Category: Rocky Marciano

Inside The Mind Of A Writer -Film, Character And Story Influences (Who KILLED Joel Larson?)

3/1/2021

How well do you sleep at night? Sometimes, if you’re a writer, ideas race to your mind the second your head hits the pillow. You struggle like hell to sleep, but the best ideas keep hitting you and you find yourself almost constantly sitting up and writing things down before you lose it. Then your wife wakes up and glares at you for waking her. Nothing is worse than the wife glare of death!

This is what happened to me during the creation of most of my books but it happened the most with Who Killed Joel Larson? It was not until I had published the book that I was able to realize what films and characters had subconsciously inspired my writing. I thought I’d dive into that today.

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Making Life HELL For Your Protagonist (Batman Forever)

Okay. I wanted a story with a great plot. In addition to the focal murder mystery narrative, I wanted to flesh things out with other subplots connected to the main story. This is where Batman Forever planted a seed.

Batman Forever’s main story is about Batman stopping the hilarious Riddler and goofy Two-Face. That is the main goal of the protagonist. (Batman) But so much else takes place that makes this one hell of a movie, albeit a cartoony one. Take a look at this, courtesy of youtuber J’s Reviews. See his video here.

Despite cramming all of these issues into a movie that is only an hour and half long, it works. There’s a lot for Batman to overcome. In the midst of his depression and battle with two super villains, he also has to take time to mentor his rebellious new ward Dick Grayson. He is also developing a relationship with a new love interest, Dr. Chase Meridian.

Likewise, there is a lot going on in Who Killed Joel Larson? The plots are as follows:

*Maggie Taylor will lose her job if she does not solve Joel Larson’s murder in a timely matter.

*A terrorist group reunites and confirms that Maggie is their next target.

*Maggie adopts a daughter who disappears from school.

*Maggie’s antagonistic ex-boyfriend destroys her public reputation and is en route to solving the case first.

*Maggie’s relationships with others is often complicated due to her battle with bipolar disorder.

That’s a hell of a lot for one person to deal with, and that’s what helps her character arc. Speaking of character arcs, that is where Rick Grimes from The Walking Dead steps in.

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Characters have to be realistic. Some of them (especially the protagonist) need to evolve over the course of the story. Otherwise what's the point? Maggie Taylor begins the story as an anxious, depressed human being. She is somewhat of a tomboy version of Winnie The Pooh. However, due to the intense situations she is forced to deal with, she is pushed to the brink and ultimately becomes a warrior. Though she still suffers from her bipolar moods, she ends the story on a happy note. Well, not entirely if you have read the twist ending. But overall she grows tremendously as a person.

Did anyone inspire this character growth? Yes! Rick Grimes from The Walking Dead.

Rick began the first season as an everyman. He was a good-natured cop before the zombie apocalypse began. Once the dead begin to rise and feed on the living, Rick holds on to his principals. He refuses to kill living people. He goes out of his way to save others, some of whom do not deserve it. He refuses to give up hope, regardless of how bleak the situation is. Because he is level-headed, other characters look up to him as a leader.

However, due to his good intentions sometimes getting people killed, Rick sometimes doubts his own leadership and eventually adapts to the violent world around him. By the end of season 2, he has become a hardened, ruthless individual. In the later seasons, Rick would occasionally he return to his moral code from early seasons, but he always reverts back to becoming a badass. It is the uncompromising violent Rick that kept him and his group alive for so long. The zombie apocalypse changed him tremendously as a person.

Rick inspired me in other ways too. For example, Rick’s behavior was often influenced by those around him. Rick’s former best friend turned antagonist Shane Walsh planted the seed for Rick to become emotionless, violent and uncompromising. His father figures (Dale and later Hershel) helped him maintain his humanity. His sidekick Daryl is constantly his backbone, almost always giving Rick his full support. Michonne and Glenn are Rick’s conscience as well as secondary strategists. And then there’s his son Carl, whom Rick will do anything to protect.

Pictured above is what I consider a "Character Tree." If this were the solar system, the protagonist would be the sun and the supporting characters would be the planets.

In the case of my protagonist Maggie Taylor, her husband Jacob would be Character C. Because he is confident and silly, he brings out Maggie's humorous side. She feels safe and secure with him.

You see, the Character Tree is much like real life. You act and feel certain ways around different people. For example, your boss may bring out an ill-tempered side of you, but your child at home brings out your playful and optimistic side. Characters in fiction are no different. No one is black or white. There's a lot of grey.

However, the Character Tree does not have to be as exact as you see it here. For example, Lamont Jackson (Maggie's vengeful ex-boyfriend) does a damn good job of humiliating and antagonizing her. He crushes her spirit and brings out Maggie's fearful and vulnerable side perhaps more than any other character.

Her boss Commissioner Mickey becomes a caring mentor and father figure. It is his wisdom and mentoring that helps Maggie to keep a level head in tough situations. In contrast, Maggie does not get along with her racist and overbearing mother, who generally brings out her morose side. Something as subtle as the Character Tree brings realism to the story.

Abby from "The Last Of Us Part 2" can be seen as the villain or the hero of the story depending on your perspective.

Perspectives, Villains and Anti-Villains

(Spoilers for The Last Of Us) OK. Imagine you're a sweet but foul-mouthed 14 year-old girl. You have no family because a fungus has mutated most humans into vicious zombies. Mankind is hanging by a thread, but you have one person that you love -- A father figure who has saved your life and vice versa. With me so far?

Alright. Four years later, a mysterious and muscular woman named Abby comes from out of nowhere and blatantly murders your father figure. Naturally, Abby’s the villain, right? Well, midway through the game, the player is forced to switch roles and play as Abby, who, as we find out, is actually the story’s hero. Your father figure was the real monster all along, and you're following in his footsteps.

