Tom Sharkey In Today's Cruiser Division?

No.

 

I think he would be better suited to LHW division with modern rules of weigh-ins.

 

I think he’d be better suited to working construction, having a few drinks after work, and beating the wife and kids.

 

They’d all beat him, even if Bellew trained for a month now and came back and made cruiserweight, he’d still beat prime Sharkey

 

people are being a bit harsh

Do we have any film of Sailor Tom? Not to my knowledge. Remember he fought in an era where people in general had tougher lives. I am sure he

I think Sailor Tom would be too crude to compete with the more polished boxers today. However, if you gave him 2-3 years with a good trainer, and combined with his toughness and power, he could be a really good contender, maybe even a champion.

Boxing techniques were very new in Sharkey's era and it wasn't until the 1930's that boxing techniques became refined. I don't think techniques have gotten any better since Joe Louis's era but they have gotten better since Sharkey's era.

 

I disagree, we had plenty of elite fighters with refinee skills from earlier than Joe Louis era.

 

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That was brief and to the point.

 

He probably would beat Usyk and badly.

 

Corbett isn't one of them, Corbett was a fighter who relied heavily on his quickness and speed.

Fitzsimmons certainly was elite though.

 

Elite for his time, sure. Makes no difference here. What they’re doing in the ring barely even resembles what I’m used to seeing, and I watch plenty of footage from the late 20s/30s and on. The difference between boxing at the turn of the century and boxing in the 40s is night and day.

 

How about Joe Gans then? Packey McFarland? Sam Langford? Hell, even someone like Tommy Burns. They all look good, very good in fact.

Fitzsimmons looks very impressive to me.

 

Langford looked solid from what I recall. The best I’ve seen from around that time, most likely. He also retired in 1926, over 20 years after someone like Sharkey.

The McFarland/Gibbons footage I haven’t studied, I’m ashamed to say.

Gans looked good for the era, I’ll say that much. Then again if I saw film of a fighter from that era turning their punches over properly I’d probably be amazed. That’s what lowered expectations does.

 

But he started his career in 1902.