Best five wins thread. Lineal / Ring Magazine heavyweight champions.

It's a bit like saying Moore vs Durelle was really a first round KO for Durelle, because that would have been the result if they had the three knockdown rule.

 

from what I’ve seen of the fight I always felt it was a pretty even contest. And with Godfrey’s history of foul outs I suspected the same thing that he may have just spit the bit. However it’s always referenced that he took a dive in a bout he was winning. Starting to think the writers created narratives to sell papers

 

I agree, I've seen this film and Carnera wasn't losing until the DQ.

Godfrey was huge and terrifying puncher, but I don't think he had versatile skillset. A shame that we didn't see him in other fights (or is any other fight of his available?).

To be honest, I don't buy most of stories about Carnera and fixing matches. In all footage I've seen Primo looked like a decent boxer with a lot of strength but lack of boxing coordination. He was also quite fast for his size and his jab was actually very good. I also haven't seen a single filmed fight of his that looks like a fix.

 

Many of his early fights were fixed,how many of them were filmed ?

 

See lists 29 fixed fights, the last one against Bud Gorman in 1931 with a few not clear. He was out of the picture by 1932.

 

Even if so, these early fights were against journeymen. When Carnera stepped up to top competition, he fought and beat some of top contenders square. He lost to the best he fought, but he was a decent (although limited) fighter. Far better than you give him credit for.

 

Carnera's entire career is given an asterisk (undeservedly imo as he had some good legitimate wins), yet the Hall of Fame is full of fighters who are known or suspected of fixing fights (Gans, McGovern, Carpentier, LaMotta), who seemingly get a pass for it.

 

See is about as far from being a reliable observer as you can get.

 

I'm not saying Carnera had 29 fixed fights, his estranged manager put it into print.

The hit on Carnera was that he had so many claimed fixes. The Godfrey fight BTW was not one of them. My take on it is with the protection he got early Carnera, learned a lot and then DeFoe polished up his skills, which, added to his strenght, decent speed and heart made him the top-class contender he became

 

Not so sure, it is easy to dismiss his claims as a disgruntled manager but he has decnt detail and an apparent "gra" for Primo.