I took inspiration from this. For example, in Who Killed Joel Larson? There is a minor character who recently lost his wife and his young son is currently dying from the same illness. The quickest way for this character to get the money to pay for his son’s operations is to become a hitman for a crime boss.

So, is he doing the right thing (by saving his son’s life) or is he doing the wrong thing (by killing innocent people)? Either way, he is the anti-villain or the anti-hero hero depending on your perspective. Maybe you see him as a villain. Me personally? I see him as an anti-villain because he doesn't want to do these things, but loves his son and will do anything to save his life.

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Ahh, perspectives. This was something I enjoyed playing with. Since Joel Larson’s body is discovered during the prologue, he is not available for the reader to get to know during the current timeline, so we rely on the perspective of others who knew him. But we get to know Joel during flashbacks. To get deeper perspective from Joel, a few of his journal entries are available throughout the novel. Joel was secretive with his journal, therefore no one read it until after his death. This will help you to draw your own conclusions about the guy. Was he purely a monster? Was he misunderstood? Were his mental illnesses to blame? Were the seeds of his bad behavior planted by poor parenting? You could argue that it could have been any or all of these things, but ultimately it’s up to you.

The same is very true of Catwoman in Batman Returns. Her only real goal is to get revenge on the man who murdered her. Is she trying to kill everyone in her path? Is she a bad person overall? No. She may be mentally unstable, sure. But she also saves a woman from being mugged, and is more interested in seducing Batman than killing him. Still, although she does bad things sometimes, her reasons are well understood.

If the movie were from her perspective, Batman would be the villain because he is trying desperately to stop her from achieving her goal of killing her former boss, Max Shreck.

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Mystery, Suspense and Red Herrings

You know what? The first “Whodunit” I was ever intrigued by was a storyline from the WWE (then the WWF) In 1999, Stone Cold Steve Austin was run over by a limousine and out of action for 9 months or so. Everyone on the roster was a suspect. Although Austin was extremely popular with the fans, he was not popular with the other characters. He was a beer-drinking anti-hero who went by the motto, “Don’t Trust Anybody.”

During his absence, his long-time rival The Rock replaced him as the company’s top star. Likewise, the WWF’s top villain (Triple H) married the daughter of Vince McMahon (Steve’s arch nemesis) and dominated as the WWF champion. Naturally The Rock, Vince McMahon and Triple H were the top three suspects, but Austin did not get along with anybody (aside from announcer Jim Ross) so the list of potential suspects was as deep as the grand canyon.

This whodunit angle did not necessarily influence the Joel Larson mystery, but showed me how such a mystery should be handled. Like Stone Cold, Joel Larson was not Mr. Popularity. There's a short list of people who genuinely liked Joel Larson.

Samantha Larson- Joel's mother. She loved her son dearly and desperately wants to know who murdered him.

Jessica Larson- Joel's quiet and gothic sister. Close to her mother most of the time.

Terry Rossi -Joel's maternal grandfather. Despite always supporting Joel, he is a bad influence on him and regularly clashes with Samantha on raising him. Because he is deceased in the current timeline, Terry is only present in a flashback and mentioned once in Joel’s journal. He was a wise-cracking character, but Joel may have turned out better if he lived longer.

Maria Sanchez -The closest thing to a girlfriend Joel ever had, and a really close friend in the short time they knew each other. The staff permanently separated them after they were caught doing something sexual. Both of them missed each other greatly, but never saw each other again. Maria is devastated by the death of her friend.

Evan Camden - A friend Joel saved during a seizure. Evan has Down syndrome, was a good kid and got adopted in Florida

Peter and Donna Smith -An elderly couple Joel rescued from a wolf attack. They speak at his funeral.

Father Clifford Stephens - An amusing priest adored by the students of Father Barry Catholic Middle & High School. He gives Joel wisdom during his teenage years. After Joel’s death, he expresses his sorrow on social media and gives the homily at Joel’s funeral. He is only seen in flashbacks and in one social media post.

Coach Jack William Wright -Jack becomes a huge fan of Joel after witnessing him knockout huge popular bully Clay Ross. Much like Father Stephens, Dr. Chung, and Joel’s grandfather Terry, Coach Wright is very supportive of Joel. He pleads with Principal Glover to allow him to nurture Joel’s gift and train him to be a boxer, but the close-minded Glover refuses. Coach Wright is regretful and devastated over Joel’s death. Like Father Stephens, he only appears in flashbacks and on a social media post.

Elijah Sanderson - Mae Sanderson’s 8 year-old grandson. Loved to hang out with Joel. Joel’s last real friend.

Compare this tiny list of Joel's allies to his looooonng list of enemies.

The Suspects

Aaron Henson: A pedophile who lives across the street from Joel.

Kinky Christa: A sex worker who rejects Joel.

Jackie Larson: Joel's older brother. Joel attacked his wife and caused her to miscarry. As a result, Jackie has never forgiven Joel.

Kelly Patterson: An evangelist caretaker Joel attempted to rape.

Crazy Dan: A homeless alcoholic veteran who was near the crime scene.

Mark Tupola: An effeminate caretaker beaten up badly by Joel.

Tiana Jones: A former colleague of Joel's. Joel fondled her at McDonald's and she threatened to kill him.

Amaya Turner: One of Joel's caretakers. Joel broke her windshield and knocked her out with his fist.

Mae Sanderson: A smug and jaded elderly caretaker who openly despises Joel.

Randy Venson: An innocent caretaker Joel frames to get arrested by the police.

Damon Richards: Maggie's new assistant. He's shy, introverted and secretive.

Sarah Vaughn: The 21 year-old jogger who discovered Joel's body.

Clay Ross: A tough jock who bullies Joel in middle school. He eventually has a sex change and becomes Clayannah Ross.

