Could We Realistically Expect Langford To Have Success V Modern Super Heavies?

Of course Fury has a clean looking record. He's only fought 1 ranked fighter in his entire career, which was Wlad. Langford would sometimes fight two or three top fighters in the same month and win all three matches. Fury has been a pro for 10 years and only has 27 fights while Tate in 10 years had twice as many fights and had to fight everybody.

That report means nothing, since I actually seen the fight. Also, the credibility of the article is in serious doubt when it claims Fury is 6'9" when he's 6'7". Also, Fury's jab wasn't effective after the first couple of rounds, since Page figured out the range and was timing Fury with counter rights. Fury started fouling and using elbows like he would later do against Cunningham, but Page being experienced knew how to deal with that. Fury was catching a lot of uppercuts and to the body and the head when he tried to bully Page. Keep in mind this was Page at 37 years old. If Tyson was the one landing those counter rights on Fury it wouldn't have taken long before Fury was on his back. That said height and reach can be neutralized and Langford was a master at doing both.

Also, better experienced?? Besides Cunningham and Wlad (old and shot) Fury fought a bunch of slow top heavy stiffs. Fury didn't do anything in 2015 that he couldn't have done in 2010, which says a lot about the current state of the division. Zack himself admitted that Medzhid was a tougher fight than Fury or Pulev, since Medzhid had faster hands and better timing either Fury or Pulev.

Zack Page vs. Tyson Fury

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Zack Page vs. Medzhid Bektemirov

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Weren't Chisora and Hammer ranked?

And why the **** do you keep showing him againsst Zack when Fury was 22?

 

We'll agree to disagree. I don't think that much of Fury really but his size and the way he utilizes it makes him (durable as well) a damn good pick for me over a guy more than a foot shorter, 65-70 peak pounds lightier and giving up just short of a foot in reach.

 

Probably not. Langford really was not too defensive on film and would have a very hard time getting past a skilled super heavyweight jab. He would have to learn defense and how to get very low coming in with a high guard adjustment.

Sam had long arms for his size, good power, and very good durability and energy. He could fight so he's not completely out of business.

The old timers that would be out of business are the ones who could not punch hard enough to get super hevyweight's respect. Corbett, Johnson, those types.

 

Why haven't you created a Jack Johnson vs Super heavyweights thread?

I think we both know the answer.

My reasoning is sound, Langford being tough with a powerful punch has a puncher's chance, but old-timers not known for power that will be giving up 5-6", and 30 or more pounds are completely out of business vs. skilled super heavyweights.

I did give another reference to a former champion you really don't care for if you paid attention to balance out my thinking. That doesn't make me anti-Corbett.

 

Not against the best of the best who are just too big and good but no doubt Sam was an exceptional fighter who would have dominated from 168 to cruiser.

 

You do occasionally get a fighter, who is a one off in the history of the sport, in terms of what they can do relative to their size.

I would make a plea for Langford to be considered such a case, because I don't think that any over 5' 7'' fighter has come close to matching him as a finisher.

 

Actually I'm not subtracting anything. I could post proof for each of those heights. Fury as an amateur was always listed at 6'7", but once he became a pro they started billing him at 6'9". For a guy that's supposed to 6'9" why is he the same height as Wach, who is 6'7" and pretty much the same height as Carmelo Anthony, who is 6'6.5?

Also, many of the old fighters I posted didn't have giant promotional machines behind them like modern fighters such Joshua, Wlad, etc.

Anthony Joshua 6'5.5"
https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/jo/anthony-joshua-1.html

Wannabe taller? 5ft 1" Geri Horner looks TINY compared to 6ft 5" Anthony Joshua at the Glamour Awards
https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/incomi...eley-Square-Gardens-London-UK-06-Jun-2017.jpg
https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/wannabe-taller-5ft-1-geri-10574412

Wladimir Klitchko 6'4.5" listed as 6'6" as a pro
https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/kl/wladimir-klitschko-1.html

Riddick Bowe 6'4.5" listed as 6'5" as a pro
https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/bo/riddick-bowe-1.html

Tyrell Biggs 6'4.5" listed as 6'5" as a pro
https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/bi/tyrell-biggs-1.html

Lennox Lewis 6'4" listed as 6'5" as a pro
https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/le/lennox-lewis-1.html

Chris Byrd 6'0.5" listed as 6'2" as a pro
https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/by/chris-byrd-1.html

Harry Wills next to 6'1.5" Joe Louis
https://media.gettyimages.com/photo...t-boxing-champion-is-very-picture-id517442048

