Ketchel vs. LaMotta

Hopefully jakes people get in touch with me in a few days. If he still lives in the bx i'll ask him this very question

 

Granted, a bout of this nature can capsize either way, but then there remains basic traits against LaMotta.

He isn't as quick, or as crafty, and the gulf in punching power is considerable.

Jake never lived the day he met a puncher like Ketchel; a man who left light-heavyweights and heavies snorting resin.

 

Tough call. Jake clashed with a crafty and murderous puncher in Lloyd Marshall and lost a close UD some felt he won. Considering how close the fight was you can guess Lloyd got some good shots in on Jake and Archie Moore said that Lloyd was one of the hardest hitters he ever met, so it's not absolutely certain Jake wouldn't survive Ketchel's bombs IMO. On the other hand Ketchel's durability tends to be overlooked because he is most famous for his crunching power. Sure, wars of attrition were Jake's bread and butter, he knew how to worn the guy out methodically and pace himself while shrugging off damage, but Ketchel was no bum in boxing marathons himself. His relentlessness was as famous as his hitting power and he went 20 rds quite a few times once going 34 or 32 or something.

 

Ted, in the 1940s, I would read accounts from boxing writers who saw Stanley Ketchel fight ringside, ASIDE from the remaining film today existing
of Ketchel fighting the 40 pound heavier Jack Johnson and the last bout with Billy Papke in 1920, in which Ketchel badly damaged his hands, but still won a TWENTY round decision over a Billy Papke...Ketchel admitted he didn't look good in this bout...But Ketchel had 49 kos against the best of his time, and was a murderous puncher much like a Gerald Macllelan , but with greater durability...None of these writers of those days would even mention Jake LaMotta in the same breath with Stanley Ketchel...And I
tend to agree with those writers still alive in the 1940s who saw the Michigan Assassin at work...

 

Correction : Ketchel's 20 round win over Billy Papke was in 1909...Sorry...
One year before he was shot and killed in Conway Missouri, recuperating from probable cocaine problems in 1910...

 

While Bob Satterfield was not as great as Ketchel by any means, I would argue that he had a better record of leaving light heavyweights and heavyweights stretched out than Ketchel.

Claims to Ketchel being a terror to light heavyweights and heavyweights are somewhat questionable in my view, even if he did unquestionably KO several bigger men. Light heavy champ O'Brien though was no bigger than a middleweight himself.

LaMotta was a crafty infighter I would say. Even with the fourth Papke fight not being Ketchel's best performance, I could definitely see LaMotta troubling him based on it. Papke, even in his devastating losses to Ketchel, was always able to smother much of Ketchel's offense and maneuver him into positions to land his own punches. That was a large part of LaMotta's game.

 

Lamotta. Ketchel seemed a bit frail to me, as hard as he hit. Lamotta was as tough as leather too, if Robinson ain't putting him down, then neither is Ketchel. Lamotta takes it deep with body/head combinations and wins a decision.

 

Ketchel... "frail".... umm... never mind

 

Ketchel. KO

 

Hopkins
Burley
Robinson
Lamotta
Monzon
Hagler
GreB
....


Ketchel.

 

Ketchel beat Papke's ass. And I think Lamotta took any kind of beating that was similar to Papke vs Ketchel when he stood up to Robinson 6 times.