My dreamfight: Prime Jerry Quarry vs Prime George Foreman!

Parents moved us from Washington State to Long Beach, California in 1968.

Everyone has a time when they can remember first following sports and for me it was basically the '69 Dodgers, Lakers, and Rams.

But before that, as my father had always been a sport fan, I know I saw boxing on tv as early as the mid-60s - all of those replays of the the prior greats like Louis, Marciano, and this and that of the current stuff with Liston, Patterson, Clay, etc. (all black and white - we didn't get our first color set until probably about '69).

Watching the replays of great fights was definitely exciting. On the other hand, the half dozen or so live fights I was taken to see from '70 through '72 were really anything but. I don't recall the reason (or impetus), perhaps it was military related, perhaps it was due to some family in Bakersfield, CA, but for some reason we went to a fair number of fights mostly at the Olympic Auditorium in LA and a couple at the Forum usually to watch the Quarry brothers (Mike and Jerry specifically).

We caught fights by Danny and his brother Ernie Lopez there as well. [Actually, in California anyway .. I think I saw more fights by Danny Lopez than just about any other fighter - seemed like he was always on tv. I'll simply say his historic rep is larger than the impression I had by miles.]

To be brutally honest, I found Mike and Jerry's fights (and Danny and Ernie's too) to be rather dull and uninteresting. Their athletic level just wasn't exceptional to these eyes and in Mike and Jerry's case, their fights made for slow bludgeoning affairs that took a greater and greater toll upon their well being.

With the benefit of time, I can look back on Jerry and see he did a good job with what he had, note he was largely successful, and recognize he had some great performances and great action rounds and kos. Still, I'm afraid we often note a career in comparison to the very best and from a youth's simplifying viewpoint he was a bit of an always trying but over matched punching bag for Ali and Frazier.

I look back at the Quarry's and the Lopez' and don't find much that was impressive in their athleticism. Some who were there attribute an undeniable fondness for their careers, some who weren't derive the same viewpoint based upon viewing their record and watching the video of their fights. For me, being easy to hit, trying to win, or having to struggle to win by attrition isn't athletic greatness. Far, far from it.

Like many from the majority spectrum of America we were inculcated with the common perspective of those around us that Rocky was the greatest ever (father being military he was more even handed and wouldn't allow Joe Louis to be dismissed). In the sixties, as turmoil raged, Clay/Ali was undeniably the best - though his acceptance as such was still a long long way away for the country's majority.

Nonetheless, it was more appropriate to be Smokin' Joe fans and since he had a great work ethic and less outrageous temperament he was easy to like - and we did. We were pulling for him in '71 as we watched on closed circuit. The late knockdown was thrilling. Joe was obviously comparatively less talented and he was smaller (I've always credited a great performance by a small heavyweight more - as I think size matters considerably), but he stood tall in victory.

When Joe was scheduled to meet Foreman I expected a great battle. That night, we waited for the news results and when it came up I was shocked. I was convinced the fight had to be fixed. No one destroys Frazier dropping him all those times in two rounds. Even when I saw some black and white still photos and eventually the fight video itself it didn't look real. But, alas, we all know it was.

There is a certain nostalgia in remembering athletes from earlier periods. Comparatives between eras are often pointless and regularly impossible.

For example, some only saw Ali's career when he was far past prime and remember more of how he laid on the ropes, took an incredible amount of punishment, looked less than scintillating, and got some close and somewhat questionable wins. Those that were actually there watching his career as it happened are more influenced by the fact that he began his pro career in 1960, was dominant by the mid-60s through '67 and lost the next three and half years of what would have been a major part of his physical prime. When you look at what he accomplished right after the long layoff it is short-sighted to underestimate what those years would have meant. To measure his career or judge his talent from anywhere near the time when he met Bugner, Norton, Frazier II, or Foreman - well, that was a past prime man after the passage of twelve years as a pro - whether it was all spent in the ring or not. But, back to this topic ...

In this case, you have two from essentially the same period and it isn't so hard to envision the outcome.

Big George was younger, took up the sport later, and was less skilled than Jerry in some ways. He threw wider he had fewer tools at the time than the later version who returned in '87.

But, one cannot dismiss that Jerry was short-armed, easy to hit, and he took far too much damage in the ring. His career was essentially over by '75. Assuming that this fight takes place around '73 or '74, you have one fighter who is well on his way to being finished and one who is really young and impervious. There isn't an unimaginable heat to drain Foreman. There isn't a supremely talented (albeit well past prime) Ali across from him. The punches that resulted in hurting and getting a ref's stoppage in the 1st round against Shavers simply are not going to have anywhere near the same affect upon Big George.

I have little doubt George lights Jerry up and sends him to the canvas in five.

Even if you back Jerry up a few years and put him in on the best night of this entire life I can't see him winning. There is just no way.

 

Foreman. Quarry did not have the dicipline to stick to the gameplan. He would stand toe to toe with George at some point and get taken out.

 

Quite a lot of people think that Quarry would stand a good chance against Foreman. I just can't see it. Jerry would be knocked out,or cut to pieces by Foreman's power punches. George would have been a different proposition to Lyle,Shavers or Foster. In the early/middle seventies,only the great Ali could have beaten George.

 

foreman in 5

 

Quarry had the style and chin to make it through Foreman's early attempts and a wide-swinging and slowed down Foreman start to feel Quarry's power around the 5th -6th 7th rd and his empty gas-tank and Quarry's power fell the Big -guy

 

Foreman by TKO6

 

good post

 

It's basically a fight between one of the best heavys ever against one of the best cruisers ever. Foreman would overpower Jerry, probably beat him more convincingly than Frazier, Ali, or Norton...who were all pretty convincing.

 

Big George wins by KO 4th rd, Jerry would have some moments but Foreman would crush him in the end.

 

I'd like to see Jerry Quarry vs Ike Ibeabuchi

 

However, the reverse-race card...

 

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=158499


Guys read up on the Quarry vs Middleton fight. Jerry just nipped it!

 

I must say that the fight was excellent and Ref gibbs dec was the same as i scored the fight with Quarry winning in the last round. Mickey Duff

Quarry said after the fight that he knocked up his left hand in the fourth round. I was not as sharp as i would have liked. Middleton is a smart fighter who deserves his world rating.