Give me 5 Underrated HW Fighters and tell me your reasons WHY

That's probably due to the problem of ranking punchers 'pound for pound'.

 

I’ll assume it off a H2h basis or a no love basis.
Jimmy Bivins gets dismissed because of his size but he never let it stop him in real
Life with his freakishly long reach for a man that height.

Ernie Terrell I feel rarely gets a mention maybe because he’s boring but he was a skilled big man that doesn’t get his due

Bob Baker a modern sized big man who doesn’t get his due. Excellent combination thrower and hand speed. Has some decent wins on his resume.

Harold Johnson probably a top 30 hw ever but most prob wouldn’t put him top 50 or even give him the label despite his absurd amount of top wins at hw

you took my Satterfield pick

 

Max Schmeling is always highly underrated, compared to other HWs of course.

 

1. Ezzard Charles
Middleweight who won the heavyweight championship and has wins over guys like Joe Louis, Archie MooreX2, Joe Walcott, Joey Maxim, Gus Lesnevich, and enough top contenders to make most champions blush. Rarely mentioned as a first tier great. Might have been PPP the best ever,

2. Chris Byrd
Middleweight who had a credible title reign and wins over Holyfield, Tua and Vitklit (put all the asterixes you want)

3. Larry Gaines
I love this guy. Wins over Schmeling, Carnera and Godfrey, and yet he is never mentioned with the other great black fighters who didn't get the shot. Everyone knows Jackson, Langford, Wills, Godfrey, Mcvea, Joe Jeanette..who knows Larry Gains?

4. Max Schmeling
He was Joe Louis' Joe Frazier. He is always going to be known as the guy who won his title faking a foul, but he should have been given the match against Braddock, and would have been champ again.

5. Tim Witherspoon
He's underrated and overrated. Because of his well-known issues, he is a guy who could lose fights. But he was good enough so that there was some doubt at the time as to whether Holmes really beat him. That has been thoroughly re-written so that the narrative is that Holmes got a close but clear victory...that was no true at the time. Witherspoon is a guy who was good enough to pick up two belts, and lets be honest, that Holmes fight could have gone either way. He was the third best heavyweight of the 80s, and, maybe the second.

 

I’ll put my reasons in later (on my phone) but some of the guys I believe are underrated are

Jack Sharkey
Bob Baker
Lou Nova
Ernie Scaaf
Oscar Bonavena

I also think Folley, Machen and Quarry are underrated but not as much as the above.

 

Gary Mason-solid fighter
Axel Shultz-nothing special, but tough and never gets mentioned
Tony Thompson-tricky guy, started late
Lamont Brewster- Huge puncher, lots of heart
Jimmy Young-very slick fighter

 

OK, sitting down now and replying to myself. Here are my explanations:

1) Jack Sharkey - Loved his pole-like jab, his bob-and-weave defense and the fire he could show when he was inclined (the first Schmeling and Carnera fights). Beside beating Max and Primo, he also beat Tommy Loughran, Jack Delaney, Mike McTigue, Harry Wills and George Godfrey. When he was on he was something, when he was tempestuous anything could happen. But that was his magic.

2) Bob Baker - started out his career as a KO artist and was actually compared to a young Joe Louis. But bad hands (severe swelling) forced him to lay off the big shots and he became quite adept and combination punching, while throwing his heft into shots rather than any kind of self-damaging snap. Physical condition held him back also as he tended to blow up between fights. Still, he bested Jimmy Bivins, Nino Valdes (twice), Rex Layne (3 times), Joe Baksi and Johnny Holman. The Holman win was originally part of the elimination tourney to find a successor to Marciano, but they dropped Baker stating the win was dull. Baker got screwed.

3) Ernie Schaaf - Beat Max Baer, Jimmy Braddock, Tommy Loughran, Young Stribling, Tony Galento and Paulino Uzcudun. I never bought into that story that it was Max Baer's fault he died. Ernie had several bouts after the Baer fight including a win over the streaking Stanley Poreda. A win that was described as Schaaf administering a fair beating. I believe entering the Carnera fight while recovering from the flu (medical exams back then were simply not as thorough) was the culprit.

4) Lou Nova - this guy had the biggest heart. Fought so often and while carrying an injury (unhealed cuts, blood-poisoning assessed as prior to the Galento fight and not discovered until afterwards). Also in 1944 alone he fought 17 times. Like I said, big heart. Beat Max Baer (twice), Tommy Farr, Gunnar Barlund (twice), Pat Comiskey and Lee Ramage.

5) Oscar Bonavena - yes, Oscar was crazy. But like Sharkey, that was part of his magic. It was always assumed he was just a wildman, but he picked up instruction well according to Gil Clancy, who really taught him to jab in the Ali fight. He also turned into a fair counter-puncher as in the second Frazier fight. Beat Zora Folley, George Chuvalo, Leotis Martin, Karl Mildenberger, Blue Lewis and Larry Middleton.

 

I love your choices!

 

Come to think of it Charles is probably the most underrated…tough guy to rate though. Everyone agrees top three LHW ever. But when asked about Hw people have to think on it. I’ve seen him in peoples top tens and left out of top 20s.

 

I would actually agree with Charles. Not many realise he basically matches the likes of Tyson and Frazier for title defenses and the like. Sure it was a weak era but he's got some numbers there and is usually cast aside in heavyweight discussions. He's not top 10 by any stretch but he's oft totally forgotten.

 

Brewster====a tough night's work for anyone and has the ability to be way behind in a fight and get the comeback victory in a sport dominated by front runners. Wanted to see him and Tyson. Or the Corrie Sanders bouts that got cancelled.

Terrell----negative style hurts him somewhat. Somewhat better version of bugner. But I think he handles Liston and others with that set of whiskers and ability to hold those hands up high. Always in shape and just did not benefit from ideal matchmaking.

Page---another one of those rise to the occasion 80's guys. Just cannot sustain it. they do it for 1 night and stink out the arena in their next bout and underwhelm. But he is not an easy guy to beat when he has the A game for the 1 night.

Tate---what other american heavy had to go in the other guy's backyard like he did? He was not matched softly or with ideal opponents for his style. He had a solid boxing foundation and had good movement as well. terrific cardio and real busy in there. but the Weaver bout blew out the candles in a bout his management team did not want. Any other time, Arum protects his champions. Not with John Tate.

Moorer---has not stood the test of time too well. But the most accurate heavyweight I've ever seen. He just does not miss. but like lots of others, he puts on another 10 pounds and loses his mobility--which was a big edge for him in his early heavyweight encounters. But Moorer had a nice stiff jab and uppercuts and a really top shelf right hook which very few guys have the defense for. Held those hands up and had that strong kronk corner for awhile.