed to have been the dominant fighter before the DQ. This is offset by losses to Wills and Tommy Gibbons and a split (but winning series with Lee Anderson who seems to have been a phenomenan until 1921 when he suddenly started losing nearly every fight). Norfold probably shouldnt rate too far behind Greb.

    Gibbons is another strange one. He has the long win streaks, but most of his opposition was questionable. He seems to have come out slightly the worst with Greb, despite probably shading one fight in a close series. And his KO win over Norfolk was his best win and Carpentier another good win. His showing against Dempsey was not a bad one either. His only blemishes were to the elite fighters of the era which is a consistency level which tends to suggest that he was class (although i suppose the alternate argument is that he may have been fed easy fights and failed when he hit the top level).
     
  6. SonnyListonsJab

    SonnyListonsJab Active Member Full Member

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    He made it to # 2 in a racist filled era where he was forced to be handcuffed in many of his fights. In my opinion, he was one of the most handcuffed fighters of all time. That doesn't make him the best, just the most avoided.

    He wasn't even allowed to participate in elimination tournament to challenge tunney because they were afraid a black man would win. Richard said the only way he would put him in the tournament is if he got paired with Knute Hansen in the first round and if they thought Godfrey would lose. When he was told Godfrey would spank the **** out of Hansen, Rickard said "Forget it then".
     
  7. Boilermaker

    Boilermaker Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Which fights were confirmed Handcuffs?

    Without confirmation (and i have no doubt Godfrey was better than his record suggests), you have to go with his record. Where do you think his wins and losses suggest he should be placed.
     
  8. Boilermaker

    Boilermaker Boxing Junkie Full Member

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  9. Boilermaker

    Boilermaker Boxing Junkie Full Member

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  10. Boilermaker

    Boilermaker Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    i havent got the link handy, but a nationwide poll was run to find Dempseys most credible opponents. from memory the votes were scored as follows:

    Harry Wills, Tommy Gibbons were one and two, and very close. I will have to dig out the article to find the remainders, and i think that Willard and Firpo were also on the list. Interestingly, Bob Roper (who had lost to Johnson a couple of years earlier) was nominated as one of the 6 best to consider.

    there are reasons why we might discard the Johnson win (ie inexperience), but still it is a good result by Johnson against a decent young gun. I think that i am starting to lean towards Jack Johnson being a much stronger opponent than he is generally given credit for in this decade, even if his location and politics meant that we did nto see him against the very best of the decade.
     
  11. SuzieQ49

    SuzieQ49 The Manager Full Member

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    1. Jack Dempsey
    2. Gene Tunney
    3. Jack Sharkey
    4. Harry Wills
    5. Harry Greb
    6. George Godfrey
    7. Tommy Gibbons
    8. Larry Gains
    9. Max Schmeling
    10. Billy Miske

    1920-1929