I think his durability helped to overcome his technical shortcomings somewhat. This enabled him to take a better boxer's punches and remain in the fight long enough to bring his own assets to the fore. Plus he just wasn't as dedicated as someone with his natural physical gifts should have been. I always thought he looked terrible at times on film but then at times he looked good...not great mind you but good. Imagine if Max buckled down and really applied himself...and developed a good snapping jab at the end of his 80" reach? And shortened his punches more often? With his chin and stamina he could've been a top 10 HW champion. Oh well.
I disagree that Schmeling was inconsistent. That aside he was a great fighter, in my opinion the best heavyweight at the time, and Max beat him. That says something. It surprises me but he beat him. Thats all that matters in the end. Back to Schmeling being inconsistent: Prior to Baer every loss except his first one (and he only had four or five) came against a more experienced fighter. Usually MUCH more experienced. Prior to Baer, and in his prime, he only lost to Sharkey (a fight I personally think he won). After Baer and before the second Louis fight he lost to Hamas but Hamas was a pretty good fighter, a great athlete, and had some impressive wins. The following year Schmeling damn near killed him, gave him brain damage, and ended his career in avenging that bout. Schmeling may be the best win on Baer's career but thats nothing to sneeze at IMO considering I believe Schmeling to be the best heavyweight between Tunney and Louis.
Baer's basically a smaller inferior Foreman. He could be outboxed because of his prehistoric skills and he could be outbrawled because of his prehistoric skills. But he was very strong and knew how to punch from any angle so could walk through some who were better boxers, ie Schmelling. Although Schmelling maybe would have won a rematch.
He looks like a poor man's Tyson Fury but with a better chin. I do believe Max had a lot of potential but his physical assets carried him far further than they would have in many other eras.
He doesn't look technically sound that's for sure. Big man for his time, big puncher, with a great chin,it took him a long way.
His style wasn’t pretty. It was crude. He telegraphed many of his punches. Lacked a jab. And had poor defense. He did however have a solid chin, very heavy punch, and the Stamina to go fifteen rounds. In the heavyweight division those attributes can take someone far and In Max’s case it did.
Immense power and durability. Ample stamina, a 15 or 20 round fighter. He was good enough to land punches on opponents. The men who tasted his power understood.
Baer was good sized for his era at about 6'2" or 6' 3", had natural strength, huge reach, a terrific chin and was a big time puncher .. he lacked total focus and commitment but used his physical advantages and gifts to be a force in the division for quite a while .. he often looked limited along the way, looked average in many fights and dropped some decisions but he was the sort of guy no one took for granted or lightly .. to this day his victory over Schmeling surprises me because Schmeling was everything Baer wasn't ; focused, well trained, polished but Baer did a number on him .. then did it one Carnera who was at his best at the time so there you go .. once Louis destroyed him , the way he destroyed him, Baer was not the same .. they propped him up and fed him slowly to try and rebuild for one more run but he was done mentally after Louis .. I believe his confidence in his indestructibility was shot ..
Baer is a prime example of how raw physicality can compensate for a lot of shortcomings. If he were around today everybody would say that he was on steroids, a drug cheat for sure. He's the same reason why men fancy their chances against women, even ones that have some training. In gaming terms he's the level 50 character being run by a five year old making patty cakes out of level 20s being piloted by experts. Great chin, great power, gameness and the will to go with it. It's also the reason why he ages badly in H2H hypotheticals against modern boxers. When the modern guy is bigger than Baer and with undeniably more skill, ol' Max's chances dwindle drastically.
Boy I agree with that, on paper I'd have thought Schmelling had all the tools needed to box Baer's head off. That Baer beat him says he had the ability to beat better fighters than himself. He's an interesting character.