Character Tropes

Naturally, there are certain types of characters needed in each story you tell. Everyone has to serve a purpose one way or another. Before I dwell into the different types of character tropes, here is a list of the main cast of Who KILLED Joel Larson?

Maggie Taylor (Protagonist) Insecure, timid, anxious and depressed. Desperate to save her job by solving the Joel Larson murder case and locate her missing daughter. Her life is complicated by her impatient boss Commissioner Mickey, her overbearing mother Rachel, a vengeful ex-boyfriend and a terrorist group out to kill her. Although she has enough problems, her bipolar diagnosis makes things harder.

Joel Larson (Deuteragonist) The 24 year-old mentally disabled man whose life and death are the focal point of the story. Joel was highly intelligent but had the maturity of a ten year-old child. He suffered from constipation, autism, pathological laughter, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. He had a long history of racism, violence and both physical and sexual assault, but was on his way to redemption when he was murdered. However, a lot of his bad behavior was the result of his mental disorders and bad parenting. His biggest obsessions are losing his virginity and the late heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano.

Jacob Taylor: Maggie’s friendly and concerned husband. He tries to keep her laughing and is always in her corner. Although he is a goofball, he is mentally tougher than Maggie. He is her backbone.

Commissioner Leonard Mickey: Maggie's gruff boss, and the most popular police officer in the city. So popular, in fact, that he is running for governor and en route to an easy victory.

Lamont Jackson: Lamont is a famous journalist who is also the disgruntled ex-boyfriend of Maggie. He still resents her for breaking his heart years ago, and is actively out for revenge.

Dr. Theodore Chung: Joel's friendly psychologist.

Mallory Taylor: Maggie's recently adopted daughter. She suddenly disappears from school one day.

The Jaspers: A group of terrorists who confirm that Maggie is their next target.

These are the main characters. Now let's go into which types of characters you see in nearly each film, book or general story. Pay close attention.

In the Batman films, Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred always serves as the confidant character - the character that the protagonist reveals his real feelings and frustrations to. When Bruce vents to Alfred, he is actually venting to the audience.

Protagonist - The main character. He/she drives the plot and grows as the story progresses. This is their story and their perspective. In Who Killed Joel Larson? The protagonist is obviously Maggie Taylor.

Villain/Antagonist - The person who opposes the protagonist or hero. The antagonist doesn't always have to be a physical character. It would be a force of some sort, or something that the protagonist has to battle from within. Although antagonists are often evil or wicked, this is not always the case. Sometimes they are just standing in the way of the goal's of the protagonist or vice versa. In my novel there are several antagonists including Lamont Jackson, The Jaspers, Maggie's bipolar diagnosis and several other characters who will surprise you later in the story.

Tertiary Character - A character of minor importance but vital to the plot in some way. We know just enough important things about them to find them interesting. An example would be Glinda The Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz. She does not appear much, but plays a vital role in Dorothy's journey. In my story, many of the people Maggie interrogate fill this role.

Deuteragonist- The second most important character in the story. In some stories they support the protagonist. (Like Robin supporting Batman, for example). Other times the deuteragonist may also be the antagonist. Deuteragonists may even have their own subplot. In Who Killed Joel Larson? The deuteroagonist is obviously the title character.

Love Interest - Quite obvious. In my story, Maggie's husband is her love interest. Joel attempts to have several love interests but they never pan out.

Mentor/Confidant - The character the protagonist trusts the most. They could be a wise older person, a sidekick, a love interest, etc. When the protagonist confides in the confidant, they are actually speaking to the audience. In my novel, the confidant characters are primarily Maggie's husband Jacob and Commissioner Mickey. In his subplots, Joel Larson has a few characters he confides in, including Dr. Chung, Greg Smith and Father Stephens.

Flat Characters - Minor characters who only appear once or don’t contribute much to the story. They're minor plot devices just to get from point A to point B. They could be a pet, a secretary, a mailman, a stranger, etc. Generally these characters may have one or two lines.

Foil Character - Someone who is the opposite of the protagonist but not always in a bad way. In my story, Jacob is Maggie's foil. She is depressed and anxious while he is confident and funny.

Anti-Hero - Someone who lacks heroic tendencies, but you wind up rooting for them. Sometimes the anti-hero is someone who doesn't want to be the hero, but they're somehow forced into doing the right thing. Maggie is something of an anti-hero early in the story. Likewise, Joel is an anti-hero in certain situations.

Anti-Villain - Someone who may be good character overall but does bad things for understandable reasons and ends up being a villain. Sometimes the person is forced into being a villain, much like the David Kessler character in An American Werewolf In London. In my novel, the hitman character I mentioned earlier in this essay is a perfect example of this. (He is part of a MAJOR plot twist).

False Protagonist - Someone whom you think is the lead character, but you discover a bit later that they are not the lead character. This character may die early in the story, or the focus will shift to another character as the protagonist. Sometimes you'll discover later that this person is actually the villain. There are no false protagonists in my story, but there are plot twists that will throw you off. (A character or two you think is a good character but they're really not, and vice versa).

False Antagonist - The opposite of a false protagonist. They appear to be the bad guy but you later discover that they are not the main villain or they were never the antagonist in the first place. Sometimes they wind up being the hero. There is one in my story but I won't spoil it.

Hero Antagonist - A good character opposing a villain protagonist. Hero antagonists are only present if the main character is the villain.

Villain Protagonist - The villain when he/she is the main character. In his subplots, Joel is a villain protagonist although he has moments of good.

Static Character - A character who does not change at all throughout the story. In my story, Maggie's mother Rachel is overbearing, racist and opinionated. She is this way at the beginning of the story, and the same at the conclusion.

In the film, "An American Werewolf In London," the title character is a nice man who cannot control the gruesome violence he commits every full moon. Therefore he is the anti-villain of his own story.

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Who KILLED Joel Larson?
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Who KILLED Joel Larson?

