Heard these guys were friends back in their "hoodlum" days before they became boxers. If true they would have punched on at least once before with the personalities they got. Anyone got any background info on some of this ****? How close were they as kids and how much time did they do together?
I've read just about everything written by and about these two. The oppinion here is that Rocky was the better street fighter and I recently read a quote by him somewhere that he stated Jake never could beat him on the street.
Can't comment much except to say that Rocky repeatedly declined opportunities to fight Lamotta, while Jake matter of factly said he didn't care about their friendship, that he did want the fight. For what its worth, I have no doubt that Lamotta would have used his superior size and skill to overcome Graziano's big edge in power. Lamotta had the far better chin, Graziano had the far better right hand. But he was smaller and probably not as strong. Though Graziano was a fearsome thug from what I gleaned from his biography, I get the sense Lamotta was far, far darker and meaner.
Sure in the ring I go with Lamotta no doubt. I also agree that Lamotta has a darker especially more miserable side but Graziano also would completely lose it to the point where he wanted to kill an opponent in his own words. In the street I go with Grazianos right hand.
I agree with this. Lamotta's chin and the fact he was a genuinely bad person, nobody wanted to **** with him. Lamotta takes this on the street and in the ring.
Both were tough men, I met them both ...Jake was a bull with an iron chin and a mean person...Rocky may have hit harder punch for punch but Jake was the more durable of the 2...both of these guys were street guys ...Jake wins in the ring and has a good chance outside it but Rocky may use a bat
rocky by murder in under 1 second he arives with a sawnoff shotgun, jake bull rushes him thinking hes immune to shotgun pelets, richard steele and don king arive from the future and do a rocky 5 style thing where jake is ressurected from the dead by muhammad ali's zaire witch docter, and body slams don king through a car. and a local bar emptys and everyone is chanting rocky! rocky! rocky!
Wow man, I was gonna say "lay off the mushrooms" for a second, but that was some imaginitive stuff..very good.
No one has answered the question. I'm guessing Graziano put it over Jake on the street when they were young. In Rocky's book he only mentions Jake once as someone from his neighbourhood who won the title yet never left his house as he was paranoid that everyone was out to get him. In Jake's book he makes a big deal out of seeing the Rock in juvie and how he was good friends with him before and by seeing Rock meant he was sweet in there. I think Rocky was the legitimate street thug he was made out to be and had a bad rep in his city where as Lamotta seems to exagerate his rep on the street when younger, even though he is real ****ed up in the head. Rocky is in the minority as in most guys made out to be real animals and thugs when younger weren't as bad as some stories tell where in Rocky's case that isn't true. If Rock told Jake to jump when a teenager he would have asked how high. Rocky seems to be right at the top of the food chain whereas Jake was a few rungs below.
Well there is juvenile thugs which can last into someones mid 20's and then there's hardened criminals which they would stay for life. Rocky was the legit juvenile thug whereas Jake not so much. And what is a real thug to you? 50 cents and Floyd Mayweather?
Have a feeling Rocky was a better street fighter, but Jake could hold his own.In the joint, he actually helped out a guy who was being sexually abused by another inmate.