I didn't know Primo Carnera was so huge

Just look at him in Hercules,with a former Mr Universe.

 

He was a much better pro wrestler than a boxer. Quite strong too he was a circus strongman over in Europe and supposedly could bend horshoes with his hands.

 

That would only be true if he had been the best pro wrestler in the world at some point.

 

Carnera was actually just slightly under 6’6”, but for promotional purposes they billed him at 6’7” and even sometimes as high as 6’9”. Vince Hanson, who was 6’9” had about 3-4 inches on Primo.
https://arminda.whitman.edu/islandora/object/arminda:29692/datastream/OBJ/view

Also, to be fair a prime Joe Louis with his fast combinations and ability to hit from all angles would be a nightmare for any big guy. Primo also underestimated Baer’s speed and defense, which looked average when Baer fought smaller craftier fighters, but against a big guy like Primo Baer’s hands were lightning fast.

 

When was Carnera ever the best boxer in the world?... Or particularly close?

 

I don't think he ever was, but he was one of the best HWs in the world in his prime.

 

Primo was huge 6’5 and half for the 1930’s was huge and all muscle say what you want but he wasn’t fat. I believe Baer’s win over him is vastly overrated. Primo rolled his ankle terribly after the first knockdown. So much so he was in a cast for months, their are photos of him with Baer in the hospital. Anyway point being - once that happened in the first round he was a shot off balanced one legged fighter. And it still took Baer 11 rounds or so to get the stoppage. Pretty terrible finisher for Baer .

 

Primo's advisers surrounded him with short men so he would appear to be even bigger than he was. There are photos showing him walking the streets for photo opportunities with guys like Abe Attell, Frankie Genaro and other ex-pugs from the smaller divisions. There's also a great one showing his personal valet standing on a chair while combing Primo's hair. This was all part to the publicity campaign which took place soon after Primo arrived to the U.S. from Italy in 1930. After the novelty wore off and people became familiar with Primo, most of this type of hype ended.

 

Primo's ankle after the Baer fight was never the same unfortunately, since he had a problem with that ankle the rest of his career. He couldn't handle mobile opponents anymore and his ability to move around the ring also suffered.

His ankle problems forced him to quit against Leroy Haynes.
https://media.gettyimages.com/photo...in-his-corner-picture-id515301216?s=2048x2048
https://media.gettyimages.com/photo...he-ninth-round-picture-id97335558?s=2048x2048

 

Great pictures. Thanks. The majority of his fight with Baer he was a wounded a duck. Somehow though that never got mentioned with the coverage of Baer for 60 years. Baer really more than many champions received extremely favorable coverage.

 

Carnera was not 6'7. But he was a giant does not matter the height, his bones were giants

 

In a free fight without the limited boxing rules he would break louis at half like a bread