"He could hit from impossible angles. Once, after Butterbean missed a right to my face, he spun all the way around so that his back faced me. I relaxed my guard and waited for him to turn around. But before I knew what was happening, his left was stuck in my mouth. I still don't know how he did it, but he hit me while his hands faced in the opposite direction." Lennox Lewis after a Butterbean sparring session.
Butterbean may have been the greatest fighter, pound-for-pound, who ever lived. Certainly, he was among the top 2 or 3. He combined the speed of Ray Robinson, the durability of Jim Jeffries, the stamina of Henry Armstrong, and the unbridled ferocity of Stanley Ketchel with a will to win unsurpassed in the annals of sport. At his peak, he was unbeatable, defeating virtually every middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight of his generation. A great, great fighter. – Historian Eric Jorgensen
SIX? Not a chance. - but a "late prime" Bean vs Vitali in a 4-rounder? I'd seriously give him a decent chance. The guy had an immensely powerful punch in both hands, and remarkable speed considering his size. In his "late prime" he also became quite a decently skilled boxer, with surprising ability to block & duck punches. His only weakness was that, of course, he would start to gas early. That's why he was called "The King Of The 4 Rounders." It's easy to knock him, or see him as a circus act, but he wasn't. There were actually a few years when even serious fans thought he had a chance to shake up the division.
It wasn't slickness. It was chicken fat. But still, the man had power & skills, and deserves respect.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kSUhjCVs14[/ame] Shame the McNeeley bout got stopped so early, I would have paid money to see "the Hurricane" get knocked out. But the Bart Gunn KO remains his best KO, guy got hit flush on the chin by an overhand right and he turned into a bobblehead.
People fail to remember vitali could crack tooo ESP his 20's for those who dont know he was 27-0-27 ko's at one point
Sshhhhh don't you know a Prime Mitchell Rose would dispatch any hw? [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FYo5w0l2b4[/ame] ... Eric did seem to take those last few overhands(before he got pushed to the ropes) clean. Though he didn't knock the Bean down. [url]http://www.eastsideboxing.com/weblog/news.php?p=13752&more=1[/url] Rose also got in a streetfight with Tyson...