Corbett and Loughran were very close of course. Gene never wrote that Harry was dirty. He would bounce in and out, and accidental butts would be a by-product of that if one did not protect the head, as important then as it should be now. One had to be a first rate boxer. Reportedly after squaring off with Mike Gibbons, Harry told his manager, "Next time, match me with one fighter at a time!" The other Gibbons brother is credited as the first to get the better of the Windmill after 1919. (Dempsey's slammed for not taking on Wills, but not credited for getting the best of Tommy Gibbons over the Championship Distance, a limit Tommy had previously gone multiple times, while the only time Jack went beyond ten was in the Brennan rematch. Brennan II established the Mauler's late round power, while Tommy Gibbons proved he could dominate over the Championship Distance.) There is a case for Loughran being the greatest jabber of all time, and among the top five stylists ever. His boxing greatness was widely acknowledged in post fight coverage of his bouts with Greb. Harry beat a number of guys we do have footage of, and some were decisive conquests. Along with his 45-0-0 1919, he went 25-1. The loss was Tunney's only decisive superiority over Greb in five meetings, but Harry got the best of the MW Champion he dethroned, southpaw Johnny Wilson (who would live to become boxing's first nonagenarian former Champion), Maxie Rosenbloom, and that past prime domination of up and coming already ATG Mickey Walker, which has monstrous H to H & P4P ramifications like Montreal and Duran-Hagler.) James Corbett died in February 1933 of liver cancer at 66. Sure would've been nice for him to stick around a decade or decade and a half longer like some of his opponents. We'd have enjoyed some wonderful analyses of guys like Louis from Gentleman Jim. (We already know from his praise of Loughran that he didn't necessarily disparage newer modern competitors. And in the case of Louis, Jack Johnson was among the few dissenters, accurately predicting Schmeling's win over the bomber, telling Nat Fleischer how Louis was off balance when he unloaded his jab. I do have 50 Years at Ringside where Fleischer details this flaw in the Bomber's jab as Lil' Artha' describes it. Doesn't mean Johnson didn't think highly of him.)
