Langford v Wlad?

Langford is right up there with Greb for me but I this could be a bad matchup for him. I think about the Fulton fight. Langford was past his prime here but he was arguably past his prime for all or most of his heavyweight fights. In terms of dimensions Fulton was like a more rawboned version of Wlad. He may not have even had the skill of Wlad. You combine that size difference with Wlad's technique and it could be a bad match for Sam. On the other hand Langford was a dynamite puncher and Wlad has a weak chin (so did Fulton). Langford had gone 20 rounds several times just fine whereas Wlad has bad stamina. Id favor Wlad in this match but Sam would have a couple of small hopes to hang onto.

 

What do you think of Langfords sucess at avoiding the jam in his series with Sam McVea?

McVea was 5' 11'', but he alegedly had an ape index of 78''.

 

total mismatch.
Wlad ko

 

Wlad KOs him through the defense with the first punch.

On a more serious note, the matchup is ridiculous. Wlad would be heavily criticized if he were to fight someone like Langford.

 

I would favor Mickey Walker, James Toney, and Dwight Qawi over Sam Langford. But I'd give him more of a chance agasint them than against Wlad. At least they're the same size.

 

Wlad would be exceedingly slow vs Sam...he would see every punch coming. Sam is the far greater fighter...not even in the same universe.

 

Then you underrate Langford by about three orders of magnitude.

 

Langford is one of few fighters from that time period that look good via silent film quality media. There is a great video on YouTube that slows down the action so you can see his skills in slow motion...very impressive.

 

I love Mickey Walker. Another of my favorites. But I think Langford would knock him into next year. I honestly believe that and Im not underrating Walker. He could do it all. He could punch, he could box, he was athletic, had great timing, reflexes, and instincts. He was durable, had a huge heart, and was tenacious. The problem is he liked to fight and and could get hit. Most guys that would be just fine for Walker. Langford was special though. He put guys a lot bigger than Walker to SLEEP. I think Walker would have to go at Langford and in so doing he'd get hit and he'd get stopped. I love Walker. There arent a lot of guys who could beat him much less knock him out. Langford would though. Just a bad matchup for the Toy Bulldog.

Toney would lose a decision.

Qawi might have had the best chance because he had a combination of durability and volume punching. But his fight with Spinks always makes me wonder. He seemed intimidated by Spinks' power. If Spinks can do that to Qawi then Langford could too. It would be a hell of a fight though.

 

Having just watched all of the available footage on Langford, I must disagree. The only way I can square his and Johnson's records is that their opponents were even worse. He's obviously a very strong puncher and can take a punch, but beyond that I don't see a lot in him.