Jake LaMotta vs Dick Tiger?

Tiger might win or he might lose, but if he did win I think it would be because of his strength rather than his brain. I think Jake was more cunning than Tiger. He like to play possum and lure his opponents into traps. He also was careful in feinting and looking for open spots to place his punches. Tiger was less adaptable to different styles, IMO.

 

Tiger is the better counter puncher and the stronger guy. Tiger UD 15

 

I can't agree. I don't think LaMotta was dumb or anything, Tiger just seemed to have a better balance of boxer/ puncher. I mean, he was kind of fast and he moved well. LaMotta was not very fast and mobile imo. I agree that LaMotta was adaptable, but I think Tiger was too, it was just more inconsistent. He beat Giardello, and lost to him. He beat Torres, but arguably lost the rematch. He beat Fullmer and Henry Hank. All very different fighters. But in remaining not completely adaptable, he did lose to Emile Griffith and Bob Foster.

 

I never have seen Tiger box in the sense of footwork, jab etc. so we have a definite difference of opinion.

 

Well, there's a lot of Tiger fights on film, so it could just vary on which ones we've seen. I don't think of Tiger as having footwork as in dancing around his opponents like Ali or Holmes or something like that, but he was not just a straight stalker imo, he could move back and forth with opponent pretty well.

 

This is true. Haven't seen many fighters who were as chalk and cheese when faced with different styles as Tiger was. In a brawl he could beat anyone but he could be shut down quite effectively by a good boxer/mover.

 

Probably lammatta

 

Tight, very tight, for me Tiger,s more short educated punches sway it his way, Jake likes to wing punches from a little back, from what I have seen, seems to leave himself exposed at times, to which Tiger would make him pay.
So yea, on balance Tiger prob outpoints Jake over any distance.

 

Dick Tiger, imo, is the MW equivalent of Alexis Arguello.

An aggressive counter puncher that you cannot beat on the front foot.

It takes 3 things to beat that kind of fighter

1) a world class stick and move ability

2) a chin strong enough to take the inevitable shots you get timed with

3) the discipline to put it all together and stick to the game plan.

 

Giardello in shape and before he was shot showed what a good boxer could do with Tiger. Joey had him eating out of his hand in their third fight. Light punching Archer competed with him on footwork and a jab alone. I put Gene Fullmer and Hank in roughly the same category as pressure fighters just made for a strong guy like Tiger. Jake was a pressure fighter, too, but he didn't just walk into a guy face first. He was no gazelle, but he knew how to box and jab forcefully to back his opponent up so he had room to put put together combinations, usually a mixture of left hooks to the head and body. I rate LaMotta-Tiger a tossup. I don't remember ever seeing Tiger adapt. He only fought one way, but that was usually enough because he was fast, a hard puncher, had a good chin, and at least as strong as any middleweight I have ever seen. Jake had more dimensions to his game, IMO. I think he took a punch a bit better too, though as I say Tiger was no slouch in that regard.

 

You have to remember, Giardello lost the return match, so his at ratgeybcant have been that flawless.

Also Archer was one of those overtly negative boxers like Bernard Taylor and Andre Dirrell. They could speak a split decision from just about any boxer in history, but in reality the fights they won could very easily be scored against them.

But I agree Tiger never adapted mid fight. A bit like Azumah Nelson, he always found a way in the rematch, but rarely first time round.

 

Tiger was definitely a limited all time great. He is one of my favorites but he could be made to look very ordinary by boxers. Partly because he planted his feet in that wide stance of his, he just wasnt very mobile. When Tiger finally beat Giardello convincingly Joey was WAY past his prime. Their third fight was his last gasp. Even the fight in Chicago that Tiger won was called a robbery by one of my friends who saw it live. It certainly wouldnt be an easy fight for Jake but Id give him a better shot than Fullmer had for instance. In his prime LaMotta was just as strong as Tiger and while he was aggressive (which would have played into Tiger's hands) he was also much busier than Tiger and had better head movement and stamina than some of the other brawlers Tiger made mincemeat out of. Its a very intriguing matchup and I think it would have made for a very fun fight to watch.

 

I'm not exactly huge on the career of Giardello.

But when exactly was his prime?

He lost to Tiger in 1965.

63-64 is his flour trio of victories over Robinson, Tiger and Carter.

Almost every other year of his career sees him lose multiple times.

 

Ratgeybcant?

 

Haha typing on my phone.

*strategy can't