9/14/2020

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My upcoming crime novel asks the question: What kind of bastard would kill a mentally ill person? Well, someone killed Joel Larson, and the clock is ticking to discover who.

But there’s a lot more to the story than a mere murder mystery. The lead character, a 35 year-old police detective named Maggie Taylor, has a lot to overcome. Due to her anxiety and depression, she is failing at her job as a leading police detective. Her gruff boss, Commissioner Mickey, gives her one last case to solve before she is fired or demoted back to uniform. The case he assigns her is the recent murder of the autistic 24 year-old Joel Larson.

At the same time, Maggie and her husband Jacob are struggling to conceive a child. With things looking hopeless, they adopt two siblings from Germany; a two-month old infant named Roger and his 11 year-old sister, Mallory. It isn’t long before Mallory goes missing...

Another problem ensues when Maggie’s bitter ex-boyfriend, a famous journalist named Lamont Jackson, decides to investigate the murder himself and publish a book before Maggie can solve the case on her own. In addition to trying to get her fired, he destroys her reputation by exposing a terrible secret from her past. And I mean TERRIBLE!!!

In the meantime, there are rumors that a former terrorist group is getting back together. These terrorists used to murder police officers, and Maggie fears she may be the next target.

In addition to the many problems hitting her all at once, she has to overcome them while struggling internally with bipolar disorder.

Joel Larson

As these plots play out, there are flashbacks throughout the book so that the readers can get to know Joel Larson and his experiences growing up. Because of Joel’s violent past, the list of suspects is a mile long. There are plenty of people with motives to kill him, including his own family members and caretakers.

Who killed him? Was it the sex worker he tried to sleep with? Was it the pedophile across the street that Joel caught talking to a child? Was it the insane homeless man that terrorizes people in Joel's neighborhood? Or maybe it was one of the men he beat up or one of the women he sexually assaulted? The possibilities are endless.

Through the eyes of Maggie, the book gives you true insight on what life can be like with bipolar disorder and how it can affect your job, relationships and everyday life. At times, her confidence and energy are soaring high. Other times, something as minor as a mere look of disapproval from someone can send her spiraling into clinical depression and self-doubt. Her condition can amplify minor things into serious trauma, heightening her reactions in certain situations.

I have worked in several social work jobs with special needs people. Joel Larson is not based on one particular individual, but many of the clients I worked with over the years inspired his character.

A frustrated detective. (Maggie Taylor)

Joel strives to be a good person, but his developmental difficulties and poor socialization constantly stand in his way. For example, asking him a simple question like "How are you doing?" will result in a detailed and annoying long-winded answer.

Despite this, he saved the life of a friend suffering from a seizure. He rescued an elderly couple from a vicious wolf. He acts as a role model for an 8 year-old boy. He takes care of a pet turtle. He is very intelligent and articulate in book smarts but childish in maturity. He is impulsive, rarely thinking about the consequences of his actions. He is lonely, always in search of a friend or love interest. At the time of his death, the animals in the forest are his closest friends.

Have you seen the movie, Joker? If so, you’re familiar with pseudobulbar affect, which is involuntary laughter at inappropriate times. Joel suffers from this, which greatly hurts his socialization. He also suffers from low latent inhibition, causing him to overly process minor things that most people routinely look over. He was also diagnosed with frontal lobe autism spectrum disorder, bipolar 1 disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, schizophrenia and constipation. Yes, that's right. Constipation.

The book also takes a personal look at his family and caretakers. Like many people who are forced into group homes or psychiatric facilities, Joel feels abandoned by his family, as they can no longer put up with his violent behavior. (Joel was sent away at age 17 after attempting to stab his father with a knife).

Joel’s caretakers have a high turnover rate, as he regularly physically attacks the men. The women are not spared, as they are sometimes sexually and physically assaulted.

Some of Joel’s caretakers make an effort to get to know him and build successful rapports with the young man. Others are indifferent and there just for the paycheck. People working as direct service supporters generally fall into one category or the other. Joel is often racist and homophobic, sometimes giving African American and homosexual caretakers the hardest time.

Realizing early in life that he packs a hell of a punch, Joel's biggest goals in life are to become an undefeated heavyweight boxing champion like his hero Rocky Marciano. His other obsession is losing his virginity.

As the book progresses, character alliances sometimes shift, people die, and plot twists are at nearly every turn.

I had been aiming to write a novel for years, but could never decide on what story to tell. I came up with the murder concept, then kept adding subplots that added more suspense and flesh to the story. I've actually written several drafts of it, but I discovered that it's best to let the characters dictate the direction of the story. This might sound silly, but I really got to know these fictional people I created. And it hurt like hell to kill some of them off!

I planned to have the book published by now, but new ideas and plot twists kept hitting me at the last minute.

Who murdered Joel Larson? What happened to Maggie’s daughter? Will Maggie overcome all of the problems mounted against her?

Read Who Killed Joel Larson to find out! Coming Fall 2020

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Jack Johnson v. "Two-Ton" Tony Galento

3/16/2020

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I know. I know… Jack Johnson was a real legend and trailblazer. The first African American heavyweight champion and arguably the best defensive fighter in history. And yes, I’m matching him against a guy that few people outside of boxing have ever heard of. A guy who literally trained by eating hot dogs, spaghetti and drinking beer. A guy who boxed against kangaroos for publicity. I'm not making any of this up. And for those of you who know who Galento was, you probably feel that Galento doesn't belong in the same sentence as Jack Johnson.

But Two-Ton Tony Galento was a better fighter than given credit for. His left hook was a bomb of a punch, comparable to Sonny Liston. Galento is most known for scoring a flash knockdown over Joe Louis using that very punch.

Galento had an aggressive brawling style that was not used yet during Jack Johnson’s time, and Galento had fierce power, capable of dropping anyone if they’re not careful. Jack may have been a masterful defensive fighter, but against the style and power of a guy like Galento, does Jack survive and get the duke?

