[FONT="]A battle between the quintessential Middleweight puncher VS the quintessential Middleweight swarmer. Would Greb overwhelm Fitz as he did so many others or would bob be able to land enough precise, powerful blows to put Greb out of commision. Who takes it? [/FONT]
I think that Greb would be a bad stylistic matchup for Fitz. In order to win Fitzsimmons would need a verry well thought out fight plan.
Fitzsimmons by brutal KO. He was used to rough stuff and hit way to hard especially to the body for Greb
Fitz was considered the better fighter by most contemporaries. He beat the better fighters. He had a far better win loss record. it is still pretty close though.
http://boxrec.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=146581&p=5115263#p5115263 This thread has a pretty good analysis (i think) of their top 10 opponents (or at least i was working down the list). You will have to read the whole thread and I am too busy to keep going for now, but i would love to hear some opinion by McVey, Janitor and some of the others on some of the matches and comparisons. To make things easier, below is the list provided in the discussion of 10 best opponents. I was up to Rosenbloom vs O Brien in the comparison. Greb vs Fitzsimmons Gene Tunney vs Jim Corbett Mike Gibbons vs Non Pareil Jack Dempsey Tommy Gibbons vs Joe Choynski Micky Walker vs Tom Sharkey Maxie Rosenbloom vs Philadelphia Jack O Brien Kid Norfolk vs George Gardner Battling Levinsky vs Peter Maher Jack Dillon vs Gus Ruhlin Billy Miske vs Jim Hall Jimmy Slatterly vs Harris Martin
I think Creedon and McCarthy were better than Martin. And he fought them in more serious fights. I really don't think it's clear at all who's the best out of Creedon, McCarthy and Hall. Perhaps McCarthy since he's the only one of the 3 with a win over either of the others anywhere near their prime.
Tunney [better all round] Gibbons[cleverer boxer and a little bigger] Gibbons [size advantage,but if Joe lands solidly] The next two matches are tossups imo Norfolk [not confident on this one] Maher[I think he would land something big] Ruhlin was very inconsistent on his best night he could win anything less and Jack beats him. Miske Slattery I'm not up to speed with Martin, so I picked Jimmy. Great thread BTW Moi? I'm undecided!
Arguably two of th top 5 greatest P4P. Contrary to what some think, I believe Greb's chances are better the longer this goes. At his peak, Harry started well and got faster as the rounds passed. Fitz seemed to like a more static target which he will not find in Greb. Otherwise, really not much of a size difference. Fitz is a few inches taller but reach and weight are relavitvely similar. I tend to thinks Greb could take this, but am susceptible to being swayed.