I know he was very good but was he on the level of Tunney and Loughran? Or more on that of Rosenbloom and Berlenbach?
I don't think he was on the level of Loughran or Tunney. He did however have the ability to potentially score wins over them both (he beat Loughran after all). Delaney did better against opponents of his size as he had a smaller build and relied on his power quite a bit. After a promising start his heavyweight career crumbled and ended in a humiliating one round KO loss to Jack Sharkey. This content is protected
Yeah, he was a bit undersized for hw. But nevertheless he didn´t do to bad there overall, like Bob F. I´ve got the feeling he was a bit like Sharkey or Baer. Inconsistent. At his best he might have been brilliant, like against Loughran or the second time against Berlenbach, but at other times he might just be awful, like aagainst Sharkey (?). Question would be why where there so many hot´n´cold fighters at the top level at the time?
Some people at the time rated him as the GOAT at light heavyweight. Its not so much that he was inconsistent, more that he realy didn't handel the transition to heavyweight as well as Tunney or Loughran. I think that at his optimum weight, he could prety much catch lightning in a bottle.
because : 1) "Professional Boxing" back then was like professional wrestling with a seemingly different set of rules . Many fights were fixed , like in d UWFi , in that that punches were usually real , but d winner was still decided and agreed upon b4 d fight started . Betting , politics , showbiz , national moral and others were all mixed in "d sport" and few if any fights @ d top level were 4 real . 2) with thinner gloves , d same punches were potentially more harmful , supposing that they were thrown with full force , intent and d opponent was not told about d biggest "finishing" 1s b4 d fight . 3) 2 some Xtent , it is d nature of d sport even when/if per4med 4 real .
So, you think he was at Tunney´s and Loughran´s level at lhw? he seems to have been smaller than those two, perhaps more of a natural smw?
Yes Jack Delaney's best fighting weight was about 164-5...He was GREAT at this weight, beating a bigger Tommy Loughran, Paul Berlenbach, Maxie Rosenbloom, Mike McTigue, Jamaica kid, flattening the tough cagy southpaw Tiger Flowers 3 times in 2 bouts, and at his best was considered one of the very best LHs ever...But to make more dough he ventured into the heavyweight fighters, and he like a later Bob Foster was not successful, losing to Johnny Risko,Jim Maloney,Tom Heeney, and kod by a much stronger prime Jack Sharkey...And being an alcoholic didn't help the career of the great Jack Delaney for sure...
He was called the greatest light heavyweight I ever saw by both Benny Leonard and Grantland Rice so he musta had somthing. Wikipedia has some good stuff on him.
Armory, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, United States Allentown Joe Gans L Jack Delaney SD 10 10 Gans down in the 7th. One judge had it a draw, and the other favored Gans. Referee O'Brien's vote for Delaney was the deciding vote. The decision was very unpopular with the crowd. Today, the fight would be a draw. Source: Kingston Daily Freeman. Get in a word about this match. Jack had just iced Tiger Flowers in the Garden and agreed to take Tigers place only 2 nights later vs AJ Gans in the sticks. All three Willks Barre paps ringside called it a draw. Fight was a barn burner AJ was underrated!!
