What would the next chapter of his hectic career have been? Hint: It is quite likley that he would have defended his middleweight title against Sam Langford.
I don't know how much credence to put in it ,but I read once that Langford held back in their encounter ,to try and lure Stanley in to a title defence. If they met for real I pick Sam. Ketchel could possibly have gone on to cement his claims to a top spot at 160,but for me he had best keep away from Langford.
I suspect that if Ketchel had fought on most of his major bouts would have been above 160 lbs. He had ambitions of taking on the top heavyweights to rival those of Mickey Walker.
Boxrec states the fight was hard fought ,but I wonder.It brings to mind a line from "The Harder They Fall",when the old trial horse George Blount ,[played by Joe Walcott],says after a fight,in which he has been handcuffed."If that White boy could fight as good as those folks thought he could, I wouldn't be sitting here enjoying this fried chicken"
I read a description of Langford once,it was something like ",he was a middleweight who had got hold of a heavweights shoulders and arms",he had a barrel like chest ,if you look at him sparring in long woolens with [its either Bill Tate ,or Bob Armstrong],though he is dwarfed ,his torso appears bigger than that of the much taller man. He was destined to go up the weights thats for sure. Ketchel in contrast, was a rangy 5 9 and not especially muscled, a shorter Kelly Pavlik,he kod OBrien the LH king twice so he carried his power ,and he carried it late in a fight,he will allways be a" what might have been".
I'm not sure Ketchel would have even fought again, Janitor, and if he did, I'd have to think that the decline he was said to be undergoing (in fights vs Klaus, Smith, 3rd Papke fight, etc.) would have only continued and maybe would have been sped up because he was said to have been in a physically bad way over the last few months of his life due to his hard out-of-the-ring lifestyle.
To be fair though Mickey Walker was declining due to his riotous out of the ring lifestyle when he started taking on the heavyweights yet he still made a splash.
Quite a bit different as far as circumstances go, though, aren't they? Ketchel was talked about as declining in his ability to fight in those fights he had before he took the time off in mid year, and that time off was taken because his physical health was in a unhealthy decline over the last few months of his life. He had the fight with Langford tentatively scheduled for early July of that year, but Sid Hester had to put the stop to it because, in his words, of Ketchel being in such bad physical shape. Ketchel's fight with Bill Lang also had to be cancelled in mid August due to his physical health decreasing even more to that point (said to have suffered a "severe breakdown" at that point physically and healthwise with him said to have lost a bunch of weight and physical strength). After the Lang cancellation, there were a number of reports stating that Ketchel's condition was so serious that it was doubtful he would ever fight again, and even Ketchel expressed that when interviewed on his farm in late August where he stated that he was in such bad shape healthwise that he may have to hand the title over to Hugo Kelly without ever fighting again. Even up to two or three days before his unfortunate death Ketchel himself was unsure if he'd fight again, with him saying at the time that "maybe I'll have more fights and maybe I won't" and also expressing that if he did fight again it was "a cinch I won't fight for a year". You even had other things like where the reports on his death suggested that he was in such bad shape in those last months that he was, and I quote "told by his physicians that he would not live out the year" if he didn't go through a drastic change of lifestyle. Healthwise he was in a pretty bad way over his last months.
Ketchel was more then likely bi-polar/manic depressive. Some of his closest friends told stories of how one minute he'd be so violent and enraged over nothing he'd be pointing guns at them, and next sobbing like a child apologizing. Mania + complete lack of medication + alcohol and a hard and fast lifestyle = absolute disaster.
Ketchel was only 24, had beaten most of tp middleweigts. He had a ko win over lightheavy champ in non-title bout, maybe light heavy title would have been his next move. Papke, who he had beten 3 of 4 times was his succesor, maybe they would have had 5th bout, which would not have ben uncommon for those days.
He was going to die young one way or the other, if he did wind up pulling a 180 and turning his life around and continued fighting, he might have gone on to become the light-heavyweight champ and beat a few good heavy's also. I think if he fought a series with Langford of 3 fights or more he could win one, I've also heard there were plans for him to fight Sam McVey.
From what I have seen of Stan Ketchel, he was a power-punching, wild-swinging, crude brawler who needed to be in tip-top shape to carry out his battle plan over the long haul.... I'm not sure just how much "Quality" competition was around at 160 pounds back in 1910, but I can see a guy like Stan Ketchel who was near or at age 24 at the time of his murder in 1910, becoming worn out and faded by age 28 to 30 yrs of age with ease.... So, in reality, Stan Ketchel would've been done and washed-up as a fighter by 1915.... Ketchel's style did not play kindly to longevity..... MR.BILL:bbb
When you look at how much he accomplished in such a short span of time, even just an extra 4 years could have added a lot to his legacy. And he did beat some excellent opposition at middleweight, dominated in most cases.
I was unaware Ketchel's mental and physical health was quite so precarious while he was resting on the ranch,thanks for the insight.It certainly changes my perspective of where his career might have gone had he lived.