why is stanley ketchel so underated here?

I think he's the hardest hitting middleweight of all time. Dude was fearless, had dynamite in both hands, and nearly KO'd Jack Johnson of all people. I also tend to think of him as one of the greatest of all time.... if not the greatest middleweight of all time. It's ****ed up he was murdered at such a young age...

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One of my all-time favorite fighters. His life story is the stuff legends are made of, right up there with Johnson's (not to mention somewhat similar, save for the whole race thing).

 

Christ, he's been dead since 1910. Film footage is rare as all hell of him, as well.. Stanley Ketchel was shot dead at age 24 or very close to that age; he didn't last long... His 1909 title challenge to Jack Johnson was heroic, but Ketchel ended up looking up at the sky while being counted out.... Stan Ketchel was great, but their just is not enough fresh film footage and fond memories of him as a fighter.... Still, its not like he's totally disrespected or anything like that... I think Ketchel gets a fair amount of respect and votes from the fans and historians.... Peace...

MR.BILL:admin

 

Well, imo he get´s his due. He is rated in the top10 at mw by most. Maybe not as highly as you would but well, oppinions differ sometimes.

@heehoo:
If Ketchel nearly knocked Johnson out, why did Johnson jump up immediatly. He wasn´t hurt or anything. It was a legit KD but nothing more.

 

That hasn't stopped people from praising Greb to the skies; a fighter nobody has fight footage of.

I personally rate Ketchel highly. He was as mean and vicious a fighter as there's been and may have achieved more had he lived longer.

 

He wasn't on ***** street, but the punch clearly stunned him. He hardly sprang up either.

 

Ketchel is a great. He was one of the divisions top punchers. He looks a bit crude on the films you can see but it's almost impossible to tell properly. The late KO of O'Brien is a bit special.

 

1. Because he doesn't look great on film.

2. Because he's been dead for nearly 100 years.

 

The film watched frame-by-frame clearly shows Johnson is falling before the punch even comes close to landing. Strange but true.

 

Seriously? I'd have to check that out.

 

Ketchel is underestimated here due to him being over estimated everywhere else. Les Darcy is the only one under estimated here...

 

Top ten for sure ,he carried his power right through a fight ,and twice kod the L H king O' Brien.

 

Ive often thought that ,Gunboat Smith Johnson's sparring partner for that fight said "they pulled a fake knockdown",some Johnson detractors will happily tell you that Johnson was close to being out,BS.

 

Greb accomplished far more than Ketchell however, and the lack of footage is more a point of mystery than criticism, whereas the footage available of Ketchell is less than impressive. Then again I don't see the major differences between him and the majority of the fighters of that era. Different eras, rules, regulations, etc lead to different styles. Can't really fault them for that.

I rate him as a top 10 MW, but definitely not on the level of say, Fitzsimmons or Greb.

 

btw. here is German poem by the great German writer Bertholt Brecht, who also was a huge boxing fan, about the first twelve mw champions. It was printed for the first time 1927. It´s called momorial plague for 12 world champs. He describes how they became champs, against who and what they were most known for. However, he made the mistake of calling Jack O'Brian a mw champ. but other than it´s great.