So Fitzsimmons gets destroyed 2x by Jeffries yet he has a shot vs Louis and Marciano?

If by HWs you mean 180lb men that would be classed as crusers now then yes Froch has ko'd a few of them, at least thats what they weighed in the ring. Or if by HW you mean fat bar room brawler no Froch hasn't done that yet but he probably would achieve similar things as Fitz and push his resume up to that level if he went looking for a fight at kicking out time in Nottingham on a Friday night

 

This is typical hypercrite talk from point one .. these men can't lose to a light heavy but small cruiser Marciano can defeat super heavyweights, giving up far more weight, size, strength and power ... my point in bring this up is how do you have a debate on this if the author of the thread is so off the chart partial?

 

You truly are the most blinkered and foolish man.

You dismiss all the heavyweights Fitzsimmons beat as fat barroom brawlewrs.

Men who frankly had more profesionalism as fighters, than all but a few of the heavyweight top 10 today.

 

Based on what? Most would have been semi-pros anyway, little to no amateur experience, inadequeate coaching, a small talent pool, little time to dedicate to the craft, etc etc

Boxing wasn't so much of a sport in the 1890s it was more a local toughman competition. Butterbean may have been world champ in this era

 

guys who fight 3 times a year or less are more semi pros than anyone from the 1890s

 

Except many spar with world class boxers daily and have 100s of amateur fights so are far more experienced and sharpened. Not to mention they train boxing from the age of 7 for more hours a day than the 1890s semi-pro can ever dedicate to the sport

 

Fitzsimmons may have his moments but Louis and Marciano both have to be favored to win by knockout in exciting fights.

 

practicing doing your job=doing your job?

 

Sparring against greats > brawling with bums

Anyway it seems the 1890s fighters rarely fought, so the point is moot

 

Point taken, CT, but let's break down and clarify for the sake of further disclosure what you already know all too well.

Corbett may well have been cheated of a knockout victory over Fitz by Siler's inexplicable interruption of his count after the Cornishman hit the deck. Prime for prime, I think Corbett takes at least two out of three. Fitz was badly outboxed and admitted in his dressing room that he was overwhelmed by Corbett's speed. There's a reason why Fitz told him immediately afterward that, "I'll NEVER fight you again!" (If Corbett had dethroned Jeff in their first meeting, I wonder if Fitz would have turned down a rematch title challenge. I'd favor the younger and a likely hyper-motivated Corbett heavily in such a second showdown.)

As for Sailor Tom, Jeff was still kind of green when they first squared off, and we both know that Jeff's left arm was so seriously injured in prefight horseplay by Ernst Roeber before Jeffries-Sharkey II that all the considerable damage Jeff inflicted on Tom was to the left side of Sharkey's body and head with Jeff's less heralded right arm alone. (This actually is a really impressive result. If not for that circumstance, Jeff would almost certainly be stereotyped as strictly a hooker, like Frazier and Cooney are.) Give Jeff two healthy arms, and I'd bet the rent on an impressive rematch knockout win.

 

You are joking right?

Look at the trtaining regimes of fighters from this era and compare them to those of fighters today. The curent crop of heavyweights do not even come close in terms of dedication to their craft.

Frankly it would be nearer the truth to say that the curent crop of heavyweights are brawlers and toughmen, while these guys were the real profesional boxers.

Perhaps you should asses the fighters of this era based on the available information rather than your predudices.

 

my thoughts exactly.

 

Actually, this is a good comparison, with one minor alteration: give Froch, Hopkins, and Ruiz MMA gloves instead of 12 oz. gloves before they start punching this hypothetical heavyweight. You might also want to replace Hopkins with McClellan, and add a lightheavyweight / cruiserweight Adamek to the list.

A heavyweight who stood up to the above STILL wouldn't rank as one of the "most durable" of all time -- not by a long shot -- but he'd be fairly tough.

 

You could throw in a few Kevin McBride types as well.

 

Maybe some Chris Byrd types also?