My 1950-1955 Heavyweight styles mini article....Please Enjoy

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Part II

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This was one of the first era in heavyweight history that was filled with Skilled Big punchers.


Joe Lous- He was once the greatest puncher who ever lived, now at 37 he was far past his prime reflexes slowed speed dampened hair balding.....yet he could still hit. The old adage is the last thing to leave a fighter is raw power. Well Louis still had his raw power left. At 6'2 215lb he was a bulky big heavyweight who had alot of force in his punch. He horribly damaged the faced of peak ATGS charles and marciano.....Durable BBC heavyweight champion Lee Savold was flattened from one Joe Louis punch. Future # 1 rated heavyweight contender big cuban nino valdez was blown away in 1 round. Louis did not pocess his deadly 5-6 blazing fast combos anymore. But he did have hard accurate forceful 2-3 punch combinations that would do quite alot of damage on the smaller heavyweights. these 2-3 punch combos were very forceful but more importantly they were thrown with a wide variety of different punches ranging from uppercuts to hooks to body punches. Louis lack of KO percentage was because he lacked the reflexes and speed to finish off the young fast contenders, but when he connected make no mistake about it he did damage. Pat Valentino on the youtube clip looked like a train ran through him. Jimmy Bivins claimed in ring magazine article louis had lost his speed and reflexes by the time of their fight, but that louis still had his power.


Rocky Marciano- "Brockton Blockbuster". What is there to say, one of the greatest punchers in heavyweight history. His Military like two fisted assault where he threw punches that landed anywhere and everywhere was one of the most physically damaging things ever seen in a ring. Rocky perhaps ruined more fighters than any fighter in boxing history, because of his style. The Effort the Rocky put into every punch he threw was unbelievable, like the "energy of an armor peircing bullet." Roland Lastarza chipped bones and got broken blood vessels in his arms trying to keep a high gaurd vs the rock, 6'4 carmine vingo was paralysed for nearly a month after getting knocked unconsious by rocky. One right hand "sheered rex laynes front teeth off at the nubs." Bernie Reynolds was lifted in the air by one rocky right hand "his shoulders and feet touched the canvas at the same time."(new york times) Rockys punchrate was what made him so devastating, in round 6 vs archie moore he could literally be seen throwing non stop powerpunches for 1:45 seconds straight, it was an unbelievable thing to think of accomplishing unless u actually saw the film...poor archie moore and his rope a dope had no idea how to stop the madman. In round 15 after 14 gruelling rounds with ezzard charles, rocky threw an amazing 96 punches in a blistering round most of them power punches. Rocky had great punching technique, every punch he threw he got his full body into them he threw them with perfect torque from his body, he also was an expert at punching out of crouch. he would slip and roll all the way around and then come up with a leaping left hook. Both his left hook and right hand packed one punch power, and his combination punching usually consistented off 3-4 punch wide variety of punches, but he would follow the combo up with a volley of one after one power shots making him a very hard fighter to defend against. His one punch knockout over jersey joe walcott still remains one of the greatest one punch kayos of all time. joe louis was in awe of rockys one punch power, moore was in awe of rockys non stop punching, roland lastarza was in awe of rocky marcianos punching anywhere and everywhere. it was all of the above that contributed to him being one of the greatest punchers of all time. Accomplishments wise, Rocky arguebably knocked out the top rated heavyweights of his era more decisevly and cleanly than any heavyweight in history along with mike tyson, joe louis, and sonny liston. Rockys record against ring magazine top 10 was 11-0(10 kos) an amazing knockout percentage against world class fighters.



