TODAY THE PROFESSOR TEACHES YOU BOXING & SIZE
Charlotte, NC- The phrase ?The bigger they are the harder they fall? was coined by Joe Walcott, The ?Barbados Demon,? (147 lbs) welterweight champion of the world from 1901 till 1904. Bob Fitzsimmons definitely popularized the saying before he fought ?Big Jim? Jefferies, but it was the original Walcott (not Jersey Joe Walcott of later heavyweight fame), who despite his short frame was very successful against much taller and bigger opponents. Walcott, a natural welterweight certainly deserves a spot on the all time ?pound-for-pound? list in pugilistic history, as he fought men from lightweight to heavyweight with success before his career was over.
MY STUDENTS KNOW THE GAME AND GET THE GRADES
Among the Professor?s thousands of fans, whenever I bring up the fact that ?Old School? fighters were simply a different breed; a tougher, more skilled breed of boxer, especially among the heavyweights, I will, without fail, get the argument that today?s heavyweights are bigger, stronger and faster, and thus would simply overpower and destroy the Old School heavyweights of Jack Dempsey?s (187) era or Rocky Marciano?s ( 189) era or even Jack Johnson?s (220) era. And without trying to be rude, I would like to point out that while I use the terms ?boxing?, ?fighting? and ?pugilism? interchangeably, there is a huge difference in ?fighting? and ?boxing?, and the finer points of this is mostly lost on many of today?s fans. But it is exactly those ?lost finer points? that I contend that Old School heavyweights, although smaller, would make short work of most of today?s huge heavyweights.
TODAY ?GIANTS ARE THE NORM? & NOT THE EXCEPTION
While the appearance of the 6?5″ or taller, 250 pound or heavier heavyweight seems to be a fairly recent development, these behemoths are not new to boxing. In fact, two of them would be considered ?Old School era? champions; Jess Willard was 6?61/4″ and 245 pounds when he won the title from Jack Johnson on April 5, 1915 in Havana , Cuba, and Primo Carnera was 6?53/4″ and 285 pounds when he won the title from jack Sharkey on June 29, 1933. Both of these title win?s authenticity is debated by boxing historians to this day. However, the fact that both Willard and Carnera lost their titles to men that they outweighed by 60 pounds is not questioned! Jess Willard lost his title to 187 pound Jack Dempsey and Primo Carnera lost his title to 210 pound Max Baer. So, the ?Super-Sized? heavyweight is not a new phenomenon.
MOST OF THE SPORT?S GREATEST HEAVYS WERE 220 OR LESS!
However, prior to the 1980′s very few heavyweights over 210-215 pounds made the top ten world rankings. And it wasn?t because there was suddenly a shortage of huge heavyweights. The reason was smaller but more skilled and tough heavyweights kept beating them. If you look back in the record books from 1882 to 1982, of the 28 fighters who won the heavyweight title, 19 of them weighed less than 210 pounds. Only two weighed more than 220 pounds (Willard and Carnera). Now, from 1983 to 2010 there have been 94 boxers recognized as heavyweight champions by the various sanctioning bodies. Of course, some men more than once, losing and regaining a title. Of these 94, only 5 have weighed less than 220 pounds at the time of winning the title.
IS THE CRUISERWEIGHT DIVISION TO BLAME?
The Professor would suggest that the void of 190 to 210 pounders in the heavyweight division is more than the addition of the cruiserweight division, there is more money and prestige in the heavyweight division. But that void of skilled and tough smaller heavyweights is why mediocrities such as Nikolaiv Valuev, Sam Peter, Odlander Solis, Eddie Chambers, and Hasim Rahmam being ranked in various top ten heavyweight rankings.
RING MAGAZINE FROM 1933 QUOTED
The big vs, bigger debate is not new to boxing. It?s been around as long as fist?s themselves. in fact the November 1933 issue of ?The Ring? contained an article titled ?Giants Not So Hot.? The ring careers of 20 boxers who weighed between 220 and 300 pounds were studied. among the studies were the knockouts of two 300 boxers by light heavyweight champions Bob Fitsimmons and Kid McKoy in the early 1900′s. The article said,? The three hundred pounds each of the big men carried meant nothing against the speed and accuracy and power of these extraordinary smaller fellows.?
In their primes the greatest heavyweight champions of all times have weighed between 185 and 215 pounds. Muhammed Ali, Jack Johnson, and Smokin? Joe Frazier weighed between 200 and 215. Jack Dempsey, Gene Tunney, Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano weighed less than 200 pounds. Now, if a 6?6″ boxer weighing 250-260 pounds could somehow learn the skill and craft, and acquire the combination of speed, power, mental and physical toughness of these Old School champions, then no Old School fighter, large or small, could touch him. But ?that ain?t happened yet!?
And even if, IF, you could find one with the physical qualities, who is left to teach them the art and craft of boxing? Precious few, I?m afraid. Precious few.
Professor Chuck Marbry