Harry Wills next to 5'7" Sam Langford
http://www.josportsinc.com/item_images/1186065859.jpg

Sam Langford next to 6'6" Bill Tate
http://i40.tinypic.com/292l5z6.png

George Godfrey and 6'5" Primo Carnera
https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NjYzWDUzMA==/z/ID0AAOSw0kRbvoBl/$_35.JPG?set_id=8800005007

Primo Carnera standing next to 7'0" Robert Wadlow
https://i.imgur.com/qZtrKVU.jpg
https://thumbs.worthpoint.com/zoom/...giants_1_e7db2d602b052db2256d77c57ba1cc73.jpg

Wlad talking about Fury's dubious height
"He’s actually not as tall as people say, surprisingly. I’ve been at the press conference with him and I thought he was kind of the size of Mariusz Wach [6ft 7 1/2ins]. But obviously he’s taller than me, and I have set up with my camp manager and Johnathon the list of sparring partners. We got some guys from Ukraine, some from the States, some German guys. Statistics say whatever but in reality he is not as much of a giant as statistics say. In this fight, I’m the smaller guy though"
http://www.boxingnewsonline.net/wladimir-klitschko-tyson-fury-is-not-6ft-9ins/

Fury and 6'7.5" Wach
http://www.static.bokser.org/galler...srodek/mariusz-wach-tyson-fury-srodek-001.jpg

Tyson Fury and 6'6.5" Carmelo Anthony
https://www.proboxing-fans.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/tyson-fury-carmelo-anthony.jpg

Joseph Parker standing next to 6'3" Izu Ugonoh, who is listed as 6'5"
http://www.ringpolska.pl/images/stories/575/U/ugonoh_vegas.jpg

Izuagbe Ugonoh understands that he isn’t exactly who comes to mind when boxing fans think of Polish heavyweights. There was Andrew Golota. And Tomasz Adamek. And Artur Szpilka. Ugonoh definitely doesn’t look like them. The 6-feet-3, 230-pound Ugonoh has a perfectly sculpted physique, something straight from the cover of Muscle & Fitness.
https://www.*******.com/izu-ugonoh-unlike-any-polish-heavyweight-youve-ever-seen--113970

 

Ah yes, that giant promotional machine people need to round up on height.

The old timers clearly didn't have the kind of financial wherewithal or promotional backing to execute a small fabrication that cost absolutely nothing.

Sam wasn't big enough for a successful run at SHW in today's game. It doesn't take a book or a hundred pics micromanaging heights to rationalize it. There hasn't been a sub-200 pound heavyweight champ in decades, and there hasn't been a HW champ that short since Tommy Burns. It is what it is. It's no knock on Sam that people today don't want to see that.

 

As of now the count for these once in a century talents, as purported by Classicists, is 42.

 

You just proved my point. Also, back then it was easier to catch fabrications. If a fighter was marketed as 6'2", but clearly looked 5'10" the on lookers and record keepers would make a note of it. Tut Jackson and his backers tried to advertise him as 6'2" before a fight, but the buying public didn't buy it and demanded he be remeasured before the fight and it turned out he was 5'10". The Athletic Commissions in those days took any type of misrepresentation of a fighter's ring record or physical attributes very seriously in those days, which isn't the case today. Lamon Brewster was listed as 6'2" throughout his career, but when I met him in the late 90's he was 5'10" at most, but very wide at the shoulders.

Also, most of the modern cruiserweights are mediocre fighters today with a few rare exceptions. As far as being a successful smaller heavyweight it can still be done, but none of the guys want to put the work in. David Tua at his best was around 201-215 lbs, but got lazy and ballooned up and became useless as a top fighter. Chris Byrd was 6'0" and was around 200 lbs and made big Vitali, who was 6'6.5" quit and is the best win on Wlad's resume. Marvis Frazier was 5'11" and at his best at 198-205 lbs. Marvis had no problem with giants, since he beat Bonecrusher Smith (became a champ) and James Broad (had elite talent, but ate himself out a career). Qawi, who was 5'6" and had a shorter reach than Langford and wasn't as skilled Langford was had no problem timing and landing on the much bigger Foreman, but Qawi showed up fat, so he gassed out.

None of the top heavyweights are exactly masters of their crafts and none of the top heavyweights have a solid inside game while Langford could fight well on both the outside or inside.

 

Would you say that Langford's destructive prowess has been matched by subsequent fighters of his size?

If not then we are kind of on the same page here.

 

They weren't.