Fragile fighters who won titles after they looked like they were done?

Those defeats were after he'd won the World Title. Have another glance at the thread title. No one thought of Barry as fragile before that. He was seen as a force of nature on the way up.

 

Possibly the worst pick ever.

 

A post in a different thread, which disparaged golden era fighters in favor of the 21st century crop, gave me the notion for a bump.

To hell with it. I'm formally nominating Larkin anyway. The 140lb title might have been lightly regarded and slipping in and out of recognition by 1946 (and fought for over shorter distances), but, if even the flimsier latterday beltholders make the grade for this thread, the Garfield Gunner definitely gets in for bouncing back from being brutally smashed twice on the bounce by top fighters in '42/'43 and finally getting his hands on something approximating a world championship after 11 years as a pro.

Recognize...
[url]https://sep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-13159482790260_2271_20537726[/url]

 

Amazing footage of Larkin with the white stripe schooling Billy Graham (who didn't get too familiar with being schooled over the course of a fine 100+ bout career) at MSG III;

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