Jersey Joe Walcott- Rated # 66 on Rings top 100 punchers of all time list. If there ever was a fighter who knockout percentage was deceiving, it was Jersey Joe Walcott. Walcott was a tremendous puncher, he had one punch knockout power in both his right hand and left hand. His biggest problem was.....he lacked finishing skills his style was too passive. But nearly all his knockdowns/knockouts against rated opponents came on ONE single punches. What made walcott such an effective puncher against great opposition was he was a tricky puncher. Combine tricky with power and you have yourself a dangerous fighter. most cutie counterpunches with slick moves dont have power, but walcott did so when you fell into the walcott shuffle trap where he would pretend to dance away then....BOOM!! you were toast. Walcott had million different punches in his reportoir and he would throw them at all different angles and sides. walcotts one punch knockout over ATG ezzard Charles was not only the best knockout ever seen on film, it was the most beautfully excecuted shots ever captured. Walcott floored joe louis 3 times all with single punches, was the first to floor granite chinned rocky marciano and Joey Maxim, and he knocked out ATG harold johnson with right to the jaw causing johnson to injure his back after hitting the canvas. Abe Simon claimed Walcott was the hardest hitter he ever faced.


Archie Moore- Perhaps the greatest all around puncher of all time? The ole mongoose was all time knockout king for a reason.....to put it bluntly...he could hit like a truck, he was an amazing finisher, he had a two fisted assault, he was a very sharp accurate puncher, and a great combination puncher. Archie Moore's straight right hand was one of the best punches ever invented and hopkins today tries to resemble one like it. It was sneaky, accurate, IMMENSE power, fast and sharp. The Perfect Punch. 6'2 215lb highly touted Prosect 20-1 Embrell Davidson had all the goods to be next threat to marciano, and one straight right hand in the first round against archie moore left embrell face down out cold looking like duran did vs hearns. one could only appreciate the magnitute of this knockout by ordering the film. Archie Moore was by far and far more succesful against 6
+ 200lb + heavyweights of his era more than any other heavyweight of that era. Moore made a living out of beating the daylights out of the talented big men cutting them down to size. One of the things that made moores punching skills so effective against the big men was he was very accurate and sharp puncher, and he had extremley long arms.


Clarence Henry: "Woosh!....what a puncher!!!" exclaimed Pittsburgh Heavyweight Bob Baker in EXACT quote in the post fight conference in 1951. Clarence Henry was one of the sharpest most explosive hitters of that era. John Garfield talked about Clarence Henry's lightniing like explosiveness out of the blue with electifying power in both fists. On a adrenaline filled night, Clarence Henry attemped to outslug one of the best punchers ever bob satterfield. Few at ringside thought henry had a chance when they saw his gameplan. Henry proved them wrong. Satterfield was utterly destroyed, decimated, burried in one round. On film, henry possessed all the deeds talked about. Like sugar Ray Robinson and Ezzard Charles, henry threw long blazing fast hooks that would come out of nowhere, and he was a good combination puncher. Clarence Henry in the opinion of this boxing fan is the most underated heavyweight of the 1950s because of lack of film and his shortening career due to blindess after a bad beating by archie moore. Henry had hall of fame talent at his peak and deserved a shot to prove himself vs Ezzard Charles Rocky Marciano for there crowns but never got the chance.


Nino Valdez: Devastating Puncher. Scored 34 knockouts out of 48 wins, with many knockouts over rated contenders. His Right Hand was a Killer knockout shot. It left the durable Hurricane Jackson sensless after 2 rounds. His destroyed most of Europe when he was in his 30s. His right hand was thrown classic Cuban style the way Teofilo Stevenson threw it. He also had a very heavy left hook making him a two fisted assasin with big size 6'3 212lb. Valdez body attack is underated, he wore down his smaller skilled opponents with body punches. One of his tradmark combinations was he loved to left jab to the head then shift his body and come back with a left hook to the liver, followed by a right uppercut to the head. he would sometimes mix a straight right in after the jab making it a 4 punch combo. Ultimatley, His Size and Power made Cus Damato turn him down on a dime.