"Two Tons" of Power

He was sloppy. He was crude. He lacked skill, speed, finesse and grace in the ring. But the boy could punch, and given Jack Johnson’s suspect chin, Tony has a chance in this fight. But before we get to that, let’s dissect Tony’s career and style. My primary focus will be on his most famous fight, where he twice hurt The Brown Bomber Joe Louis, even flooring him once.

Joe Louis was in his prime and destroying his opposition so quickly and easily that his opponents were nicknamed “Bums of the month.” Joe wound up being heavyweight champion for nearly 12 years and defended the championship a record 25 times. One of the guys he defended his crown against during this time was “Two-Ton” Tony Galento.

Tony was one of boxing’s first trash talkers. When asked once about Joe Louis, Tony replied by saying, “I’ve never heard of the bum.”

During the weeks leading up to their fight, Tony would repeatedly call Louis and say, “I’m gonna moida ya bum,” and then slam down the receiver. Louis generally kept a stoic face and a cool head, but Galento wound up being one of the few fighters to piss him off. Louis even said to a reporter before the fight, “Why is that little fat man calling me a bum?” Not only did Galento hurt Joe in the ring, but he hurt the champ's feelings :(

Louis and Galento both sat down to discuss their infamous battle together in the video below. They went into detail on everything, including Joe mentioning how he planned to carry Tony for a long time to punish him for his trash talk, but got upset when Tony knocked him down, so he decided to end it fast. I must also point out that Joe always ended things quickly when an opponent hurt him or was a major threat to him. Galento is a great example of this, as was Max Baer, Jack Roper, Max Schmeling (rematch) and others.

Galento fought like a lazy, stinky, defenseless, sloppy version of Rocky Marciano. He crouched at Louis during the first round, eating jabs. He wobbled him with a left hook in the first round, but went down himself during the same round. Bleeding like a pig, Galento managed to send Louis sprawling to the canvas in the third round. With murder in his eyes, the champion destroyed Galento with a series of vicious hooks and uppercuts in the fourth round, humiliating the little fat man who called him a bum.

This was Louis’ 7th title defense of 25. The champion only got better, but it was Galento, Jersey Joe Walcott and Billy Conn who gave him his biggest scares.

Back to Galento. “The little fat man” was very confident in his left hook because throwing the right hand threw him off balance. Of course, Galento's poor balance is partially the reason he wound up on the floor the first time against The Brown Bomber.

There has been a lot written about Jack Johnson and I won’t be repeating what other writers have said about how legendary and great he was in the ring. But let’s examine how he would react if he were in the ring with Tony Galento.

As I said before, the aggressive style of Galento was not yet in existence when Jack Johnson was fighting. Jack Dempsey dominated after Johnson’s retirement, and was the first fighter to aggressively dash forward while bobbing and weaving in a crouch while destroying guys left and right with a brutal left hook from hell. Rocky Marciano, Joe Frazier and Mike Tyson all borrowed the blueprint of this style from Dempsey. Tony Galento was also a Dempsey protege, but obviously lacked the finesse of the men I just mentioned. But what he didn’t lack was supreme confidence, bombastic punching power and will. Those three attributes can take you far in boxing.

In Johnson’s day, guys were not yet crouching at each other. Everything was about circling and sizing each other up, waiting on the other man to attack. Jack always had his hands up ready to counter or parry. He generally fought patiently during the early rounds, and gradually became more and more assertive as his opponent got winded and discouraged. Like Ali, Louis, Holmes and Wladimir Klitschko after him, Johnson could be very patient and didn’t take any unnecessary risks.

Even though he fought out of a crouch, the sloppy Galento was not difficult to hit. His bobbing and weaving was minimal. Galento seemed to be more concerned with planning his own attack than worrying about what the other guy would do. Louis basically hit him at will and could have knocked him out in the first round if he wanted to, but chose to carry him a few rounds and punish him. This is what led to Galento nearly knocking him out in that fight. Galento is not the kind of fighter you wanna waltz with. He was dangerous and unpredictable.

This would be a catch 22 for Johnson. Johnson had hand speed similar to Louis, but lacked his crushing power. (I’m not saying Johnson couldn’t punch, but he obviously couldn’t bang like Louis) But like Louis, Johnson would probably be able to pick his spots and pound Galento whenever he felt like it. However, patiently stretching the length of the fight means that Galento would be given plenty of opportunities to surprise Johnson.

If Galento blasts Johnson to the ground with his fierce left hook, what happens next? This, to me, is the key to the entire fight. Let’s look at Johnson’s chin and heart. Before his prime, he was knocked out by Klondike and Choynski. He was only knocked out once more in his lifetime, and this when he lost the title to Jess Willard. Johnson was no longer fit and far from his best by that point. There are rumors that he threw the fight, but I don’t think so. Despite the footage being grainy, you can still clearly see Willard knock the wind out of Johnson’s chest at one point. When Willard hurt Johnson with the knockout punch, Johnson attempted to hold on to him to keep from going down, but failed and hit the deck anyway. He was a tired, old, overweight fighter. It was amazing that he hung in there for almost 26 rounds against a much bigger, younger opponent.

During his prime years, Johnson was decked by a middleweight fighter named Stanley Ketchel. Many people point to this knockdown and say Johnson had a bad chin considering he was hurt bad by a middleweight fighter. But the popular story is that the fight was a scripted affair, and, seeing his chance, Stanley went off script and decided to smash Johnson. A surprised Johnson went down, and returned the favor with his own brutal haymaker. The punch not only put Stanley to sleep, but it knocked his teeth out. (You see Johnson smearing Stanley's teeth off his glove immedieatly following the knockout).

