Jack Sharkey vs. Max Schmeling II

Sharkey still looks decent in the fight. Much slower than he was in the 20s but fundamentally sound. Max just beat him to the punch because he was quicker and in his prime.

 

I agree completely .. not just three years older but while he had fewer fights he had a much tougher road and a much better level of opposition along the road ... remember people were all astonished back in 1930 that Schmeling was so easily and quickly moved into title contention .. that said, Sharkey was past it put still took a hell of a shot as Schmeling hit him many times flush with the shots that stopped Louis and Sharkey took them well ..Sharkey was always inconsistent and hard to figure out .. in his next fight he get's KOed by Carnera after taking all those flush shots from a legit hard puncher like Schmeling ... meanwhile Schmeling looked very good in the fight to his credit ..

 

It has been thrown about that the fight was fixed. I don't necessarily believe it but one pundit quipped, "that is the first time I ever saw someone fall forward from an uppercut."

 

I have no idea because in this sport anything can happen but it is interesting to see a guy take forty hard shots from Schmeling, a known hard right hand hitter but collapse against Carbnera who never came close to punching his weight ... who knows ?

 

exactly. Sharkey looked old, plain & simple. his last prime performance was probably their 1st fight, which was a full 2 years earlier.

@ the time of their 1st fight, Schmeling was almost entirely dependent on his right to win fights - his entire strategy was to lure Sharkey into a right, which enabled Sharkey to box rings around him while Schmeling just kept waiting for openings. For the rematch, Schmeling showed a much more varied attack & a vastly improved jab & hook.

I don't agree that Schmeling looked just "mediocre" in the rematch - it may not have been his most exciting or explosive performance, but it was 1 of his best from a purely technical perspective IMO.