 

Part III

Bob Satterfield- 5'10 182lb yet he was built like a Bodybuilder and had the power in each hand of an atomic bomb. Satterfield had one of the biggest reputations of any fighter to ever step in the ring. He was simply put a slugger looking to end things early. Everyone out there knew it, yet when they tasted satterfields power they their supposedly easy game plan went out the window. Satterfield was probably the hardest hitter of that era and were not talking p4p, He packed some serious heat in both fists, when he connected on anyone durable or top ranked they went down. 6'2 215lb bob baker looked like on his way to victory when satterfield exploded with a combination on his jaw and just like that the fight was over. what made Satterfield special was he had proven power against big heavyweights. Rated 6'2-6'3 210lb guys like baker, valdez, holman, and big cat williams were all either knocked down/or knocked out cold when they fought satterfield. when you look into sattefield further, u you will see he had very fast handspeed and good combination punching to go along with his extrordinary power. It was the blend of all those tools with his god given power that made him a special puncher. Satterfield disfigured opponents faces worse than any surgeon could, poor lee oma didnt know where he was after getting clocked by satterfield. satterfields fast twitch muscles resembled that of mike tyson to a lesser degree.



Rex Layne- "Throw out the record book on Layne, he was a rugged brawler with a quick, very heavy right. As he got shopworn and discouraged, more and more, he got outworked and beaten down. But, when he first raged out of Utah -- full of **** and vinegar -- he'd have been a handful for anybody. He could crack with that right." These were the comments displayed by john garfield on laynes power. he was right. get it right? That was pretty much what rex layne had for power, his very heavy right hand. At 6'1 200lb 22 years old and white, it looked bright for layne to make it in the boxing business. Marv Jenson his manager pretty much threw rex layne into the wolves early on and he described it as "layne would be getting outboxed badly and then that right would come out of nowhere and these guys would drop dead." Layne knocked out men of all sizes and ratings. In one of the best slugfests of the 1950s, satterfield knocked down and controlled the fight for 8 rounds, then one right hand knocked satterfield out cold. he got up out on his feet and layne finished him off. Laynes right hand had an effect on everyone until he ran into the ironchinned rocky marciano. Laynes high punch workrate combined with his fast heavy right made him a dangerous puncher of the era, because he was always going for the home run.

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This was an era of some highly skilled Boxing Technicians


Harold Johnson- One one of most perfectly flawless textbook boxers of all time. He used perfect Technique in everything he did. He carried a high gaurd, chin tucked, his defensive blocking skills and slipping punches were fanastic. He always knew how to outbox his opponents..... he would always find the right angle, or the right opening, the right counter. One of the highest rated members in Sweet Science.


Bob Baker- Perhaps from a modern technical standpoint he was the most talented big heavyweight captured on film up to that time. Bob Baker had an illustrious amatuer career that held high expectations as a pro that he did not dissapoint winning his first 26 as a professional moving into the top 5 ratings for consistent half a decade. Baker was 6'2 220lb 80" reach, in a era of smaller heavyweights domination. However, Baker unlike many of the big heavyweights of the past had exception skill and talent. Baker fought with gloves high chin tucked and moved in fluid fashion around the ring utilizing his jab, using his ring smarts and size to overwhelm the smaller opponent, and using his long arms and height to easily outbox the opponents from long range. bakers track success against men his own size was amazing, he clearly established himself as the most talked big men of the era with his boxing displays against men of his own size. Baker loved to work from the outside using his jab and fast hand to control the opponent. On the inside baker loved to get physicall, he would become much more active on the inside shortening his punches to throw uppercuts and hooks, and he would throw his size and strength to lay on the man. ultimitley though, baker was at his best at long range and would always attempt to keep his opponent there and push him back to the ropes. Roy Harris claimed "Bob baker had the fastest hands of any big man I have ever seen." I talked with John Garfield extensivley on baker, and with little info on him many people dont know bob baker suffered from horrible hand injuries that really caught up to him late in his career. by the time of the hurricane jackson fights, his brittle hand injuries were really effecting him in a way floyd mayweathers bothered him in castillo I. because of his hand injuries, baker was unable to keep sustain the agression he once produced in his youth and was forced to fight a more passive style later on. He was still so fundamentaly sound he was able to win decisions over young studs like george chuvalo but his best days were behind him. in 1955, floyd patterson asked if he could fight bob baker. Cus Damato's reply was "when your ready to fight heavyweights, ill let you know, but never against a guy like baker." Baker was in serious contention for marcianos title from 1954-56 but the brittle hands pretty much ruined his chances. a marciano vs baker fight in 1951 or a title shot vs charles in 1950-51 would have been a very crowd pleasing competitive affairs. A modern heavyweight who perfectly resembled bakers style was an in shape version of tony tubbs.