This may have been the hardest punch Johnson landed in his life, similar to the punch Hasim Rahman destroyed Lennox Lewis with. The problem with these kinds of punches is that you have to wind up for them, leaving you wide open for a counter while also giving your opponent enough time to escape. Fortuneatly, Johnson rarely threw this kind of punch. But Galento? It was his specialty, especially his left hook.

Who Wins?

I see this as a repeat of Galento’s fight with Louis, only longer. Jack would have to adjust to Tony’s crouching aggression, but I think in a short time he’d frustrate him by countering and wrapping him up in clinches. Knowing Jack, he'd be smiling while he does it. Easy sparring session. Or so he thinks.

Johnson would be having an easy night and having his way until Galento inevitably lands his monster left hook. Jack would be overconfident and I could definitely see him getting a tad careless and getting blasted by a thunderous Galento left hook to the chin.

I see Johnson crashing to the ground in a daze, but quickly getting up with fury as he did against Stanley. Now it turns into a fight! Johnson would be able to see Galento’s wild haymakers coming a mile away, and counter him easily but now with more bite. Galento would be eating some real leather here, and Johnson would wrap him up in clinches and tire him out further. Galento had a great chin. His biggest knockout losses were to Joe Louis and Max Baer, two of the best all-time sluggers of all time.

Johnson wins here by TKO, but it wouldn’t be Johnson’s punch that would do it. Galento would be tired, faded and defenseless. This one ends by technical knockout late in the fight.

Jack Johnson wins by TKO in round 13 or so.

Although I pick Jack to win, I must also note that I don't think anyone should be careless against Galento. Not even for a second. Louis wasn't careless, but Tony happened to hit him when he was in the midst of throwing his own punch. Pure luck, but still. Seeing Galento standing over a fallen Joe Louis shows that Galento might just luck up against anyone.

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What Deontay Wilder Learned From Joe Louis, And How I Predicted His Defeat

2/27/2020

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I wrote a blog last December about how people were getting too high on Deontay Wilder. The former heavyweight champion was boasting about being the hardest puncher in heavyweight history. Fans took this and ran with it, hypothesizing that Wilder was on his way to being the best fighter of all time. Some even felt strongly that he'd knock out Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson. WTF?!?! With Wilder's recent loss to Tyson Fury, now many people are finally seeing that I was right in my observations of Wilder not being half as good as portrayed.

I knew this loss to Tyson Fury was coming and spoke about it numerous times. There are two main reasons why I predicted Fury would win this rematch.

"I Am The Hardest Hitter Puncher In Boxing History, Period."

Wilder made that statement in November 2019.

Now, I can almost understand why Wilder felt this way. His knockout record speaks for itself. Aside from Fury, Wilder has knocked out everyone he fought. He fell in love with his power. This is nothing new. I’ve seen this happen to other heavyweights like David Tua and George Foreman, for example. They got so used to knocking everyone out that they neglected other vital parts of boxing skill. For Foreman, he sacrificed his stamina, which Muhammad Ali famously exploited in Zaire. David Tua gained a lot of weight and became a one-trick pony with his left hook. When he finally got a heavyweight title shot in 2000 against Lennox Lewis, Tua weighed 245 pounds and his only strategy was to blast out Lewis with a left hook. He had no plan B, and was embarrassed for 12 rounds.

Wilder reminds me of Earnie Shavers in the sense that most of their knockouts occurred with one thunderous punch. On the rare occasions when an opponent would get up, neither man knew how to finish the guy off because they were accustomed to guys staying down. They never learned to become good finishers. This is why Shavers failed to stop Larry Holmes when he had him hurt, and Wilder failed to finish off Fury the two times he dropped him in their first fight.

Wilder and many boxing fans fell deeply in love with his punching power and knockout records. Wilder is an amazing puncher, but what I realized before everyone else is that Wilder is all punch and little else. His entire strategy is a jab and right hand. But more on that in a minute.

Secondly, the heavyweight division is poor aside from "the big three." (Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Wilder). The guys Wilder routinely knocked out were not great. There is no Oliver McCall or George Chuvalo around these days to test Wilder’s power.

You may think I'm being hard on Wilder, but I'm not. There is some credit to give. He isn't just a slugger, but a smart slugger, and here's why.

Wilder evidently studied some of the most dangerous punchers of the past. Joe Louis often unleashed devastating strings of punches together to destroy his victims. One favorite combination of his was to land a jab and then score with a right cross for the knockout. Wilder destroyed many guys this way. In fact, he used this combination of punches to floor Fury in their last fight, only he added a left hook to the chin after the right hand smash.

George Foreman knocked out Michael Moorer in 1994 with this same maneuver, as did Rocky Marciano when he struck out Jersey Joe Walcott to win the title in 1952. Observe.

The First Fight Said It All

Lastly, all people had to do was watch the first fight between Wilder and Fury. Fury outpointed Wilder most of the fight, and the only reason it was a draw was because of Wilder’s two knockdowns. That’s what made the fight so close. If not for the knockdowns, Fury would have won a comfortable decision.

And, in the words of heavyweight legend Max Schmeling, “I seed something.” During the last round of their first fight, Wilder dropped Fury with the combination of punches I spoke of above. Fury laid there dead. It looked to be over. Tyson Fury appeared to be another Bronze Bomber knockout victim. And, to the surprise of everyone, Fury suddenly rose from the canvas like the Undertaker and continued to fight.

Wilder failed to come across as a finisher, but that was not the only thing I noticed. Fury began to press him and back him up. Wilder didn’t quite know what to do, as he’s unaccustomed to fighting backwards. It took Fury 12 rounds and getting knocked down twice to realize that Wilder cannot fight backward and is uncomfortable with pressure. But the fight was over just as he started to exploit this. In the rematch he picked up right where he left off, and we saw what happened. Wilder, so used to being a knockout king, was clueless and hurt bad.

