Primo Carnera Appreciation Thread

I believe Primo Carnera, far ,far from being a great heavyweight,was a dead game,courageous giant,although limited,was able to go ,full speed for 15 rounds,taking great punishment if needed...I believe he would outlast ,and outhustle either Klitchko brothers in a 15 round bout if fighting today...Carnera had trouble with smaller and quicker fighters,as he could not cope with speed and agility...After 10 rounds he would have the stamina, I believe to tire out the fading russians...Eke out a decision...

 

Carnera was underrated in his time, however I think he gets overrated now as a result.

For em he is still one of the worst Champions

 

I think he was alright.

 

:roll: Sorry Burt but your bias towards older fighters is absolutely ridiculous.

I enjoy reading your posts and think it's amazing that you've seen so many of the greats in the flesh, but the notion that Primo Carnera would defeat either Klit is absurd.

 

I think he was rated accordingly in his own time. He was seen as a good fighter, not a great by any means but a good fighter. After his losses to Baer, Louis and the rumours that began to surround his ascension to the top, he became criminally underrated, a joke and a circus act among boxing fans and historians.

Right now he is still considered one of the very worst to ever hold the title so I wouldn't call him overrated. He's just given a bit more credit than in the past. One can see that he had some qualities about him and that he was a real fighter, not someone whose fights were all fixed.

 

i have not seen much of him but someone posted a bit of him a while ago and i was surprised at his foot speed

 

Not a great fighter, but a good fighting champion who brought the title out of mothballs, and defended it against worthy challengers. Nobody ever counted ten over him. Came back quickly from his defeats to Maloney, Sharkey, Baer and Louis with quality wins over Paulino Uzcudun, King Levinski, Victorio Campolo and Walter Neusel respectively. His career path shows a steady record of general improvement in rematches, particularly in his title winning effort. (In this respect, we're fortunate to have Carnera-Sharkey I & II on film.)

Within his limitations, he had decent mobility, and made optimal use of his height and reach advantage when he wasn't taking on somebody named Campolo or Impellitiere. (When he did find himself facing a rare taller opponent like those two, he proved he could deal with it.) He made better use of his height and reach than Buddy Baer did. (Buddy and Carnera might have been interesting. Buddy could certainly send him down, but Primo could control matters from long range with that pesky jab.)

Two decision wins over the bull strong Uzcudun demonstrate that he could manage somebody with tremendous physical strength and endurance. Paulino was hot going into their title rematch, and he'd draw with Schmeling in his next outing, but he couldn't lift the title. Primo gets full credit on this board and elsewhere for decisioning Loughran, but more people need to see footage of Miami, Sharkey II, and the rounds he won in the title losing effort to Baer.

According to the current standards of the IBHOF, I believe Primo belongs. Between 1910 (Jack Johnson) and 1938 (Joe Louis) Carnera was the only heavyweight champion to risk the title three times within the span of a year.

 

McKay, thanks for your input...I ;before I give my opinion, try to be as objectine as I possibly can,regardless of the era a fighter boxed in...I voiced my opinion that,Primo Carnera, with all his shortcomings as a heavyweight , would outhustle either of the Klitchko brothers,NOT because I favor tho old timers as you put it, but because to me ,I see two large RIGID,left hand stabbers,who Carnera with all his faults,would have yes,OUTSPED them ,in a 15 round contest.Carnera was as big as them,clumsily more aggresive,and with great stamina for a big, big man...Oh Yes I also am sure Ali, Holmes.Ken Norton,George Forman,Frazier,Buster Douglas,etc would have whipped Carnera 5 days a week...I suppose now,I am too biased for favoring this MODERN group over the oldtimer Carnera...However I Still believe fighters of any era who have two or three times as many bouts, against a large and DEEP pool of rivals, by logic and common sense,must be superior with cerain exceptions, of course..Thanks,McKay 89...

 

myself i rely on what the guys who fought during carneras time said. schmeling wrote that he was not in the least suprised carnera beat sharkey he said that primo boxed very well, was under rated and had great leaverage. larry gains wrote in his book that "carnera took a punch wonderfuly well and that whilst he did not hit with all his full giants weight he packed a very hard punch just the same". Both wrote their books when it was still fashionable to joke about carnera and had nothing to gain from saying so.

 

I agree with Burt. I think Primo, while not an all time great heavyweight (by any stretch of the imagination), would be very competitive with the Klitschko brothers, in a 12 or 15 round fight.

 

I always liked the guy. A freak of nature with limited skills but a lot of heart, who was a really nice guy outside of the ring.