How close were Holyfield and Jerry Quarry stylistically?

Good points, but I'm thinking peak vs peak. Also Holyfield used PEDs (which ere common for his era) Quarry did not. So there lies a gray area.
Holyfield's biggest advantage vs Quarry is Evander never cut like Quarry did. Ruiz clearly one 2 of the 3 Holyfield fights, regardless of ho old Holyfield was at the time. One last thing, Quarry was washed up by age 29, mainly due to the primitive training techniques, like brutal sparring sessions. Holyfield on the other hand did not spar heavily.

 

This.

 

No. You weren't talking about peak because you brought up the Ruiz fights.

I don't care for the PED argument. It's a blanket criticism without substance that goes nowhere.

Again, for reasons stated I disagree strongly with the notion that the biggest difference between Evander and Quarry is skin thickness.

I disagree. I believe Evander edged the rubber match and I'm not alone in that thought.

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Regardless I'm not sure why the Ruiz fights are even being discussed if we are talking peaks. If you think Evander was at his peak at 38- 39 years of age in the Ruiz Trilogy, I will have to fundamentally disagree. Evander's physical prime likely ended after Bowe 2, hence the ambiguous health issues and his radical style change from volume puncher to spoiler.

Quarry had substance problems and let his physical health go at a young age. He also took too much punishment in his last few fights. I think those were bigger factors than sparring.....really? The man was an addict, his weight blew up between fights, and he did stupid stuff like agree to the Norton fight on two weeks notice..but you think primitive sparring did him in...

 

A roided up Quarry would have been interesting, about 220? I'd favor that over Evander. Naturally though both men around 200 I'd make Evander the favorite in a tough fight.

 

Damn good post and now that you mention it they’re very similar in career accomplishments and style.

 

Quarry was 6'0" with a 72" wingspan.
Evander was 6'2" with a 78" wingspan.
Both men naturally hover in the 190s.

If Quarry decided to bulk and use roids, I can't see him being that much bigger than Evander. Probably the same 205-210 range.

Regardless, I would favor a 205 lb Evander over this roid monster 220 lb Quarry. PEDs won't make Quarry anymore consistent or adaptable. You really think muscle mass was what Quarry needed to be a Champion? Geez..

PEDs screwed up Evander anyway. He got his win over Bowe, which he might have managed anyway without the added bulk, and went on a premature steep physical decline that saw him lose to Moorer and drop the rubber match. Evander never grew into a big puncher either, doubtful Quarry would. And remember Evander only bulked to 217 from a bigger frame than Quarry.

 

Jerry Lived and died by his profession, Never has a career been more talked about for never winning the world title, good or bad. ( Quarry was outweighed 44-22 as a pro)-Both Men Warriors, both counterpunchers, both pulled alotta upsets, and were upset by fighter's they experts had them favored, Both long careers of course. impervious to pain And both were very much crowd pleasers on a hall of boxing fame level.

 

Natural (Steroids) Nutrition does it to you every time, Ha, Ha,.

 

Jerry Quarry Fite Record
53-9-4 (32 Knockouts)
1965
Feb 7 Wins Western Regional Golden Gloves Championship
Mar 20 National Golden Gloves Champion
May 7 Gene Hamilton Los Angeles W 4
Jun 3 John Henry Jackson Los Angeles KO 4
Jun 17 Lance Holmberg Los Angeles W 6
Jun 24 Dave Centi Los Angeles W 6
Jul 16 Willie Davis Los Angeles KO 3
Jul 29 Ray Ellis Los Angeles W 6
Aug 2 J.P. Spencer Las Vegas KO 4
Aug 9 John Henry Jackson Kansas City W 8
Sep 23 Ray Ellis Los Angeles KO 3
Oct 18 Melvin Manley Kansas City KO 1
Oct 28 Al Carter Los Angeles KO 6
Nov 2 Ray Crear San Antonio KO 3
Nov 11 Tony Doyle Los Angeles D 10
Dec 23 Ray Crear Los Angeles KO 3

1966
Feb 3 Ed Land Las Vegas W 8
Feb 17 Prentice Snipes Los Angeles KO 5
Mar 4 Tony Alongi New York D 10
Apr 7 "Scrapiron"Johnson Los Angeles KO 2
May 2 Al Jones Kansas City W 10
May 28 Tony Alongi Los Angeles D 10
Jul 14 Eddie Machen Los Angeles L 10
Oct 20 Bill Neilsen Los Angeles W 10
Nov 28 Leslie Bordon Los Angeles KO 5
Dec 15 Joey Orbillo Los Angeles W 10

1967
Jan 11 Al Jones San Francisco KO 5
Mar 9 Brian London Los Angeles W 10
Apr 27 Alex Miteff Los Angeles KO 3
Jun 9

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#4 Los Angeles D 10 (Quarry Ranked #10)
Sep 15 Billy Daniels Los Angeles KO 1 (Quarry Ranked #5)
Oct 28

