Jack Sharkey: Underrated?

Yes he is underated though of course he brought it on himself.

Sharkey is one of the most technicaly complete of all the heavyweight champions. When he brought his "A game" he was a nightmare for anybody.

Muldoon said that Sharkey was "the best heavyweigfht in the world from the neck down" and he was right.

 

I have never underrated The Sailor. Kinda hard to do so when the man is in the IBHOF.

Great talent, but he was, I guess you could say, the heavyweight version of Zab Judah - immensely talented, not always focused.

 

I think he's generally underrated, he has a pretty impressive wins resume.

 

Exactly. I was going to say something very similar.

We'd be talking about a lock top 15 ATG heavyweight if he had chosen to be consistent.

 

Sharkey had bad luck running into the likes of Dempsey and Louis, being shot vs Louis of couse.

I never understood the thing about Sharkey being the best from the neck down, ete.
Sharkey has lost, plenty, he had his good days, and his bad days. Carnera also caught him with a great shot for the ko imo.

Sharkey from the neck down, would still lose to the elite in there primes imo. Louis, Ali, Dempsey, Marciano ete. Sharkey could come into a fight vs Ali, and be on the best day of his life for this bout. And I still dont see how Sharkey can pull it out.

 

If I am right, in his two fights with Schmeling, Jack Sharkey lost by disq. to Schmeling in a fight which he was winning and beat Schmeling on points in the other.

Max Schmeling is never underrated and is often highly rated.

Now go figure that out.

 

As in he had the physical tools and skill to be much more, if only his mind, dedication and willpower were up to the task.

 

he was one of the more talented boxers if he could keep it together mentally ..i've heard him compaired almost to a andrew golota ..if not in a skills sense in a sense that he had all the tools but sometimes just didn't put them together right in the ring ..and often dq'd himself in big chances

 

Jack Sharkey is NOT underrated..... Sharkey just was NOT a really serious fighter..... Plus, them two KO losses to "Dempsey & Carnera" really hurt his legacy to a certain degree..... The '36 KO loss to Joe Louis means nothing.... Sharkey was fat and age 34 at the time.... In my book, Jack Sharkey really is NOT a true Hall of Famer.....

MR.BILL:hey

 

If you rate the heavyweight champions by the volume of world class oponents they beat then Sharkey actualy rates prety highly.

There is a dimension to his record that the eye does not at first see.

 

Sharkey was finished when Louis beat him. Sharkey ,was like the little girl ,when he was good he was very good,but when he was bad he was horrid.Capable of holding his own with anyone, on a good night ,he could also be decisioned by the likes of Bud Gorman,Johnny Risko,Charley Weinert,and kod by Quintin Rojas.

 

One of the hardest fighters for me to pinpoint where he ranks amongst the best in his division. Some really good wins, ( just short of great wins) and some terrible losses. Fought many high quality opponents, if he had been a little more consistent (draw with Heeney and the controversial primo fight hurt) really could have been an ATG.

 

Sharkey is way hard to place in my book friends. I'm surprised most of you don't throw the Louis bout out as that was a over the hill hulk in there that day, but the tiger of the twenties through his first bout with Max would have been interesting against most anyone.