If Bob Fitzsimmons moved his hands like this, would he be mocked?

Great post. The early practitioners, through no fault of their own, had little access to fighters and sparring partners from outside the confines of their own states or neighbouring states and even less access to fighters from around the world. That's why there were multiple fights between men of similar ability if they lived fairly locally to each other, weighed much the same and one wasn't outclassing the other. It does little to help the learning curve.

There was no video to learn from, few trainers who had actually been fighters themselves. And there wasn't the trial and error of decades of the sport to learn from. They were the best of their era but that was not comparable to the powerhouse that the sport became in the 30s onwards when the sport had had chance to travel further afield and develop.

And I agree with the point that, whatever the quality of the footage, the early boxers just don't look that great. Argue that they were tougher than modern counterparts and I won't challenge that with any conviction. But to say more skilled? For me, it's not even subjective, They just plain weren't.

And Fitzsimmons would never have enjoyed any kind of reign but for his blatant ducking of McCallum. That's an outrage the Bodysnatcher will take to his grave.

 

Great points.

 

Rez be honest . . . was superman your alt?

 

I've got about 26 minutes worth of Fitz vs Corbett. Just prior to the KO on the DVD I own, there is a close up camera view with Fitz looking like a faster, more on balance Rocky Marciano.

 

Lol. Fitz looked and fought NOTHING like Marciano. Not even remotely similar.

 

Maybe you don't have the film I'm talking about, the close up angle of Fitz vs Corbett just prior to the freeze frame, then KO ending. Fitz went after Corbett, looking like a more on balance Marciano

 

I don't know one way or the other about Fitzsimmons resembling Marciano, but I do see a resemblance to punchers like Dempsey, Ketchel, Petrolle, Hostak, LaMotta, and even Tyson in that he employs a shuffling style of footwork which enables him to edge his way inside and shift his weight from foot to foot so as to maintain the leverage to punch hard with either hand. Obviously, he did not have the crouching style of some of those guys, but his sense of balance and leverage was similar. The trick of sliding your right foot forward (if you are a right-hander) so as to leverage your left hook was on full display in the Corbett fight. I think that move was the same thing later attributed to Stanley Ketchel as the "Ketchel shift."

 

I would love to have been a fly on the wall at Corbett Fitzsimmons.

I suspect that what we would have seen, would have been very different from the film.

 

The day you have a historic film like this that I dont or in better quality or longer... well, we both know that wont happen. Unless you are counting your imaginary copies of Langford-Hague and Greb-Allentown Joe Gans

 

Look troll, I know what I own. Being jealous is part of your MO. Those who have the 26-minute version of Fitz vs Corbett know what I am talking about regarding the close-up angle toward the end of the fight. Have you seen it? I'm guessing no, but speak up, and I might choose to post a photo or two of what I'm talking about, which would be a quick way to keep you quiet. Then you can beg others to see it.

I actually aided the author of " The fight that made the movies " , Fitz vs Corbett and the author send me a PDF as a thank you.

One of the funny parts is when you " discover " a film here, that has actually been out there for years. I don't have a massive 15,000 fight collection like you do, I'd rather keep it smaller and actually watch what I own, and loan out/swap with others to view. I don't mind sharing, remember I'm the guy who helped some here view Langford vs Jeannette

Those who want a peak at Klompton's collection, send me a PM, and I just might send it to you too.

 

Isn't it amazing that Klompton didn't even directly reply to the footage on Greb? Instead, he has to troll backward to other fighters.

He's also wrong, fighters like Jimmy Wilde look very impressive on film, so does Gans to an extent. And Corbett if you watch closely.

The bald truth is Greb was referred to as amateurish by writers of his times, and sometimes dirty.

Oh, by the Way, Klompton thinks Greb resembles Ricardo Mayorga! Hey K man, care to elaborate on that one I know you're reading this, so please enlighten the forum.