Around 11 or 12 I would say,he was past it when he had the trilogy with Graziano,I think ,otherwise they would have just had one bout. Greb,Robinson,Monzon,Hagler,Walker,Ketchel,Tiger,Jones,Hopkins,Lamotta,would rate above him with me,Cerdan would be close,the "Man Of Steel " likely beats the rest.
That's about where I have him ranked as well. Zale's biggest wins came before the war IMO, vs. guys like Hostak, Apostoli (a HOFer), Mamakos, and Abrams. At his peak he was a helluva fighter. Definitely worth checking out what scant films are available of him pre-WWII.
Maybe Tiger, but I doubt he'd beat LaMotta. Jake's pressuring style would eventually catch up to him over 15 IMO, and the fact that Zale would be unable to really deter him, even being a crushing puncher, would make it even more difficult to keep him off. Against Tiger I think Zale has the boxing skills to eek out a decision against the more stationary Tiger. Both fights would make for some exciting exchanges though.
Zale was a murderous body puncher, and weight drained fighters (Lamotta) could be susceptible to body punches.
Sure, weight drained fighters in general could, but we're not talking about a typical weight-drained fighter here, we're talking arguably the most durable fighter in the history of the sport and one of the strongest MW's of all time. I don't think he fits into that group, especially if we're considering a more dedicated, prime version of LaMotta.
I'd be more inclined to think he could beat LaMotta than Tiger. Zale had good technical skills, but he wasn't the kind of speedy/slick boxer that sometimes gave Tiger trouble. And Tiger was one of the best infighter-counterpunchers of any middleweight that ever lived. I would think Zale's style played into Tiger's hands more than vice versa.
Tiger was a tremendous presence inside because of his physical strength moreso than anything the way I saw it. He was a good counter-puncher, a good body-puncher, and and a pretty good inside fighter, but his success in there had more to do with his strength and the fact that he could bully pretty much any fighter around. I don't actually think he was one of the most skilled in-fighters. I'd like to have seen a generally higher workrate from him to give him that kind of status. That's another reason I don't see him faring well against most of the better boxer types at MW. Zale could do both, and I see his boxing ability being more of a deterrant to Tiger's more flat-footed, upright style than LaMotta's constant pressuring, high workrate, body attacking style.
