Jack Sharkey vs. Tommy Loughran I

His stance was the style of 1920's slicksters that was brought about by Benny Leonard, except they (like Tunney and Leonard) moved their head. I've read on here that Loughran suffered problems in his joints and thus couldn't slip or duck as much. But the stance is still suboptimal. The Blackburn Crouch-style stance adopted by Kid Chocolate and others in the 1930s was much better and in fact is more or less the optimal stance.

 

Sharkey's win was by kayo and over a prime Loughran.
Loughran's win was by decision and over an over-the-hill Sharkey.

 

I look at it that Loughran was hard to nail solidly. Sharkey was able to do it and that's impressive.

 

Not sure I understand the point of this response. Sounds non-responsive and an attempt to be a smart ass.

My main point is that the first Sharkey-Loughran fight was far more important than the second fight when it comes to judging the relative talents of either fighter. They were both in their primes. I've come to believe that not enough credit has been given to Sharkey on the recent threads of this forum. How can people simply dismiss an impressive knockout win like Sharkey's kayo of Loughran?

In particular, William, you seem to be impressed by how entertaining a fight is when your give your final rating. What about the context of how the fights were viewed at the time and the stage of the careers of the fighters. Sharkey in particular had a good performance against Dempsey and impressive kayo wins against Maloney, Loughran, Delaney, and Scott. Not all his fights were great obviously. Heeney, Stribling, and Walker were not great performances, but they were honest efforts against the best fighters of the era. Almost nobody looks great against everybody.

 

I am not so certain the second Sharkey-Loughran fight was less important. The first led to Sharkey getting a title shot which he lost. The second led to Loughran getting a title shot which he lost.

There might not be that much to choose from as to importance.

 

I concede the point that the second fight was important to Loughran earning the title shot against Carnera, but not that it was more impressive or more important to the legacy of the relative merits of each fighter.