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#3 Los Angeles W 12 (Quarry Ranked #4)
(WBA Heavyweight Elimination Tournament)

1968
Feb 3 Thad Spencer #1 Oakland KO 12 (Quarry Ranked #2)
(WBA Heavyweight Elimination Tournament)
Apr 27

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#2 Oakland L 15 (Quarry Ranked #1)
(For Vacant WBA Heavyweight Title)
Nov 11 Bob Mumford Phoenix KO 5 (Quarry Ranked #3)
( Champion Ellis -1. Frazier 2. Bonavena)
Nov 19 Willis Earls San Antonio W 10 (Quarry Ranked #3)

1969
Jan 10 Charley Reno Seattle KO 5 (Quarry Ranked #2)
Jan 26 Aaron Eastling Canton, OH KO 5 (Quarry Ranked #2)
Mar 24 Buster Mathis #6 New York W 12 (Quarry Ranked #2)
Jun 23

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#1 New York KO by 7 (Quarry Ranked #2)
(For New York State Athletic Commission Heavyweight Title)
Aug 11 John Carroll St. Paul, MN KO 1 (Quarry Ranked #4)
Sep 3 Brian London Oakland KO 2 (Quarry Ranked #4)
Dec 12 George Chuvalo New York KO by 7 (Quarry Ranked #4)

1970
Mar 3 Rufus Brassell Miami Beach KO 2 (Quarry Ranked #4)
Mar 19 George Johnson Los Angeles W 10 (Quarry Ranked #4)
Jun 17 Mac Foster #1 New York KO 6 (Quarry Ranked #4)
Sep 8 Stamford Harris Miami Beach KO 6 (Quarry Ranked #3)
Oct 26

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Atlanta KO by 3 (Quarry Ranked #2)

1971
Jun 18 Richard Gosha Ocean Shores W 10 (Quarry Ranked #4)
(Muhammad Ali Restored back in WBA rankings at #1 -2. Foreman)
Jul 24 Tony Doyle Lake Geneva, WI W 10 (Quarry Ranked #5)
Nov 16 Jack Bodell (#7 WBC) London KO 1 (Quarry Ranked #4)
Dec 2 Lou Bailey Des Moines, IA W 10 (Quarry Ranked #3)

1972
Apr 17 Eduardo Corletti Inglewood Ca KO 1 (Quarry Ranked #2)
May 9 Larry Middleton #7 London W 10 (Quarry Ranked #2)
Jun 27

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#1 Las Vegas KO by 7 (Quarry Ranked #2)

1973
Jan 5 Randy Neumann New York KO 7
Feb 9

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#4 New York W 12
Aug 31 James J. Woody Las Vegas KO 2 (Quarry Ranked #4)
Sep 10 Tony Doyle Inglewood Ca KO 4 (Quarry Ranked #4)
Dec 14

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#6 New York KO 1 (Quarry Ranked #4)

1974
May 8 Joe Alexander Uniondale NY KO 2 (Quarry Ranked #2)
Jun 17

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#2 New York KO by 5 (Quarry Ranked #3)

1975
Feb 25 George Johnson Honolulu W 10 (Quarry Ranked #5)
Mar 24

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#4 New York KO by 5 (Quarry Ranked #5)

1976
Inactive

1977
Feb 15 Mike Quarry Seattle, WA Exh
Nov 5 Lorenzo Zanon Las Vegas KO 9

1978-82
Inactive

1983
Aug 31 Lupe Guerra Albuquerque KO 1
Nov 21 James Williams Bakersfield, CA W 10

1984-91
Inactive

1992
Oct 30 Ron Cramner Aurora, Co L 6

Jerry Quarry from 1967-75 was rarely out of #1 to #5 in the World Boxing Ratings.

 

Jerry Quarry was a tough competitor and a really good fighter.

 

Quarry had substance problems and let his physical health go at a young age. He also took too much punishment in his last few fights. I think those were bigger factors than sparring.....really? The man was an addict, his weight blew up between fights, and he did stupid stuff like agree to the Norton fight on two weeks notice..but you think primitive sparring did him in...

You make some good points but you are missing the boat when it come to the level of violence in the Quarry sparring sessions.
Quarry's father was a crude, harsh man who had his boys sparring at age four. Quarry didn't wear headgear in most his sparring sessions. Yes I believe Jerry incurred more head trauma in a life of hard sparring than in his fight, I agree he took a pounding a lot of fights. Add in the Quarry basically had twice as many fights a Frazier, he just took too much of a pounding thru out his life. If you read the book "Once They Were Giants", you'll see here Yank Durham intentionally kept Frazier from certain Philly gyms, as not to get him ruined by overly violent sparring.

 

Check out the Best I Faced of Holyfield’s era and you’ll see many rate him as the best overall/most complete, having the best footwork and also the most intelligent they faced.

Check out ones from Quarry’s era and you won’t find him rated in those areas.

Holy worked a lot more angles whereas Quarry liked to plan himself right in front of his opponent.