There was a time when Pittsburgh could boast having 5 of the 8 world champions as being from their metropolis. I don't think any other city has ever accomplished such a feat. That said, let's see how West PA's best stacks up against East PA's best. HW- Bob Baker/Harry Bobo/Curtis "Hatchetman" Sheppard vs. Joe Frazier LH- Billy Conn vs. Tommy Loughran MW- Harry Greb vs. Bernard Hopkins WW- Charley Burley vs. Pete Latzo LW- Sammy Angott vs. Bob Montgomery/Lew Tendler FW- Jackie Wilson vs. Jeff Chandler BW- Jimmy Thomas/Mose Butch vs. Benny Bass/Percy Bassett FW- Wee Willie Davies vs. Midget Wolgast
My picks: Bobo and Sheppard are big punchers and are a danger at all times, but Frazier is a great fighter and finds a way to win. He stops Bobo and Baker, but decisions the durable Hatchetman. Loughran is primarily a left handed boxer. Conn uses both and is no slouch in the slickness dept. The guy could box AND slug and would utilize both in decisioning Tommy. Greb wins by a wide margin over Hopkins. Too much of everything. Hopkins is a great fighter but has nothing that Greb hasn't seen a thousand times before. I would pick Teddy Yarosz to beat BHop as well. Burley thrashes Latzo. I would pick him at MW to beat Hopkins too (sorry Bernard! I know it seems like I'm being hard on you, but...) Angott already beat Montgomery 3 out of 3, with 2 of those decisions coming right in the Bobcat's own backyard. His mauling style would have stifled Tendler as well. Don't be fooled by the losses on Wilson's record. Most came at the end of his career. Pittsburgh Jackie beat an astounding array of top notch battlers in a long career. Chandler's record literally pales in comparison. Wilson by UD. Benny Bass already beat Mose Butch and would have beaten Thomas too. Benny was a great champion, whereas Butch and Thomas were merely excellent contenders. Bassett vs. Butch or Thomas? Hard to say. Wolgast and Wee Willie fought several times with Davies winning only once. Wolgast was the top flyweight of his time. An awesome fighting machine. But Wee Willie was definitely no. 2(he thrashed Frankie Genaro) and is terribly overlooked and forgotten by today's historians.
HW- Bob Baker/Harry Bobo/Curtis "Hatchetman" Sheppard vs. This content is protected LH- Billy Conn vs. This content is protected This could go either way, But if you held a gun to my head, I would have to go with Tommy. MW- This content is protected vs. Bernard Hopkins WW- This content is protected vs. Pete Latzo LW- This content is protected vs. Bob Montgomery/Lew Tendler FW- Jackie Wilson vs. This content is protected BW- Jimmy Thomas/Mose Butch vs. This content is protected FW- Wee Willie Davies vs. This content is protected
Frazier tossup Greb Burley (although Latzo fought out of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area and probably would have denied any allegiance to Philly) Might have to go with Tendler or Montgomery here. Dont know enough about the bottom three category fighters to make a good analysis
