[GIF] Clip of Carnera vs Uzcudun

Carnera was justifiably good -and so was Uzcudun.

 

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Carnera is surprisingly good.

 

Carnera played Antero, a giant, in my favorite movie Hercules Unchained (Ercole e la regina di Lidia, original title).

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I think he was also in "Mighty Joe Young" back in 1949...

 

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He was during the tug of war scene

 

Great post Reznick. Carnera's size alone in that era made for a formidable opponent. I think he is a little undersold today as many in the media held bias against Italians and pumped up the number of fixed fights and his lack of skill. I do think he did fight in fixed fights and I don't think he was a top 5 hw for the decade but he could beat many contenders on a given night. He's not as bad as many claim. The broken ankle vs Baer hurt him a lot as he looked so clumsy and was repeatedly hammered by the more well liked opponent

 

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Why would they have a bias against Italians in the 20,s and 30,s? You do know many fighters adopted Italian names to cash in on the big Italian American fan base?

 

Perhaps in NY but much of the country harbored anti-Italian sentitment, the case of Sacco and Vanzetti (spelling) illustrate this, and not all fighters changed their name to sound Italian some Anglacized their name to sound less Italian like Natale Mencheitti who became Nathan Mann and fought Joe Louis.
Support and derision of Italians changed region to region. Many in the press were not kind during this time to Italians perhaps for their darker hue, or anti Catholic sentiment that the Irish also felt or maybe the rise of Mussolini. Or a combination of the three. Complex situation but by time Marciano was around that had faded.

 

He looks extremely stiff and ponderous, which is fine because he is huge and active here and not made to pay for his deficiencies.

He just lacks any natural fluidity and his leverage seems compromised by this. He may have been some sort of great athlete... it just wasn't at boxing.

 

Yes, it is a good find, as Carrera vs Uzcudun is not an easy film to obtain!

Carnera was certainly a super heavyweight, but he wasn't as skilled as the ones in the 1990's and 2000's. Still with his size alone, and massive reach, he was impossible to clinch and difficult to fight on the outside. Defense and taking punches to the head just wasn't his thing.

If you like the gritty Uzcudun, you have to see him vs Max Schmeling. Uzcudun's crab-like defense and double armed blocking, which he can instantly switch to an offense of hooks is something you just don't see many boxers attempt. But he was great at it.

You can also see Uzcudun vs Wills, and as an old man vs Joe Louis, though the Louis film does not offer a good angle of the KO, which allegedly drove his teeth through his gum shield.