hardest hitting middleweight ever in any era....

In the first round, he broke Frank Allen's wrist with a blocked punch. Ring fatalities were extremely rare during the early gloved era. Even as late as Sullivan-Kilrain, John L. told Nellie Bly that he had only heard of exactly one such incident. When Fitzsimmons later was involved in one, it was after brief action, not a sustained beating. Fitz wiped out 6'3" 260 pound Ed Dunkhorst with ease in two, and replicated this with Tom Sharkey. He weighed 158 when he stopped Gus Ruhlin in six, and came in at 156 for his late career loss to Bill Lang, so he really was a career long middleweight. A single filmed body shot took the heavyweight title for him. Ketchel was potent, but he didn't routinely predate on victims in an open division to produce quick knockouts.

Fitz knocked out opponents by hitting them on the forehead and other body parts not considered vulnerable points, like the wrist. He didn't need to sharp shoot, although he certainly could and did.

The risk with selecting a middleweight who never really competed against opponents high above that weight class is a risk personified by Bob Foster. Bob was lethal within 175, but his power seemed to desert him almost completely when dealing with even smallish and lighter upper echelon heavyweights like the 180 pound Mina, 182 pound Jones and 200 pound Terrell. We know how deadly Lausse, Florentino or the Cyclone could be within 160, but not whether they would retain that potency against first rate bigger opponents. What Fitz did to Maher, Ruhlin, Corbett, Dunkhorst and Tom Sharkey surpasses anything Ketchel, Lausse, Florentino or Cyclone ever did.

 

D, You nailed it..
i have an article by Edgar Lee Masters, a major american poet and boxing
historian who saw all the heavyweight champs from Fitz to joe Louis..
Masters was born in 1869 and died in 1950...Read what he said about Old Fitz...You will be amazed ! The Book is "The Book Of Boxing ", by W.C.Heinz and Ward. Pg. 228.. E.L. Masters saw them All up to 1950...

 

Perhaps Langford?

 

Champions(no order):

Bob Fitzsimmons
Stanley Ketchel
Tommy Ryan
Kid McCoy (KO'd heavyweights)
George Chip
Ray Robinson
Rocky Graziano
Tony Zale
Marcel Cerdan
Marvin Hagler
Carlos Monzon


Contenders and titleists(ditto):

Freddie Steele
Fred Apostoli
Al Hostak
Solly Krieger
Thomas Hearns
Rodrigo Valdez
Gerald McClellan
Julian Jackson
Bennie Briscoe
Cyclone Hart
Eduardo Lausse
Ruben Carter
John Mugabi
Juan Roldan
Oscar Rankins
Florentino Fernandez
Sam Langford (yup, he was once the top middleweight threat and avoided by Ketchel[until he finally gave in] and especially Papke)

 

That would be the February 1940 article titled, "The Time of Ruby Robert." Indeed it is a superb read. Intriguingly, Heinz omitted it from his 1961 Fireside Book of Boxing, but it is readily accessible today to everybody here through Google books.

 

perhaps not the hardest but I did think of Cyclone Hart when I saw the thread, sort of an Earnie Shavers among middles...nice to see others mentioning him. I think Hagler once mentioned how he felt after getting clocked by Hart in their bout...

 

Hagler and Antuofermo both said that Cyclone was the hardest puncher they were ever hit by, but Marv's interview which credited Hart was granted before he fought Hearns and Mugabe. Vito said, "He wrapped his hooks around his whole body. He made my head spin like in 'The Exorcist.' If he couldn't hurt me, no one can." (Antuofermo told this to Steve Farhood after the draw with Hagler. There's nothing in his subsequent career to suggest Cylcone's power was ever eclipsed in his experience.)

 

Fitz is up there with Langford for pound for pound hardest hitter ever ...

They are one and two all time at middle ... both flattened top heavyweights.

 

Sam came in at 180 for O'Brien in 1911, and in fact his ten pound weight advantage over Philly Jack was mentioned in reports. He was already closer to 170 than 160 by the time of his filmed third match with Fireman Flynn in 1910. As early as 1913, he scaled 200 pounds.

In his early career while weighing under the MW limit, he went the distance with some regularity. A case might be made that he reached full strength only as a full fledged 200 pound HW, and he is generally recorded as having been a HW or LHW. Ketchel, on the other hand, was a true career long MW. Personally, I think Sam was too heavy at his peak to qualify for this discussion, although he does clearly belong in any pound for pound consideration.

 

Hey D; I think I checked on this before but I've just went to Hart's career on boxrec and he has NO significant career wins. Granted a big banger but it, at least, seems to me that "never has so little been done with so much"...
Did he not lose to EVERY ranked fighter he EVER fought?
Kind of sad to see this...
No heart? No chin?
I'd always thought that he had waxed at least one, or two, contenders during his career...

 

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhVi7cH-LaQ[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kyi57mKkVs[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz4KWIP3mrQ[/ame]

(GMAN - 2:22 is sick)

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nKE8LME4sQ[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GvJjMawMtA[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neNo3hRRDT0[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFj1mRlrD28[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz9o9xzP020[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uus5wDjGV6Y[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RztFkl61-4I[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_Tb6eSso-o[/ame]

Interestingly Jones was of the opinion he didn't hit harder at 175 than he did at 160

 

Hart was a hard puncher but interestingly he KO'd no one of note despite his reputation. I'm not saying the man had no power, I've seen the films, but it didn't get the job done in the ring against quality opposition.

 

Seems like I was beat to it. Hart could punch, but he would usually fold if his power didn't bail him out. His draw with Briscoe was probably his best effort.

 

How ironic, that his four best career showings were the only four that went the distance! W UD 10 Don Fullmer, W PTS 10 Sugar Ray Seales (a big win at the time), D 10 Bennie Briscoe, and L UD 10 Willie Monroe.

Not a great chin, but mentally, I think he just lost his composure and cracked when Antuofermo and Hagler took his best without flinching, as he folded the very next round. No, he did not share Bad Bennie's chin or temperament.