IMO Byrd beats him, Quarry was a lot better when guys would come at him, I feel Byrd wouldn’t take many risks and wouldn’t need to since he has the longer reach and is faster. Who wins this matchup?
Quarry would beat Byrd up. Other than defense, Byrd does nothing better than Quarry. And, Byrd doesn't hit hard enough to discourage Jerry.
Ellis wasn't a big puncher either and he weighed considerably less than Byrd. It wasn't Ellis's power that bothered Quarry it was his movement and skills. I see this as a winnable fight for Byrd, Quarry was a counter puncher and he would find the elusive Southpaw style of Byrd a troubling style to deal with. No one would get stopped in this fight but I see Byrd winning a decision.
I know that it was mainly his skills that got him the fight, but Ellis WAS a good puncher at heavyweight. He had Shavers wobbled in the first round ahead of the knockout, floored Bonavena multiple times, and had his moments against Quarry and Patterson. He was under the cruiser limit, but I don't think that makes the difference in power here.
Byrd wins a comfortable decision. Chris was elusive and lightning fast with those combinations. It would look like the Ellis fight but with Byrd winning by a wider margin.
It’s pretty much anybody’s fight but what makes me skeptical about Quarry is he often lost to boxers like Jimmy Ellis and the aged Eddie Machen as well as arguably to an aged Patterson twice on fair cards. Not saying that Byrd was better than Patterson or Machen but he certainly wasn’t any worse than them when they were past prime.
