Gerry C00ney vs Eddie Machen, Zora Folley and Cleveland Williams

Exactly which is why I brought up how foolish it is to judge Machen Wiliams and Folley when they were all far past there primes..

He said ****ey did better vs Holmes than Folley williams did vs ali and Machen vs patterson

Folley williams Machen were all way past there prime at the time of these fights while ****ey was in his prime vs Holmes.

Sound fair to you?

 

I get so sick of this **** about Machen never being the same after his breakdown. He suffered depression and contemplated suicide so he was sent to the mental hospital. He did not have a full blown breakdown as some people have said. The list of fighters who suffer depression is as long as my arm and includes Floyd Patterson btw. You cant blame his one sided loss to Patterson on his depression. That event happened shortly after his tepid bout with Cleveland Williams which was his third high profile fight where onlookers said the two participants ruined any chances they had of a title shot. Are you going to blame every loss, bad decision, and poor performance on his depression going back to the 1950s? Machen often turned in sub par performances against contenders who were just good, what would you expect him to do against a guy like Patterson who was a level above the guys Machen struggled with but be totally outclassed. Then factor in a couple of a timid counterpunchers like Folley and Machen who were each 6 inches shorter than ****ey, 30 pounds lighter, and had a shorter reach. Not to mention they werent as strong and didnt hit as hard. How exactly are those two guys going to beat ****ey? Lay back and wait and hope to land a right hand or a left hook? Try to outjab him? Gamble on being able to make him miss for the entire fight while you counter him and pray he never lands a left hook? Sorry but if Folley can get knocked out by a pretty weak looking combo from Doug Jones hes in trouble against Folley. Machen's record isnt exactly stellar at this level either. The only reason I give Williams any kind of chance is because he is big enough to not just get overwhelmed but Im pretty skeptical of Williams as well because he was the worst of the three and we know a banger can get him out of there.

If you want to quibble about my comment that the ****ey who fought Holmes would beat the Machen Folley and Williams who fought Ali and Patterson then fine. I revise my statement. The ****ey who fought Holmes would beat the best Machen Folley and Williams, if you can figure out when each was at his best let me know.

 

So do you believe his poor showings against Folley twice, Cleve Williams, Clarence Williams, Vargas, Johannson, Harold Johnson were evidence of mental illness as well? Or was he just inconsistent, especially at the highest level? Because Im always suspect of a fighter who uses a built in excuse that only seems to rear its ugly head when he steps up the level of competition and thats exactly what happened to Machen.

 

Klompton is a superb boxing historian, but I don't think that he is cut out for a career, as a mental health professional!