Primo Carnera TKO 9 Ray Impelletiere 1935

We can always pull up the footage.

 

No, there are people saying that he was technically superior.

Not the same thing!

 

Much better at using his reach advantage.

Basically like the post Steward versions of Lewis and Wlad!

 

Footage Time

https://streamable.com/6itl7 - Primo jabbing on the outside vs Louis
https://streamable.com/ccvah - Wlad jabbing on the outside vs AJ
https://streamable.com/w9fj3 - Primo jabbing on the outside vs Baer

 

I respect Primo’s heart but feel he would be destroyed by either Klitschko brother in short fashion.

 

Was the first video in real time, or does it need to be sped up to normal speed?

 

Cabrera pawed with his jab, Wlad used it as a range finder to locate the overhand right.

 

I'm sure no classic fighter ever did such an uncoordinated, foolish looking thing, ever in the entire annals of the sport!

Guy flubs an uppercut in the modern era once over a 20 year professional career & after Olympic Gold and suddenly that's a starling indictment of modern super heavyweights.

 

I mean, if you’re going to put Vitali through the Carnera Rubrick, then this is completely accurate.

 

Always this hysterics on BF24 when Carnera comes up....

The man could fight. Had a good chin too.

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Indeed! From the notorious Bowe-Carnera thread:

If you still need footage, here's Primo demonstrating some of his superior outboxing skills by cutting off the ring-- I mean plodding around the ring following the slick, elusive Max Baer, while pawing and slapping with his jab:
https://streamable.com/hiiow
https://streamable.com/wu1ny

Here we see his stellar long-range defensive skills and reflexes (while backing straight up with his chin exposed to a big puncher):
https://streamable.com/bqkdl

Here we see him looking awkward and slow against a fairly unimpressive, undistinguished superheavyweight foe:
https://streamable.com/x5lxs
https://streamable.com/2jfi8

In this short clip he reaches with punches, punches off the wrong foot while off balance, and backs away from an attack straight back with his head up and chin exposed:
https://streamable.com/4lm33

Here we see him struggling to keep 200-lber Larry Gains off of him, en route to losing what was apparently a one-sided fight:
https://streamable.com/6xxu6

Here he's getting outjabbed by 6'0, 76-in reach Jack Sharkey:
https://streamable.com/x91lv

 

And now let's put Vitali through the Primo Rubrick:

What is Vitali doing here?
https://streamable.com/miwl8
He is punching from below his waistline. His hands are by his knees.
It's one thing to keep your hands down when baiting an opponent, but he keeps them down even when getting hit. It's hilarious listening to people wax poetry about the skills of these fighters.

https://streamable.com/mce0y
Again, hands low. Pawing at Peters arms. Standing right in front of him.
When the great Vitali changes angles, he looks like an awkward oaf trying to be a ballerina.
Thankfully for him, the modern cameras are often zoomed in on his upper body.
When the camera zooms out like a 1930s fight angle, he looks like hes struggling to keep his body vertical.
He doesn't cover up properly with his right when he punches with his left, and vice versa.

Even when Vitali does good, he still looks really awkward:
https://streamable.com/hducu

Vitali misses a hook by a mile, almost falls over, goes for one of the most awkward jabs possible, with his footing all out of place. Then he gets hit repeatedly with body hooks in the clinch and doesn't seem to know what to do.
https://streamable.com/3czdb
It looks like he never had the training of a proper coach.


https://streamable.com/24gn8
Look at that footing when he punches, it's beyond amateurish.
They wouldn't let you compete in high level amateur tournaments today crossing your legs like that. A proper trainer would fix it in the first week.
He looks like a circus strongman who got by in boxing with his sheer size and strength getting exposed. If that was say, Muhammad Ali in there, he'd tear him up in 4 round with his blistering speed, brilliant form and balance, and sharp punching.

 

Vitali was also clearly smarter and better schooled. Better footwork, better sense of distance, a more strategic boxing mind, etc. Should be obvious to any rational, reasonable observer. Just a more skilled, more complex fighter than Primo Carnera, despite his technical flaws and oafish attributes. We don't need to cherrypick highlights either--it's obvious in completely run-of-the-mill footage too:

https://streamable.com/tzxt8 (Vitali using footwork, a shoulder roll, and feints, etc. to stave off Chisora's pressure)

https://streamable.com/c1bam (Vitali staying well balanced while throwing hitting Byrd with some sharp, close-range punches)

https://streamable.com/ooj3d (Vitali v. Arreola as Manny discusses Vitali's sense of distance and ability to fight with his hands low)


And again, for the record, I've never been a fan of Vitali's and I don't particularly enjoy watching him fight. I'm not trying to build him up into something that he's not. But he's just a different level of fighter than Carnera, despite their physical similarities.

 

If these are the good examples of his technique, then you're not doing him any favors

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