Was Primo Carnera the worst heavyweight champ of all time?

Getting back to Carnera, I think people focus on the Baer and Louis losses, because they were so one-sided, and just assume every time he lost he was stomped. In addition to all the wins he had over top fighters, his other losses that we can view are nothing to be ridiculed.

In his first fight with veteran heavyweight contender Jimmy Maloney, which Carnera lost, the video shows Carnera is very sound technically while Maloney, who was considered a clever boxer, spends much of his time moving, holding or swinging wildly, while Carnera spends a lot of time trying to extricate himself from clinches and working on the inside, which big fighters aren't supposed to be able to do, especially with an 85-inch reach.

At the end, Maloney seems exhausted, rattled and very excited he got the decision, while Carnera, who had only been a pro for two years, still looks fresh in his corner and smiles. Maloney didn't seem to hurt him at all.

And Carnera would fight Maloney again five months later and outpoint him. So he learned as he progressed.

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Schaaf has wins over
Stribling[no fake dsq]
Loughran
Galento
Braddock
Baer
I think he HAS a better record.

 

Lardner.

 

Were these men actually top contenders when Schaff beat them?

I think that Carnera winning the eliminator against Schaff, then going on to win the title and defend it, definitely seals the deal.

 

Against the huge, lazy, amiable Negro George Godfrey (249 lb.), he won on a foul. But only one of 33 U. S. opponents has defeated Monster Carnera—fat, slovenly Jim Maloney, whom Sharkey beat five years ago. In a return fight, at Miami last March, Carnera managed to outpoint Maloney."

 

Was Uzcudun when Carnera beat him? Santa ?

 

Name dropping is all well and good in that era.

How many people did they both beat, who were relevant contenders at the time of the fight?

As far as I can see Schaff has just got Loughran and Poreda, which is "so far so good."

 

*Jack Sharkey was the World Champion when Carnera beat him.
*Tommy Loughran was the #2 contender when Carnera beat him.
*Ernie Schaaf was the #2 contender when Carnera beat him.
*George Godfrey was #3 when Carnera beat him.
*King Levinsky was the #4 contender when Carnera beat him.
*Ray Impellitiere was rated #8 when Carnera beat him.
*Ford Smith was rated #10 when Carnera beat him.

*Art Lasky was rated as high as #3 (when Baer was champ) two years after Carnera beat him.
*Don McCorkindale was rated as high as #5 (while Carnera was champ) a year after Carnera beat him.
*Walter Neusel was rated as high as #7 (while Carnera was champ) a year before Carnera beat him in a non-title fight.

But who's counting? They all took dives. "Hype" said so.

Also, Joe Louis and Max Baer were rated #1 when Carnera fought them.

Primo wasn't protected. Carnera took on a ridiculous number of top contenders, compared to many other heavyweight champs, and defeated most of them.

There were easier paths to a title shot than cleaning out the top five, beating the #2 contender to death, and then knocking out the champ who had previously outpointed you.

Not to mention fighting three Hall of Famers in four heavyweight title fights.

He also scored 86 wins - before a sad comeback after WWII, eight years after his last fight - and all 86 wins were by KO or decision.

Not a "newspaper" decision in the bunch.

Yeah, Primo has gotten a bum rap.

 

And this is why Carnera's detractors tend to fall back on the head to head argument.

It is difficult to attack him based on his resume, much less make it look like the worst of any lineal champion, so what does that leave?

Rating him based on how he would fare head to head, where the only justification that you need for him losing to somebody, is to say that you think that he would lose to them!

 

I dont think the Schaaf tragedy seals anything.

 

Baer was in the top ten when Schaaf beat him ,he was still no 10 after he lost to Ernie.That win alone is better than anything Carnera managed.