Ezzard Charles- One of the most skilled Heavyweight Champions in history. In his prime, he was a complete heavyweight, and no one was able to outbox him. The Prime time charles had exception footwork, he bounces off his toes circling around the ring like he was floating in air....he would slick and slide his way around the ring and counterpunch his opponent to death. What made him exceptional was his amazing abillty to fight larger heavyweights on the inside, he was a very skilled inside fighter. Charles was very versatile in that way. His trademark was his 1-2, in his prime his jab followed by straight sharp right flowed in motion like tom brady throwing a spiral...it was so perfect so beautiful, so unstoppable for the other fighter to defend againt. One thing people overlook on charles is his body punching, his left hook to the liver was a crippling shot that he used in almost every fight. Charles handspeed was perhaps the best of the era and his reflexes ins his prime were lightning.. All this added up to him being damm near impossible to outbox. All and All, a master boxer with god given reflexes and speed.

Jersey Joe Walcott: What can we say about Jersey Joe that hasnt already been said? Walcott had an unorthodox cutie style that has been unimpersonated over all these years because no one in history could do what he did. Eddie Futch perhaps the great trainer of all time called Walcott "one of the finest technicians in ring history." Joe Louis called Jersey Joe Walcott the best "boxer" he ever faced. Walcotts whole style was build on tricking and confusing his opponent into traps, Walcott style was more unpredictable than Forensics finding ordinary family man Dennis Raeder to be BTK 7 years ago. Walcott would do his shuffle, it looked more like a moonwalk its something that when you view on film it looks amazing, theres a clip walcott training for marciano fight where it shows 3 second clip of him sparring and he kind of backs away and moves to the right....then out of nowhere slides back to the left and i dont be slide.....i mean GLIDE through thin air something only superman could do it looked un doable from a naked eye. This waltz wasnt just for showboat, walcott used it effectly as part of his style laying his opponents into trap counteres, or getting them off balance so he could hit them with clean punches. I dont think anyone mastered walcott in ring generalship. he truelly exemplified the term "Art" and "Boxing".


Roland Lastarza- Roland Lastarza was way ahead of his time when it came to defense. He held a high gaurd, chin tucked, elbows in his mechanics were perfect. with his high gaurd and passive style he was very hard to penatate and very cool at blocking punches, he was very scientific and very smart fighter, and was very adapt at making his opponent fight his fight. He was very good at making his opponent not land cleanly frutrating his foe to the point where they got off their game. His offensve consisted of entirely counterpunching, but he was a good counterpuncher and let combinations roll off his shoulders smoothly and freely and he was very accurate. Roland Lastarza was called by the papers and contemporaries "the best defensive fighter of the era." With revenge on his mind, # 3 rated Dan Bucceroni was embarrased by the skill of lastarza in the rematch. Bucceroni was counterpunched and baffled all over the ring for 10 rounds, floored 5 times by counter-punches. Lastarza bloodied up bucceroni in the first and never stopped the torment the rest of the fight. it was a shutout masterpiece.

