He talks about Dempsey, Walker, Tunney, Doc Kearns (who he doesn't seem to like much) and Jack Johnson: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TbItAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uMwEAAAAIBAJ&dq=greb%20norfolk&pg=2638%2C5785041 The writer does make a mistake in saying that Shade "beat" Harry Greb. They never fought, though Greb did trounce Dave's brother. Harry Greb vs. Dave Shade would have been one hell of a fight! Be sure to check out the pictures, too.
Thanks for the post Surf...Really enjoying these articles.:good Addendum: Ray Robinson did share the ring with someone that emulated Dave Shade...Jake LaMotta.
You're welcome, sir. I think the difference between Shade and LaMotta is that Shade fought out of a type of crouch that couldn't be imitated. I saw a pic of him in it once and it was CRAZY. Picture Pernell Whitaker doing his "dipsy-doo" exaggerated crouch (but for the ENTIRE FIGHT!) and you'll get the picture. His chin practically touched the floor. He would bob way up and way down, making him an extremely difficult target. I've read it described as an "elevator" or "Jack-in-the-box" style. Shade explained that he had "short legs, but a long waist", which enabled him to pull this off. His career speaks for itself, no? :smoke Look at some of those names: http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=013658&cat=boxer
He beat Mickey Walker, Ace Hudkins, Ben Jeby, Al Gainer, Jock Malone, Jimmy Slattery, Augie Ratner, Bert Colima, Rene DeVos, Ted Moore, Roland Todd, Frank Moody, etc. All top men. He also fought 2 draws with WW champ Jack Britton. In the first one he dropped Britton. The second was a majority decision draw in which one judge tabbed Shade the winner. Clearly this man was a handful for anyone, from WW up to light-heavy.
This content is protected I've seen a pic where he was actually LOWER than this, if you can believe that. And he would bob up and down like this for an entire 15 round fight. This content is protected
This content is protected Greb said that Jeff Smith gave him his hardest fights, saying that Smith's "awkward, crouching style played havoc with my own style." I wonder how he would have dealt with Shade's crazy crouch? I pick Greb to win, but not easily.
Whoa... that is a serious crouch. Yeah Mike Capriano was LaMotta's early trainer. Capriano and Shade were friends...and Capriano trained Jake in a 'bob and weave' style. Read that from an old Ring magazine. It's interesting to know that some thought Shade deserved the verdict over Mickey Walker. Walker himself fought in a similar position (not that low though!) I always thought Walker did that to whip the left hook over with snap(and to roll with right hands)when leaning towards the right in that crouch. It's sounds like Dave Shade would have given anyone trouble. At the time right before Harry Greb passed, I read that he was considering fighting Shade. In a prime for prime match up, I believe I would definitely take Greb...due to overall speed.
Wish I could find that other pic where he's crouching even lower. His fight with Slattery must have been something to see from a stylistic standpoint. Slats fought in a bouncing kangaroo style ala Cassius Clay. So you have him bouncing UP and DOWN and Shade bobbing DOWN and UP. Must have looked like two storks in one of those weird mating dances you see on Animal Planet.
Nice little piece. Clearly starstruck over Dempsey. Is there any footage of Shade? I have never seen any.
S, yes Dave Shade was "starstuck" over Jack Dempsey along with almost everyone who saw the prime Dempsey in action, too numerous to mention. Were all these boxing figures wrong or are Dempsey's detractor's on ESB 90 years later , wrong ?...Dempsey at his best was pure and simple, an animal in the ring who as Sharkey opined, "could hit you anywhere on the body and break a bone " !.... And when he was at his best a match for anyone, anywhere, any time and any weight...:hi:
There is training and sparring footage out there. And of course, the Slattery fight was filmed as it was part of the Greb-Walker card. Now we just need to find it!
Looks like Dempsey really respected Shade's ability: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Yj8uAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SNgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3794%2C1125408 This is an excerpt from a brief interview I nicked from a newspaper: Shade, still a trim 160 pounds or exactly what he weighed in his last professional bout in the old Auditorium here Feb. 4, 1935, gladly gave a demonstration of his famed crouch style. "You see, I was short-legged and long waisted, so this was good for me," he said as he crouched with his head only inches from the floor. Then he proceeded to show how he had knocked out highly rated Jimmy Slattery in the third round of the last bout before his championship meeting with Walker. "Slattery was a big fellow, and he came down to get me," Shade said. "I hit him in the belly and then in the chin, and that was it. When a man is off balance, it's easy to knock him out."
Barney Ross and Dave Shade. Funny if it's a true story: http://books.google.com/books?id=E0...AEwAzgU#v=onepage&q=dave shade boxing&f=false