Fred Fulton vs Sam Langford 1917: flawless performance by Fulton?

He and his arch nemesis McVey continue their Olympian arguements on the scene but under new names. They may be perma banned like I was once ProBox took over the site.

 

First of all, there's debate about Langford's date of birth. His obituary here states that "no one had actual proof of his age" & he once "claimed March 4, 1886, as his birthday, but he later admitted that he had made up the date." Other sources recognize 1883 as his birth year, including the IBHOF, & that's also what's carved on his tombstone.

Regarding his documented decline, it wasn't merely a case of him being "slower w/ weight gain" or "fighting bigger/better guys" - he was also having noticeably more difficulty even w/ fighters that he beaten during his peak years. From '07 through the end of '12, he was generally acknowledged as having been outfought only twice, vs. Jim Flynn & Sam McVea (both avenged by KOs). During that time frame, he was undefeated vs. Jeanette & won 4 consecutive fights vs. McVea (2 by KO) following his loss to him. Beginning in 1913, he loses to Jeanette for the 1st time since 1905, then loses or draws over multiple consecutive fights vs. McVea, & also loses or draws vs. other previous victims like Jeff Clark & Battling Jim Johnson, on top of various other losses & draws sprinkled throughout this time frame. He clearly wasn't as consistent or dominant as he had been from 07-12.

According to a NY Times article published at the end of Dec 1913, which described Langford & his black contemporaries as "deteriorating rapidly as boxers," "Langford's lack of condition enabled" Jeanette "to win" earlier that year, "as Sam was clearly overweight," but for the subsequent loss to Gunboat Smith, Langford "had trained hard, according to reports," "but the old skill was lacking."

 

Regarding Langford's age an important thing to remember is that many states in those days and even up into the 50's enforced a strict 35-year old rule. The only fighters exempt were champions, so a lot of fighters as they got older would usually get creative with their age. Guys such as Fitzsimmons, Jess Willard, Jim Braddock, Jersey Joe Walcott, and Sonny Liston are just a few examples of fighters, who were far older than they claimed.

Here is a piece covering the birthdays of some prominent fighters in 1914.

Pugilistic Birthdays

Hardly a day passes but what some boxing fan wants to know the age of a champion or near champion, and the following list of birthday records shows that February and March were the months in which the greater number of fistic stars were born.

Ad Wolgast, born Feb. 8, 1888; ex-lightweight champion.
Abe Attell, born Feb. 22, 1884; ex-featherweight champion.
Johnny Coulon, born Feb. 12, 1889; bantamweight champion.
Sam Langford, born Feb. 12, 1880.
Willie Ritchie, born Feb. 13, 1891; present king of world's lightweights.
Leach Cross, born Feb. 12, 1886.
Jack Johnson, born March 31, 1878; present heavyweight champion.
Freddie Welsh, born March 5, 1886; present lightweight champion of England.
Joe Rivers, born March 19, 1887.
Johnny Kilbane, born April 18, 1889; featherweight champion.
Harlem Tommy Murphy, born April 13, 1885.
Gunboat Smith, born May 8, 1888.
Eddie McGoorty, born July 31, 1889.
Jimmy Clabby, born July 14, 1890.
George Chip, born Aug. 25, 1888.
James J. Corbett, born Sept. 1, 1866; ex-heavyweight champion.
John L. Sullivan, born Oct. 15, 1858; ex-heavyweight champion.
Packey McFarland, born Nov. 1, 1888.

https://imgur.com/bGMqhVS

Here is a piece covering Langford stopping Mcvey in 1912 and it points out his age.

Langford Whips McVey Fourth Time Out of His Six Trials.

Sam Langford knocked out Sam Mcvey in the thirteenth round today in some of the fiercest heavyweight battles seen in Australia in years.

Today's fight between Langford and Sam Mcvey, the two heavyweight colored boxers, was the sixth occasion on which they had met.

The Bostonian Langford has now defeated the Californian McVey on four ocassions; on one other occasion he was beaten by McVey, and one of their fights ended in a draw. Five of these matches were fought in Austrialia and the remaining one in Paris. Langford hold the title of heavyweight chamopn of England and McVey that of heavyweight champion of Australia.

It was reported that one time Langford was to fight Jack Johnson for the championship of the world.

Sam Langford, who is thirty-two years old, entered the ring as a professional in 1902 and has during the last 10 years had a remarkable boxing career.

Langford has the better of the fighting, throughout the match. He severley punished McVey, who made a plucky defense.

Langford began fighting fiercely in the first round, landing lefts and rights and driving McVey to the ropes.

Only during the second and third rounds did McVey show any sign of equality with his Nova Scotian opponent, and even then his punches did not worry Langford a great deal.

In the fourth round Langford floored McVey with an uppercut to the chin, and from then on McVey simply tried to protect himself but received severe punishment.

The finish came in the thirteenth round, when Langford again forced McVey to the ropes and then landed innumerable lefts and rights on his face, causing McVey to fall, completely beaten.
https://imgur.com/MksLOjn