 

Part IV

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"Clarence Henry has been rated on par with jersey joe walcott, the heavyweight champion, and challengers rocky marciano and Ezzard Charles."-New York Times March 18 1952


"Joe Louis still possessed the Boxing Skill, Power, and determination to batter out of his path anyone who would undertake to frustrate the goal he has set for himself- winning the heavyweight championship. Joe Louis is still the most dangerous man in the path of the champion, Ezzard Charles."- New York Times June 16th 1951


"Hurricane Jackson has been reputed to be the strongest fighter extant, with the possible exception of rocky marciano. An unpredictable fighter, Jackson throws punches both left and right in a steady stream."- New York Times July 15th 1954


"The National Boxing Assocation's quarterly ratings realeased today named Nino Valdes as the only logical contender for Rocky Marciano's World heavyweight title. Valdez is the first heavyweight to be chosen as most logical contender since the N.B.A picked Charles before his first fight with Marciano."- New York Times Oct 7 1954


"Nino Valdez is the strongest championship prospect from latin america since Luis Firpo saw action here in 1923. Valdez is a big, but agile and powerful Cuban. Valdez is especially strong with punches to the body. He scored a huge upset unanimous decision over Ezzard Charles last year. "- New York Times July 14 1954


"Archie Moore, lightheavyweight champion, carrying the heaviest weight of his career, gave a savage beating to pittsburgh heavyweight bob baker tonight to win by technical knockout in 2:08 of the 9th round. Archie carried his weight beatifully as he pressed a viscious attack that finally brought the courageous but outclassed to the point of knockout in the 7th round. In that round, the champino chased baker around the ring and got through his gaurd with almost everything he threw. Baker was bleeding from the the mouth, the nose, and cuts over the eyes. Baker was reeling before an attack in the 9th when referee Petey Sarron stopped the fight. Baker's blood had splattered newsmen at ringside."- New York Times Mar 10 1954


"Though the verdict went in his favor, charles found himself a highly unpopular figure with the near-capacity crowd when the announcement was made. The fans were heavily inclined for the gladiator from Camden, NJ., and they cheered his every good move with great volume while ezzards best efforts were ignored by all save a few clapping hands. The decision was roundly booed and jeered, and charles left the ring to the accompaniment of a succesion of imprecations. When Jersey Joe left the ring the spectators raised a mighty yell for him, indicating a belief that he was "robbed." As a Matter of fact, Charles was winner by clear margin. 80-70, 84-66, 83-67 were the scores in favor for Ezzard. This observer agreed with the referee's 80-70 decision for Charles. Walcott suprised the crowd and his rival by showing greater inclination to get in there and fight rather than cakewalk around the ring like he did in his new york fights with joe louis. Jersey Joe pulled the shuffle once in a while, and confused charles the first time he did it, but in the main he was every bit as aggresive as the champion. Charles strong point was his sharper hitting. His punches found the target more cleanly than did walcotts, and the carried a mite more authority. He scored the only knockdown of the battle when a blazing fast right hand then left hook to the jaw in the 9th round sent jersey joe to the canvas for a count of 9. This fight took an amazing turn toward the close. The Challenger, was expected to have nothing left in the face of the younger champions closing drives. Actually, walcott was the stronger in the 15th and twice had the champion staggering under the force of left hooks to the jaw. It doubtless was this impressive finish that caused the crowd to react as it did to the decision. This, plus the fact the champion looked in worse shape than his foe." - New York Times March 8 1951


"The Punching Power of Bob Satterfield, Saved him from defeat tonight when he knocked out John Holman, Indiana Heavwyeight, in the last round of their scheduled 10 rounder. Satterfield, Trailing on all 3 scorecards, launched a viscious attack at the start of the round. A shattering left hook dropped Holman in the Neutral corner. He was on his face, with blood spurting from his nose and mouth, as he was counted out." New York Times July 12 1954


"Baker hesitated to move forward as often as he might have, and it was this conservative procedure that cost him the decision. The Pittsburgh Warrior obviousely knew the right moves that were missing from jacksons repertory, but he employed them only infrequently. Jacksons best attribute proved to be his endurance. Round after Round saw him step into Baker and fire away with both hands without cease. These tactics at times discouraged Baker, who seemd to regard his opponent curiousely as he adressed him after the fight "where did this guy learn how to box?". The fact remaisn though, that baker was remiss in not applying his great knowledge, skill, power, and experience with consistency. New York Times Feb. 4 1956