Hey, I am a fan of Wilder like everyone else. He was the first American Heavyweight Champion in 8 years or so. He can punch like hell. He has spectacular ring entrances. He’s a cocky but overall good guy and exciting fighter to watch. That right hand can drop you at any moment. He’s the most exciting heavyweight champion since the emergence of a young Iron Mike Tyson in 1985.

This is the time for Wilder to relax and enjoy his family, then return to the gym and freshen up on defense and finishing techniques. He showed true heart in refusing to quit, and I feel like he'll come back and eventually win one of the titles again. People used to doubt me when I'd tell them that he's not the unstoppable juggernaut force he was believed to be. I told people all the time that he could punch, but he couldn't fight. Ya'll didn't believe me. This is why it's wise to sit back and observe these guys early in their careers because more often than not, they let you down if you hype them.

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Our last look at "Iron."

2/9/2020

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The last knockout of Mike Tyson's 20 year career. (Feb. 22, 2003)

By early 2003 I was done with Mike Tyson. Or at least I thought I was. It was obvious that the showdown with Lennox Lewis should have been his retirement fight. At the time I was a junior in high school, but a huge boxing fan. I had lost faith in Tyson after the beatdown he took from Lewis, but one punch would later restore it. No one knew at the time that on February 22, 2003, Mike Tyson would knock out his last opponent, and it would only take 49 seconds.

Let's rewind back to February 2003. When I heard that Tyson was fighting Clifford Etienne, I felt that Clifford would murder him. Yeah, Clifford was a bum I'd never heard of previously. But Tyson looked so bad against Lewis that I'd pick almost anyone to beat him by this point.

For the Tyson v. Lewis fight, I threw a big fight party. For the Tyson v. Clifford Etienne fight, the party this time was just me, my dad, and a beer. (His beer)

I remember Mystikal performed the entrance music for Mike. He did the song, Danger!! (Been So Long) I still remember that album. That song might have been his last big hit. Tyson came out to Ambition Az A Ridah, one of the best 2Pac songs of all time. It was always nice to see Tyson honor his slain friend that way.

Now for the fight. (If you can call it that).

Clifford initially was able to dodge Tyson's left hooks and uppercuts by bobbing and weaving in a crouch.

The fight was explosive as both men charged right into each other like rhinos. Clifford tossed a jab first. Tyson was headhunting, slinging hooks to the head after jabbing his way inside. Clifford was ducking low, bobbing and weaving under Mike’s vicious hooks. A young Tyson would have taken advantage of Clifford’s openings with an uppercut. By the time Tyson launched one, Clifford’s head was out of position.

Clifford grabbed onto Tyson and both guys went tumbling to the ground. Remember. We’re only 13 seconds into the fight here. This was happening fast.

Once the ref waved both men back into action, Tyson charged in with a wild left hook but Clifford ducked and went back to bobbing and weaving. Tyson, to his credit, threw to the body and even threw another uppercut to the crouching Etienne, but couldn’t land because Clifford kept moving his head and smothering the former heavyweight champion. Both men got entangled and were (again) separated by the referee.

Iron Mike Tyson smashed poor Clifford with his right hand, resulting in the last knockout of his career.

Tyson was famous for his combinations during his youth, and what followed next is a reason why.

Clifford managed to dodge another Tyson left hook, but was surprised when Tyson smashed him with a right hook on the chin. Down he went. This was a flash of the 19 year-old Tyson; the kid who threw “punches in bunches.” If one punch failed to land, there would always be a follow-up or two that would inevitably catch you flush.

Cliff fell under his own leg, which looked even more painful than the punch. Once on the ground, he removed his mouthpiece and got comfortable laying on the canvas as the referee counted him out.

I was shocked and started rejoicing. Iron Mike was back!!! This was the Mike Tyson I remembered from my childhood. Maybe Lennox Lewis was just too big and too good for Tyson? Maybe Lewis would retire? Maybe Tyson now had a good chance to win the title again? All these thoughts and possibilities flashed through my mind. I suddenly had hope for Tyson. Right in front of my eyes, the former "Kid Dynamite" had knocked out Clifford Etienne in 49 seconds. I was caught up in the moment.

Then my dad brought me back to reality. “He (Clifford) probably took a dive.”

Damn.

I hadn't thought of that. And during the replays you see how smoothly Cliff removed his mouthpiece and made no effort to get up. He was considered a nobody, likely hired to help Tyson get some of his hard-hitting reputation back. I realized my dad was probably right.

The post-fight interview went much longer than the fight itself. Tyson said he broke his back while riding a motorcycle. And he also talked about his new tattoo on his face. Even though he wasn't saying crazy things about kissing Razor Ruddock's big lips or eating Lennox Lewis' children, this interview was still quite bizarre.

Like my dad said, the knockout could be suspect. Considering the way Clifford was content to lay there during the ten-count, and the way he was so quick to embrace and whisper to Tyson when it was over....makes you scratch your head a bit.

Another thing. Tyson is the most explosive in the first few rounds. Why the hell did Clifford come right at Tyson at the start of the fight? That's suicide. A stupid strategy. By this point, Tyson had been defeated four times by three men, and they each finished him using similar tactics. Surely Clifford knew better.

Clifford was also noticeably taller than Mike. Why did he come right at Tyson and fight by ducking into his reach? That's another questionable strategy. If you come right at Tyson and duck into his range, it's only a matter of time before you get blasted out. Clifford should have used his height to his advantage. There is no way someone tall like Muhammad Ali would charge at Tyson and foolishly fight him this way.

But to be fair, Clifford did seem a bit dazed after the knockout. Today I feel the same as I did that night as a teenager - the punch was legit, but Clifford was content to lay there and get his money. He knew he had no chance. He and Tyson put on a nice little 49-second show, and they both got paid. That isn't fair to the people spending money on this farce. But that's the fight game.

