Better All-Around Fighter: Primo Carnera or Riddick Bowe?

*steps out of the time portal*

Ah, this is the first sin that doomed us all. Janitor. Little did you know you are the undoing of Classic. I’ve come back to this bygone age to save us from your lack of humanity.

So to begin our duel I ask you- Whom beat the more stellar competition?

 

Since you bumped this thread, I might as well say something controversial.

Somebody mentioned how serious, interesting discussions of old vs modern died out around 2018, and I have to wonder whether this thread was a Waterloo of sorts for the more "old school" inclined part of the forum. They deployed the same kinds of arguments for Primo that you see used to bolster a lot of old school fighters, but the difference here was that Carnera is persona non grata among traditionalist boxing fans as well. And he was pitted against Bowe, a blood and guts fighter whom even the traditionalists appreciated.

So suddenly a lot of middle of the road or conservative leaning folks saw the same arguments they'd once used to support (e.g.) Marciano or Dempsey or Johnson being used to protect Primo Carnera of all people. I have to wonder how much that discredited the traditionalist project more broadly -- especially since that faction lost in the most one sided, resounding way that a large scale controversy could conclude on these forums. The wrong hill to die on.

I do notice a bit less deference to the "old school" fighters these days compared to a while ago on Classic, and I can't help but wonder whether the modern-inclined posters can thank Da Preem for that...

 

Oh you poor soul. Da Preem isn’t a simple case of Classic boxer nostalgia he’s a religious figure amongst us enlightened ones.

 

If you take Holyfield out of the equation, then Carnera comfortably.

 

124 pages

 

Single wins- Bowe is the winner correct?
This is where it begins.

 

Correct.

You could perhaps make a case for Carnera having the #2 win between them.

 

If we consider his second win over Holyfield. No. So I’d like to hear Carneras best win?

 

Carnera's best win is Sharkey II, and that is a pretty good one, given the opponent and the nature of the win.

Where you rate Bowe's second win over Holyfield, depends on whether you believe the arguments that Holyfield was in a bad way going into that fight.

 

Bowe would have stopped Carnera in a round, no way could Carnera evade Bowe`s handspeed.

 

Bowe would have beat the hell out of Sharkey, he was better in every department.

 

Unbelievable!
Old Primo sure does whip up strong emotion s on here.

 

I disagree, but that is not actually what we are debating here.

We are comparing their opposition.

 

Again I disagree, but again it is not particularly relevant. to what we are discussing.

 

This thread again, just look at the poll