The freckled wonder is one of the first ATG's I'm boxing history. His magnificent power allowed him to starch many opponents. He also had good longevity. You can make him start in which ever division you want. Your goal is to maneuver him into a title shot and to make as much money as possible while also seasoning him to be the best fighter he can be. How would you go about it?
He’d be a totally different fighter, for better or for worse. A lot of Fitzsimmons’ strengths came from his unpredictable and unusual style which I’m not sure could have existed in the 70s.
He starts off by winning titles at 147 (with a morning weigh in instead of ringside), 154, 160, and up to 175. I don’t think 168 existed then, or cruiser….? Did 154? He won’t be champion at heavyweight, but he’d still be a three or four weight class champion.
I mean with that type of acclaim it's possible he could maybe get a title shot at leon spinks? He might be able to possibly beat him. Also think I might do Joe walcott next he's one that would benefit greatly from better management.
Fitz's lowest recorded weight is 148 so getting him to WW would be tough. He was really as light as a nearly 6 ft man gets. Might as well put him in 154 because its a tweener division the big names don't fight in as much. Big stars will migrate to 160 and can be avoided big WWs will migrate to 154. So thats probably his best bet. The reason guys with this sort of power don't reach the top level is they can't win consistantly even at a lower level like a Wilder. They could beat the champ a low percentage of the time but the way the sport works(especially now) you need to be able to do it consistantly to climb the ladder. And no matter how absurdly overpowered Fitz is for WW/SMW the reality is hes going to struggle to avoid losses at some level before reaching the top. There probably are freaks with Fitz power at even lower weights we never hear about because they just don't climb the ladder. Sending someone to the ER 2/3s or even 4/5s of the time will not be enough if he loses the other third or fifth. Loses can only start to mount once a fighter has climbed to the top of the pyramid without them. It'd be easier for Fitz to do this in the 70s than today because today a fighter almost has to undefeated and even the WWs aren't THAT much smaller. But while Fitz wouldn't have to go undefeated he'd have to win more fights. Today you only need like 20 something with the right planning but the "right 20" would be even harder to run the table against. Its HW but look at Earnie Shavers in the 70s he had to 33-2 to get into Rings top 10 45-2 to get a 12 round eliminator type fight. This included big wins or wins that aged well like Jimmy Young. 54-5 to get his first title shot at 33 He needed 90% and more like 95 early on. I'm not sure theres any massaging the SOS that can get Fitz winning that often. The reason Fitzsimmons is able to fight in our hypothetical threads is because we know hes Bob Fitzsimmons and he skips the process of having to get there.
I am sure that what he brought to the table would translate well in any era. As others have said, he would end up as a very different fighter. However you brought him along, he woudl have had some of the nastiest hands, that had ever been seen in a man of that weight. That woudl translate into knockouts, and fan interest. It is a tougher era, but you also have more options to play with. A lot would depend upon when he peaked, because the second half of the 70s has a lot more planes of weakness than the first half.
