Bob Fitzimmons v Harry Greb

Let's not forget Fitzsimmons' 20 round decision over George Gardner.

Also, Matt brought up a good point on the first page, that Fitz fought differently at middleweight and could be something of an aggressive slugger.

I wonder if it would benefit Fitz to storm after Greb? Perhaps after a few rounds of countering.

 

It's an interesting arch up much like Greb and Dempsey or Greb vs Marciano ... can these guys land on him is the question over some point in a long contest .. Fitz was pretty damn fast as a middleweight from all I read and very cagey ... With all the hats off to Greb and his success against heavyweights he did have to fight for his life twice against the terrific Kid Norfolk, a very strong, fast and hard hitting light heavyweight .. the best key to beating Greb would have been the best combination of speed, power and stamina ... Fitz may have done the trick with some very nasty body shots or he may have been swatting at air .. I simply do not know ..

 

I wasn't comparing Fitz and Sam stylistically. Only that the two best punchers of this weight wouldn't beat Greb IMO.

Greb ran through styles.

 

I think Greb would tank Corbett

 

A thought on Langford vs Greb. Many years ago Nat Fleischer who loved
Sam Langford as an all-time great was asked this question on his question box in an old Ring Mag. "What round would Sam Langford catch up to Harry Greb and ko him "? Fleischer answered his reader," I don't think
Langford could catch up to Harry Greb at any time". Unquote....Greb
was described as having "rubber" legs thus enabling him to avoid danger from much larger opponents in a 300 bout career....Plus his opponents
were busy absorbing leather in their faces round after round...Tough combo for his opponents to overcome...

 

Fair enough. Fitz was a wonderful fighter and an all time- puncher ,he put men 40/50 lbs heavier into comas. The guy was a force of nature. Langford was more modern in his mo. A different ball game entirely.

 

Tommy Loughran also said the secret to beating Greb was to go to the body.

 

Yes he did.:good He also said the secret was to start off fast/

 

I think a prime Sam Langford would be too much for Greb … Sam had speed, power, chin strength and stamina .. he kept up with a prime Gans and Blackburn .. he'd close out what Nofolk came close to doing twice .. however by no means would it be easy ..

 

AGREED. Common sense to any fighter who has trouble reaching his opponent's jaw...

 

The small gloves and liberal clinching would definitely favor Fitz, since his (heavyweight) style is demonstrably built around them.

Dozens of rounds are a different question, and I agree that Greb would be well prepared for a fight to the finish.

 

How many of those guys who employed a body punching strategy actually defeated Greb? I agree that if you wanted to actually land on him your best bet was the body but even when that tactic was employed it very very very rarely proved successful. Even Greb himself scoffed at the notion as quoted in my book.

Yes, Fitz may have fought more aggressively as a MW but again, that change in a more conservative style also coincided with his fighting bouts scheduled for longer than 4 and 6 rounds.

Yes I had forgotten about Gardner. The point is that Fitzsimmons travelled 20 rounds, 14, rounds, 13, 12, 11 etc a handful of times in his career. Greb may well have been better equipped over a long route.

 

Hiya Matt. I don't think Greb's style would allow Fitz to stick with his ultra-conservative style of combat, do you? Greb would definitely make Fitz fight at a pace that would not be to Bob's liking. As you know, he wouldn't be able to just stand there while Harry is plastering him with leather all over the place. He would be forced to fire back at a much more rapid clip than he'd ever seen.

With that in mind, I think Greb is at an advantage as far as stamina goes.