"Joe Louis, the former world title holder today picked Roland Lastarza to defeat Champion Rocky Marciano on sept 24 at Polo Grounds. Ive got to go along with lastarza" Louis said after watching the challenger spar 5 rounds. " I dont see anyone else can beat Marciano except lastarza." louis said." - New York Times sept 14 1953


"Thirty six year old Jersey Joe Walcott, outpointed Undefeated German Champion Hein Ten Hoff in 10 rounds today. The Previousely undefeated 6'6 German used his tremendously long reach to hold off walcott with left jabs but hardly ever connected with straight rights. Walcott broke hoff's nose in the first and had him bleeding throughout the fight. He kept hoff on the run with hard rights and looping fast lefts."- New York Times March 29 1950


"Layne looms as the outstanding prospect west of the
Mississippi. He is a very hard hitter... Layne has what it takes to be developed into the next world heavyweight king. He can hit and has an abundance of courage." - New York Times Nat Fleischer April 1951

 

Part V

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Joe Louis March 1950

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Clarence Henry

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Bob Baker

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Nino Valdez

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Rocky Marciano

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Jersey Joe Walcott

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Bob Satterfield

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Ezzard Charles

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Harold Johnson

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Hurricane Jackson

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Roland Lastarza

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Rex Layne

 

did u even read the article? it talks all about how jacksons resume appears to make him look much better than he really was. he was not world class, he was not a good fighter, he had no boxing skill and was a basket case....thats being kind.

But like I said records are devieving. Charles was shot when he faced jackson, and according to one of my findings charles deserced the jackson rematch as he outboxed jackson and gave him a body beating outside of the 10th round, the source scored the bout 6 rounds to 4 for charles. either way jackson faced a completley washed up version of charles.


now on to baker-jackson fights. baker was experiencing brittle hand injuries by this time and was nowhere near 100%. yet by all accounts, baker was horrible robbed in the rematch. According to the times, out of the 11 ringside writers, 9 scored it for baker and 2 for jackson . AP scorecard had it 7 rounds to 5 baker, times had it 8-3-1 for baker.


Rex Layne was another horrible washed up shot foe who jackson beat on, these wins are meaningless.


clarence henry according to eyewitness reports like john garfield was near blind going into the jackson fight, and was nowhere near physically qualified to be in the ring at that point and retired right after. John Garfield claimed no way would jackson ever beat a live version of clarence henry.


The only young in shape contenders jackson fought......machen valdez patterson all brutalized him. John Garfield described jackson as pretty much the furthest thing from a world class fighter. he rated baker layne henry valdez in much higher regard than jackson.





I strongly suggest you read the above article before jumping to ridiculous conclusions.

 

what jumps you to this conclusion.......... harold johnson beat henry h2h, and beat better heavyweights? henry retired prematurely due to blindness

Walcott beat prime versions of ezzard charles and harold johnson in the 1950s and nearly beat a peak marciano. he deserves number 2. besides who is going to beat him h2h on the list outside of marciano?

 

but you take the body of work charles baker henry and layne accomplished 1950-1953 and take into factor h2h ability and that exceeds anything jackson did or could do.


Charles from 1950-1955 beat Walcott 2x, louis, layne, satterfield, wallace, holman.....these are better wins than jackson had


Baker from 1950-1955 beat Valdez 2x, Wallace 2x, Layne 3x, Slade, Peaks, Holman, Brion....better wins than jackson has.


Henry beat Bivins Baker Satterfield davidson thompson and has h2h abilities.


Layne beat near prime versions of charles walcott and beat thompson brion satterfield. better wins than jackson has 1950-1955.

 

bump sorry if it was a bit long i got ahead of myself

 

Thanx Fog and MF,

I like your list too. I found that henry/baker/valdez/satterfield are extremley hard to rate in order. I think I went a little bit more on h2h since i had so much trouble figuring out who accomplished more for there era.