Is he rated fairly on here iyo? Overrated or not? Just a tough, solid Chinned strong guy beating smaller, older opponents?
Man you haven't seen anything worth watching to rate, at the least he was the best heavyweight of his day and that counts for something and so do the sparkling words of folks who saw him and those after him and rated him very highly.
In his day he was considered the unbeatable GOAT, but that involved maybe 20 years of HW champs. He looked good against the records of Sullivan, Corbett and Fitzsimmons. I always compare him to George Chuvalo. Tough as nails but rough around the edges.
Should be applauded for doing what he did with almost no boxing background. He was definitely learning on the job throughout his career. I compare him to Bronco Billy Wright.
Compared to who? These "under or over rated " threads never show whi we're comparing them to. I rated him as a old scooter Chvalo. Meaning good solid guy but not elite. Your turn.
Well he clearly was elite because he dominated an era. People comparing him to Chuvalo are operating under the fallacy that his durability was his only asset, and that he was able to dominate an era based on this alone. Like every other fighter who dominated an era, he was so much more than that.
He was a natural athlete and decent enough he fought all the best black boxers before becoming heavyweight champion he then drew up the colour line and avoided Jack Johnson if he had accepted Johnson’s challenge and not retired the fight would have been much more competitive.
I've read about hom including On The Rimg by Pollack. Seems to me based on the reads that his ability to take enormous punishment was his chief skill and his strength. Both Corbett and Fitzsimmons pounded him mercilessly especially Fitz and both men were over the hill. The film we have of him is limited but it shows a crude fighter willing to take three punches to land one. While he certainly was years past his best vs Johnson in lucid moments he admitted he could never defeat Jack. I haven't seen anyone at the time say he would be competitive with Dempsey. That's my opinion. Crude, strong, could take massive amounts of punishment. Tex Cobb or Chubalo of his day.
Even though his reign lasted until 1905 he fought mainly 19th century guys when they were old and when they weren't old he struggled a bit. He relied on a size advantage too that he wouldn't have had in most other eras. He won all his fights in that era but theres nothing suggesting he'd translate much further.
He was great for his time. Won the heavyweight title with only around 11 or 12 pro bouts. Was ahead of his time in his training regimens and was already a well rounded athlete before taking up boxing. Was always in great shape. Excellent strength and stamina. Initially retired undefeated before making a comeback to fight and lose to Jack Johnson. Has wins over two greats in Fitz and Corbett. I don’t think his resume is deep enough to make top ten as some of his later succors do but he is a legit ATG in my book.
Then you seem to have overlooked a lot. For example you should have noticed that for every observation about his durability, there was one about his speed and athleticism. The it is only fair to note that he also soundly out boxed them both in their other fight. If he had been the Cobb or Chuvalo of his day, he would have won some and lost some, even against smaller and older men. You also have to ask why the other big men of the era were not able to replicate his success, including Jack Johnson by the way. The answer is that he was bringing more to the table than just a good chin.
You can only fight in the era you are in, and he dominated his era. His resume is insanely strong for the limited number of total fights. Defeated the lineal champ, check, gave champ rematch and won check. Defeated the preceding lineal champ, check, also gave him rematch and won. Check. Took on the brutally rough number 1 contender twice. And won both time check and check. Crossed the color line while contender check. Now what you may think of his skills is debatable or the level of fighters in general for his time but fact is he faced who he had to face and won.