A lot of great talents have pretty shitty wins, Corbett probably the most of all. A lot of fighters with Corbett’s record equivalency also had plenty of experience before going professional like Corbett did like Loma or Usyk. I’ve read that Corbett was like 59-0 including exhibitions in a readup before a fight, and he frequently exhibited as well as sparred very formidable little men that he was able to keep up with like Nonpareil Dempsey, Donovan, Choynski, McCoy depending on if you believed it were a fix or not. The Jackson performance was also impressive as he was able to hold the best technical heavyweight from the era evenly even before the ankle injury impacted Jackson’s performance severely.
Not a win but there was the already nominated Jackson fight. Not bad at all. Otherwise, I obviously only mentioned certain performances (not wins) that he could be given credit for when due context is taken into account. Not to boost old Jim beyond his achievements but he probably wasn’t as bad as some might have him. He outboxed the more heavily praised Jeffries for the greater part - and though deemed a powderpuff puncher he did drop Fitz heavily inside of 6 rounds and, per reports, he also managed to rock the mighty Jeffries. Ironically, after the rematch 2 years later, it was Jeffries who was credited as having dramatically improved as opposed to the more obvious conclusion that an even older and again inactive Corbett had gone back even more.
59-0 is the BS Mendoza propagated to boost Jeffries. Corbett's official record is20 fights,11 wins,4 losses and 3 draws. His best wins? Sullivan ,a 34 years old alcoholic who had not fought for nearly 5 years,and it took him 21 rounds to wear him down. Jake Kilrain a six round win in which the rounds where anything from1 minute plus to 2 and a half minutes,a fight in which no infighting was allowed. "Kilrain seemed much heavier than usual for this contest and may not have trained seriously. No in-fighting was allowed, which favoured Corbett .[It was noted that just a few days earlier Kilrain and his troupe of boxers and wrestlers were arrested following the accidental death of one Tom James, a citizen of Dallas, TX." Charlie Mitchell 165lbs whoop de doo! He'd fought 9 rounds in the previous 2 years. Kid McCoy who, that same year weighed 163 lbs for a fight. This fight must have an asterisk attached to it as there are grounds for believing it was a fake. Choynski? He was a 3 fight novice. McCaffrey 175lbs 9-4-3 Hadn't fought for 2 years ,when he had been beaten by158lbs Dempsey. Fitz 157lbs ko'd Corbett with one body shot. Sharkey manhandled him and was robbed Jeffries ko'd him twice . How many men 180lbs and over did Corbett face? Corbett against Liston would be an obscene mismatch.
The 59 fight thing might be BS with the way Mendoza used to spin it, but from what I remember the main criticism was including exhibitions. If this is the case, it does still reflect how much experience Jim had out of the professional scene. Some of the most talented amateurs rack up a lot of their experience before going pro, either through amateur boxing or through consistent sparring with elite boxers which is what Corbett appeared to do and very early on. That isn't even taking into account the exhibitions Corbett had consistently, and with whom. It's just a fact that some of boxing's great talents throughout the years didn't have many pro fights but it didn't affect their class as a fighter. Usyk only has about 20 fights, same with Lomachenko. Even an elite technician like Jimmy Britt was able to hold his own against Gans and with less than 20 fights himself. I believe that Britt was also a decorated amateur as well if I remember, as was Corbett. A lot of these supremely talented guys don't end up having incredible professional records and resumes. Like I said earlier, I agree that Corbett's winning resume sucks. I'm in a similar field to you there, though not 100%. I think Corbett's performances against McCoy and Choynski still impress in spite of his size advantage, because Corbett was not only smarter but faster than two middleweights that were known for their intellect and speed. Choynski was also quite a decorated amateur himself and found himself as a contender less than two years after fighting Corbett, I don't think his mere 3 fight record reflects his skills in a similar manner to how I don't think Corbett's record reflects his own. McCoy is an all time great, yet was no match for Corbett in any department of the game including intellect and speed. Depending on if you think it's real of course, which from my reading it appeared to be so. And then of course there is Corbett's performance against Jackson, perhaps his finest hour? Jackson had an ankle injury, but that didn't appear to significantly impair him until the latter half of the fight. Jackson was roughly 200 pounds and wasn't a creampuff hitter. He held Jackson evenly, which nobody barring Goddard did during his prime. Even more impressively, Corbett held Jackson even at his own game; the technical one. I don't think we can fully take that away from Jim. There is also the Jeffries performance, however it seems like his success there had more to do with Jeff's approach to the fight by trying to box with Corbett as well as his poor front foot defense and finishing skills. I don't give Corbett much slack for being KO'd by Bob, arguably the hardest hitting man of his own size who has ever lived and one who likely weighed around 170-175 rather than 157. Fitz needed a prolonged beatdown in those later rounds to take out Corbett as well, so did Jeffries who was a decent puncher himself. Corbett was out of shape for Sharkey 1 and made a much better account of himself in Sharkey 2, though I think it's important to keep in mind that nobody appeared to think that the Corbett of the Sharkey fights was the same Corbett who fought Jackson and Sullivan.
This is a good post but it still doesn't address the fact that Corbett hasn't the resume of an ATG.Exhibitions are not fights,and nobody has been able to dig up more pro fights ,wins or losses for Corbett,and this isn't some obscure trial horse this man was the world's heavyweight champion. Nor do losses, however the manner of them, change the fact that they are not victories. Bob Davis was in Fitz's camp and in his corner for the Corbett fight,he stated unequivocally that Fitz was weighed the morning of the fight and was146 1/2lbs.Davis said Fitz''s comment was ,"I'm still a middleweight now let's see wot appens." According to ringside reports Fitz did not inflict a prolonged beat down on Corbett,and finished him with one body shot. Corbett himself stated the Sullivan he beat was not the man who had beaten Ryan and Kilrain.so his best win is over a nearly 5 years retired,34 years old man who had dissipated himself for years. The McCoy affair should be viewed with suspicion imo,it left a stink that impelled Corbett to leave the country. Corbett 's debacle with Sharkey the first time around also had a strong aroma of fix about it. Jackson was perceived as slightly past his prime when he fought Corbett,and the rounds after the 20th were described as somnambulistic. Once champion Corbett avoided Jackson. Corbett has one of the worst winning resumes of any champion,and I would not be entirely surprised if Carl Froch proved capable of beating him.