How good was," The King Of The Cane Brakes" William Lawrence Stribling? He has a long ko record, but we know quite a few wins were over his buddy/chauffeur and toughmen types. When he stepped up the quality , he stumbled at times but also has some quality wins. Where should he be placed? Good ? Very Good? Near Great? I won't include great as it doesn't apply imo. Thoughts?
I think he was a very good contender, but a good way off an ATG, the level of a mediocre to weak champion. Schmeling's win over him helped legitimise his title. He had good defensive reflexes, but he wasn't great at using them to set up much offense, often just jabbing then rushing in. There's a fair bit of footage of him.
