I think Godfrey, from what I've read and seen, keen on a tough scrap. Even against Carnera, where he was winning, he seemed to be running out of gas when Primo faked that low-blow. In comparison, I think Lyle was a very good in-the-trenches boxer. True, he went down against Foreman, but he was in it until the last 30 seconds when he just totally short-circuited. Against Shavers, he fought a brilliant fight and got up off the floor to pound Shavers into submission. He could also execute a good game plan, be it out-boxing Shavers, countering Foreman with the right hand or pacing himself against Ali. When Lyle came up short in his top fights (Foreman, Ali and Quarry) it was against stellar competition and always with a tough fight- I had him well ahead against Ali; he came very close to stopping Foreman; the Quarry fight was a scrap all the way to the final bell etc. Godfrey just doesn't have those kind of loses, let alone Lyle's kind of wins. I think Godfrey fouls out after five extremely brutal and even rounds.
I said without restraints, I beleive Godfrey was hand cuffed in a few fights ,times were different then for black heayweights,the Carnera fight is a case in point.
But, even in the Carnera fight, Godfrey was tiring and was hitting low a fair bit by the end (albeit not in the final shot). Unless he was totally spasticated, the best explanation for his numerous DQ losses is mental weakness. Were it the cuffs, I think the more traditional "iffy decision" route would have been taken. Godfrey's biggest restrained was not the colour of his skin but the colour of his belly, I suspect.
Godfrey was a big heavyweight in his day. He could certainly punch. I have seen him vs Gains and Carnera. Godfrey's skills aren't that bad either. The trouble with Godfrey is he did not take a great punch, he wasn't always in shape, and he was a dirty fighter prone to throwing low blows. Some think Godfrey was in some fixed fights. I am surprised Godfrey was recently elected to boxing hall of fame. Based on what win? I think Lyle wins via stoppage or DQ.
I agree with all your points. Godfrey was a very good boxer who would have been a contender in a more forgiving and suitable era. Portraying him as an ATG is well off.
Gordfrey was for a time Dempseys main sparring partner,a strange occupation ,given Dempsey s notoriously bad reputation for thrashing his spar mates,Godfreys second recorded fight was a draw against Sam Langford, another strange choice if as you imply Godfrey was a yellow belly.
Before we can make a pick we have to establish how good Godfrey actualy was. Unlike Lyle he did not provide us with a verry clear picture of this in the ring.
Godfrey is a total enigma. He might be one of the best heavyweights never to win the title and he might have just been an also ran. What is worth noting is that the buzz among contemporary fighters was that he was a fighter of tremendous potential.
Yep, some good points. Obviously we're talking about the later fighter (not Old "Chocolate" Godfrey- who fought Sullivan etc) From the - admitedly little - I've heard regarding this guy I've got a fairly sketchy/indecisive impression, he could well have a potential force of nature or an solid contender with some good wins. I really don't know, though you're right that there was apparent opinion amongst his peers that he had oodles of talent. Apparently he had a trilogy of fights against Langford winning once, and faced Jack Sharkey amongst others. I'd mention Peter Jackson as one of the greats never to even get a World HW title shot. :good
As you say, it was his second recorded fight. There are numerous boxers who don't even have one recorded fight on their record. We'd be setting a rather dangerous precedent if we judged boxers on buzz. The best things to go on are results and footage; on that basis, Godfrey seems to me to have been a very good fighter whose mentality never matched his physical attributes and skills.
