Two versions of this fight... Prime against Prime And...what would happen if this fight was made in 1907-08? An on the wane but still formidable Gans against a green McFarland who was still good enough to beat Welsh and Tommy Murphy.
Title incarnation of Gans hurts Packey early. That's my read. Clever punchers who hit very hard could do damage to him early before he really knew what they were at. Ray Bronson and Welsh in one of their fights (?) managed it and I think Gans would too. Either handed feinting or that long uppercut. That's a lot of speculation. I don't insist upon it at all. But I do insist that nobody knows wtf is happening late here. Nobody has a ****ing clue, it's too hard. Packey was very, very good late. Gans was too but proved it more at the back-end when he slowed down a bit. I'm interested to know whether or not Packey could bring out the same thing that Elbows did against Gans in his second incarnation, before he really summitted - could Packey force Gans back a bit? Gans, sometimes, could fail to make an overwhelming impression when he was in control aside from being firmly in control and that cost him a couple of draws, because a guy made a deadly impression in two or three rounds whereas Gans only established control over fifteen...seems strange to modern eyes, but that's how it was. I reckon Gans would do something like 1-0-2, something like that.
Prime vs Prime , Ill take McFarland ... I didn't see a 153 pound Prime Mike Gibbons bully Packey when he was on a 2 year lay off coming out of retirement .. McFarland too tough for that imo ... and since his best weight was around 139 ,, he could fight Gans at any weight .. as he routinely went up and down to fight at LW and WW.. He was focused and prepared for fights ... And i dont think Battling Nelson wanted to fight him .... I agree too much speculation here ... as both fighters were very clever and both described as well ahead of their time ... 50 - 50 fight for me .. I think the Old Master would take him in 1907 - 08
I tend to think McFarland would win, I'm not too sure though. They both fought Jimmy Britt around a similar time, so that's an interesting point of comparison
Britt was fizzling out at this point. He won the first round against Gans before Joe took over and had him under complete control using his left as both rapier and guard. The end came after the 5th wherein Britt had broken his wrist against Gans' elbow on a left to the body. Before the fight, wags had touted Britt to be the winner based on this body attack. Afterward, Britt claimed he would have won had the fight continued but most writers did not share this opinion. Against Packy a few months later, he was just blasted. McFarland won every round and was beating him to a pulp. It sounds like it was a pretty gruesome KO in the 6th, as Britt's father finally stormed the ring after 3 knockdowns. Britt retired on the spot, tho he would later come back for a few more fights in England, all against Johnny Summers.
Gans' doctor disputed the severity of the injury after the fight too. Britt did fight on even terms with Battling Nelson inbetween though, so he certainly wasn't completely done Britt had such a crazy career. Of his 23 fights, 11 were against HoFers
In an October 1907 article I found, McFarland seemed not ready for a Gans bout when it was suggested, saying it may happen but not for some time. Later, in April 1908 in the Columbus Dispatch... "Packy is being urged right now to meet Joe Gans for the championship, but if he is wise he will wait a while, although he would probably stand as good a chance now as any of them. Every month he waits his chances will be better, for Gans is on the decline now... his vitality will not permit him to go the pace he once did." On April 22, the Goldfield Athletic Club out of Chicago offered $20,000 as a purse for a 45 rounder between Gans and McFarland...
coin flip this one , Packey was very hard to hit and very very good at feinting , Gans had power on his side and was koing bigger guys , Both liked the uppercut but Gans had that rear uppercut in his arsenal and can deploy it a longer range. Flip a ****ing coin good matchup though, I would put Benny Leonard in the coinflip category as well. Those 3 wipe out everyone else in any matchup that isnt against each other.
interesting I thought MIke GIbbons whooped his ass , Packey didnt get destroyed but it looked clear cut Gibbons beat him.
Surprisingly, A lot of reports also had Packey winning the fight ... All in all , I think the main consensus a draw is probably what most see it as .. I think on paper, Mike was supposed to win the fight... But just goes to show you how tough Packey really was. He is carrying around 10 plus pounds for the first time in his career, so that takes away a lot of his advantages he was know for ... Fast a foot, in and out scoring points ... Not here really, he was basically forced to bang with Mike on the inside. He was tough as hell, growing up street fighting in the Stockyards of Chicago .. The Fritzie Zivic type with a little more overall boxing skill might be a comparison in toughness ?? I too from what I saw , might give the nod to mike but not a one sided fight for me at all
Packey fought different against MIke than Welsh that is for sure. I like Packey a lot but I dont think it was a draw in the gibbons fight.He is a different level than Fritzie he is an in and out boxer like Gibbons, Leonard , Driscoll etc.
No easy task for him in this one ,, Imagine your walking around weight is 139/140 .. You are on a 2 year lay off and get in the ring weighing 153 .. are you going to be moving the same ? same speed as he was known for? No way ..... He did better than expected on paper , is my guess.. And Gibbons was a phenomenal athlete as he was a good wrestler at the Y .. before boxing
He was pretty horendously overweight in his last fight with Jack Britton too. Britton complained McFarland was a middleweight.
