Max Baer in the post-Ali unification tournament

I think you missed a few left handed uppercuts and hooks then.

The mqjority of fighters I mentioned are taller than Baer...

 

That's not true, check out the stats.

 

This is ridiculous statement, there have been plenty of situations where non-champions were the best opponents faced. Schmeling wasn't a champion striclty because he was robbed in Sharkey rematch.

 

Nah, didn’t miss a thing - put the left out a few times, nothing to write home about, the right was the key.

It stands to reason that within the fighters you extracted from Baers resume, most if not all should be all taller - as was your intention in sampling same - it doesn’t speak for whole career opposition - and I did say that Baer held height/each adv. in general and besides, of the fighters you offered you also threw in others for their greater weight and they were in fact shorter and lesser reached, so all up, of those you provided the majority were not taller - let alone identifying the taller fighters being in the lower tier themselves as far as skill goes.

 

Re Schmeling. Based on whole resume and consistency therein, we could reason him to be Baer’s most highly rated opponent over whom Baer prevailed. Though it may not change that rating, I don’t know if Schmeling, even by his own standards, was necessarily that well performed v Baer.

 

I agree, except it would be more like a sloppily constructed kill zone with great value landmines from Wal Mart that might be duds.

No, it would be walcott who would go on to become a champion and a hall of famer. He was also the best opponent available. Walcott has a hell of a resume establishing himself as a top amongst the top dogs in his era. Braddock did not do much to separate himself from the other elites of that era other than a shocking once in a lifetime upset over a disinterested Baer. He was Douglas before Douglas.

Carnera beat Sharkey who went 1:1 with Schmeling. Therefore he was the best available opponent on paper for Baer to beat. The fact Carnera was also champion seals this.

 

He shook Levinsky with left uppercut in the first round and he stopped him with a left hook in the second round.

 

Baer went 17-2 in fights when he was outweighed. That's 25% of his total fights.

Baer went 29-4 in fights against 200+lbs fighters. That's 42% of his total fights.

The idea that Baer feasted on small guys and won strictly because of his size advantage is wrong. He did better against big guys than against small guys.

 

There was a school of thought at the time, that Carnera was the champion, but Schmeling was still the best fighter in the world, becuase he had been robbed against Sharkey.

When Baer beat Schmeling and Carnera back to back, that tidied a few things up.

 

Exactly right.

And even after Schmeling lost to Baer, and then Baer lost to Braddock, many people feared the possible Braddock vs Schmeling fight for the title. At that time (after those 2 fights), Joe Louis was the only fighter that most people thought could beat Schmeling, in spite of his loss to Schmeling earlier in his career.

 

And in terms of skill, they would not be wrong. I am not denying that Schmeling got robbed either. That wasn't my point.

I'm just saying "on paper" Carnera was indeed the best opponent available for Baer to beat. Baer had literally just beaten Schmeling, the same Schmeling who lost to Sharkey who lost to Carnera. So if you simply look at the chain of the "man who beat the man", Carnera is undeniably the best man Baer beat on paper and the best opponent available.

 

At this point the poll seems to be indicating that Max Baer loses to Jerry Quarry. That's astonishing to me. I liked Jerry Quarry a LOT, and thoroughly enjoyed watching him fight. But I can't even imagine him beating Max Baer, not even the Baer who lost to Braddock... IMHO, of course.

 

The announcer states - both dangerous right hand punchers and Max with height, weight (211 vs 201) and reach advantages - as can be clearly seen anyway.


I already referenced in my previous post that a left hook was the final punch - while noting that it was the previous right hands that set Levinksy up for same - he was all but ready to go anyway.

1st rd? - Levinksy was the one landing very well, flush and clean in that rd - Baer looked awkward . I didn’t see Baer notably shake Levinksy up with the left in that rd nor do I recall it being noted in the commentary.

Ultimately it was Baer’s advantages in size, chin and right hand power that overwhelmed The King.

 

Your cave scratches are worthless when you say anyone beat Carnera he is the best fighter we have on film kid.