Just watched Gypsy Joe Harris Vs. Emille Griffith...

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by klompton, Jul 7, 2009.


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  1. klompton

    klompton Boxing Addict banned

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    I had wanted to see Harris for years as Id heard a lot about his style and ability. I must say, I was not impressed at all. I would like to see him in one of his winning efforts but Griffith was probably best the guy he fought and Harris was in his prime and it would be hard to give him one second of any of the footage I have. He has a very weird, ugly style with a lot of herky jerky movements, shoulder rolls, jiving, etc. Griffith stays on top of him the whole time and doesnt give Harris room to breath. Another thing that was really disconcerting was that Harris looked like a freaking alien. He had no neck and his head was enormous, long, and bald. This head that was almost as big as his body just sits on top of his shoulders. Maybe it was a poor a performance but I dont see any reason to believe he would have ever amounted to a great fighter.
     
    klompton, Jul 7, 2009
    klompton, Jul 7, 2009
    #1
  2. Sweet Pea

    Sweet Pea Obsessed with Boxing banned

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    The footage I recall seeing was distinctly different, though I only saw brief portions.
     
    Sweet Pea, Jul 7, 2009
    Sweet Pea, Jul 7, 2009
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  3. McGrain

    McGrain Diamond Dog Staff Member

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    Wasn't Harris suffering badly with eye trouble by that time?
     
    McGrain, Jul 7, 2009
    McGrain, Jul 7, 2009
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  4. Longhhorn71

    Longhhorn71 Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    By winning this non-title fight, Harris got his picture on the cover of
    Sports Illustrated.
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    This content is protected
     
    Longhhorn71, Jul 7, 2009
    Longhhorn71, Jul 7, 2009
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  5. My2Sense

    My2Sense Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Most people felt after the Griffith fight that Harris had been "exposed." He was a good, crowd-pleasing attraction but not really a great fighter.
     
    My2Sense, Jul 7, 2009
    My2Sense, Jul 7, 2009
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  6. klompton

    klompton Boxing Addict banned

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    Distinctly different how? Just curious about your impressions because Harris does almost nothing offensively and when he does punch it has no effect on Griffith. Griffith is breathing down his neck the whole time and Harris looks more interested in showing off "fancy," pointless moves (which dont really look that impressive to me) than actually trying to win the fight. Griffith is literally walking him down and walking through him.
     
    klompton, Jul 7, 2009
    klompton, Jul 7, 2009
    #6
  7. Longhhorn71

    Longhhorn71 Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Looks like the Griffith fight was his last fight in his career..only had one loss.

    He beat Kittten Hayward, Jose Stable, Bobby Cassidy, and Curtis Cokes....all decent fighters of the Sixties.
     
    Longhhorn71, Jul 7, 2009
    Longhhorn71, Jul 7, 2009
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  8. TheGreatA

    TheGreatA Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    I believe it was described as an unspirited performance by him although Griffith surely had a lot to do with that. I would like to see his fight against Curtis Cokes.

    I don't think he was great but I wouldn't count him out based on one performance, especially against a great fighter like Griffith. He never truly got a chance to show how good/great he was, the man had to retire at 24 years of age.

    Excuse me, he was actually only 22 when he retired.
     
    TheGreatA, Jul 7, 2009
    TheGreatA, Jul 7, 2009
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  9. My2Sense

    My2Sense Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    But except for Cokes, those fighters were essentially in the same boat - all good, decent contenders, but at least a notch or two below the top level. (And Stable was washed up by that time time, BTW.)
     
    My2Sense, Jul 7, 2009
    My2Sense, Jul 7, 2009
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  10. red cobra

    red cobra Loyal Member Full Member

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    Harris befuddled some very good fighters at the time...and I follwed reports of these fights in Ring Magazine...to his credit the excellent Emile Griffith solved the riddle of the Gypsy, much like, in a latter day parallel, Tony Lopez figured out and beat Jorge Paez (that's from left field, huh?)
     
    red cobra, Jul 7, 2009
    red cobra, Jul 7, 2009
    #10
  11. sweet_scientist

    sweet_scientist Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    :lol: Did you deduct points for the size of his dome?

    Imagine Gypsy Joe vs. Buddy McGirt. Battle of the aliens.
     
    sweet_scientist, Jul 7, 2009
    sweet_scientist, Jul 7, 2009
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  12. Sweet Pea

    Sweet Pea Obsessed with Boxing banned

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    Again, I saw only clips, but in one of the bits of footage I saw Harris was tagging Griffith to pieces with uppercuts off the ropes, making him look sluggish.
     
    Sweet Pea, Jul 7, 2009
    Sweet Pea, Jul 7, 2009
    #12
  13. klompton

    klompton Boxing Addict banned

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    That definately is not what I saw. Harris' punches were weak and ineffective. Griffith was taking it to him Harris wasnt even competetive.

    And as for McGirt, his head was nothing compared to Harris' Im not even kidding it was bizarre how big Harris' head was compared to his body.
     
    klompton, Jul 7, 2009
    klompton, Jul 7, 2009
    #13
  14. Raging B(_)LL

    Raging B(_)LL KAPOW!!! Full Member

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    Harris was horribly weight drained going into the Griffith bout, he had to lose something like 18 pounds I believe it was just a few days before the fight and while he made the weight he was essentially reduced to posturing and jiving throughout the bout as he didn`t have the stamina to do much else. Not saying that he would have beaten Griff had he been in tip top shape, but at the very least he would have acquitted himself better and put up a better showing.
     
    Raging B(_)LL, Jul 7, 2009
    Raging B(_)LL, Jul 7, 2009
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  15. sweet_scientist

    sweet_scientist Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    lol, I think Harris looked a bigger headmaster than what he actually was because he had a bit of a hunch-back droopy shoulder thing happening.

    Still think Buddy is up there as far as racing bike helmet-heads go:

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    sweet_scientist, Jul 7, 2009
    sweet_scientist, Jul 7, 2009
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