Honestly, Tyson was long over by this point. You could argue that his decline began with Cus D'Amato died. Tyson began to ignore his skills after firing Kevin Rooney, often looking for quick knockouts with his right hand. Then came the prison sentence, a year suspension after biting Holyfield, and here we were after the Lewis loss.

Tyson only fought two more times, losing to Danny Williams and Kevin McBride. Both fights took place when I was in college. I predicted Tyson would destroy the huge, lumbering McBride, but instead he quit in the sixth round and retired. He was actually winning the fight, en route to a split decision victory.

The last time Tyson's arm would be raised in victory.

Fighters like Joe Louis, Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali just didn’t have it anymore when they retired. They were mere shadows of themselves. The 37 year-old Joe Louis that was knocked out by Rocky Marciano was still fundamentally sound. His jab still had some bite to it, and his left hook was still mean. In his fights with Ezzard Charles and Marciano, we saw flashes of the prime Brown Bomber, as he tried to unleash the devastating combinations or “Joe Louis Specials” that he once routinely destroyed guys with. He was arguably the best finisher of all time. Fast forward to October 1951; age had robbed him of those graceful reflexes. He was too old to fight off a younger, stronger heavyweight like Marciano.

Ali had deteriorated to an even worse state by the time he fought Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbrick in his last fights. His arch nemesis Joe Frazier didn’t do much better in his final fight either. Against Jumbo Cummings, Frazier did his best and fought to win. He fought with his usual aggression and tried to kill the guy. The crowd gasped each time Frazier slung his fierce left hook, but the smoke was gone.

In their last fights, Ali, Frazier and Louis fought to win, but their declining skills prevented it. Tyson, on the other hand, maintained the fast hands and brutal power of his youth, but mentally caved in. He said himself after the McBride fight, “I don’t have the fighting guts no more. I haven’t loved this since 1990.” It showed.

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What If? Floyd Patterson v. Ken Norton

1/1/2020

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Put yourself in this situation. You’re a heavyweight boxer waiting for the bell to ring. Your opponent across the ring looks like a smooth-faced 17 year-old kid. He resembles a shy high school student. His trainer Cus D’Amato whispers words of encouragement in his young fighter’s ear.

The bell rings and your 5'11,189-pound opponent comes at you crouching and weaving with his hands up protecting his face as if he's playing a game of peek-a-boo. Once he's almost in range, you throw a jab but suddenly you see a bright light and the floor feels as if it rose and caught up with you. You lay on the ground in a daze. You never saw that left hook coming. It was impossibly fast and landed right on your chin with an explosive effect. Congratulations. You just went a few seconds with Floyd Patterson.

Let's try a different opponent. He has a physique men to this day are jealous of. He stands at 6'3, 220 pounds. The bell rings. You two circle each other a bit. He inches toward you, dragging his right foot.

You throw a few jabs but he blocks them using a weird armadillo defense. You try another jab but before your lands, he's countered you with his own jab right to your face! You're surprised, but you try to jab again and he stuns you with another counter jab square on the nose. You finally say, “The hell with it,” and prepare to throw a mean hook, but he blasts you in the body with a body shot. As you grimace, he hits you in the jaw with a thunderous right hand. As you stagger backward and get caught by the ropes, you feel your jaw is really loose. It's broken. Congratulations. You just went one minute with Ken “The Jawbreaker” Norton.

Both Norton and Patterson were vulnerable to the heavy-handed sluggers, but they were great counter-punchers and often gave their opponents a lot of trouble. Floyd was a crouching swarmer who could also dart in and out, picking his spots. His hand speed is among the fastest of all the heavyweight champions, including Muhammad Ali. He wasn't the hardest puncher, but the speed of his punches put a lot of guys on the canvas. After all, it's the punches you don't see that knock you dead. Your brain has no time to brace for them.

Ken Norton was difficult to fight because of his scientific approach and countering abilities. If Ken saw your chest flex, he'd know a punch was coming and beat you to it. That's how observant he was. Like Jack Johnson, Ken's whole strategy revolved around countering your mistakes.

Floyd Patterson retired in 1972, around the same time that Ken Norton was beginning to make a presence in boxing. In fact, Norton fought Ali just a year after Patterson did.

But what would have happened if these two fought each other? If there was a time machine and we could put the 1956 Floyd Patterson in the ring with the 1973 Ken Norton, who wins and how?

At 21 years old, Floyd Patterson became the youngest lineal heavyweight champion of all time.

Cus D'Amato. When you hear that name, what’s the first thing that immediately springs to your mind? For most people, it’s Mike Tyson, whom Cus mentored and trained into becoming one of the most ferocious heavyweight champions of all time. But Cus did the same to a young Floyd Patterson decades earlier.

What's amazing about Patterson is that his looks and demeanor will fool you. He was lean and youthful looking, but possessed a resonant baritone voice you probably wouldn't expect from him. Also due to his small size and speedy style, you probably wouldn't expect an explosive punch from him. This couldn't be further from the truth. Floyd could really pop, but I'll get to that later.

Floyd was one of the first boxers to use Cus D'Amato's infamous peek-a-boo fighting style. With this style, you hold your gloves in front of your face as a defense as you come forward, bobbing and weaving. But the style runs a lot deeper than that. There are angles, footwork, and a set of combinations involved. For this style, Cus also had a number system. Each punch represented a number. His pupils would memorize each number, and string them together in different sequences and combinations, and the result would be pure dynamite.

It is a general fact that the most important punch in boxing is the jab. It can be defensive or offensive. Some guys use it as a range finder to gauge distance.
Most fights begin with two guys feeling each other out with jabs before taking huge risks.

However, this wasn’t always the case when you’re fighting Floyd Patterson. Sometimes, he would charge right out at the opening bell and spring off the mat with his signature “Gazelle Punch” and smash his foe with a fierce left hook. No warning. No setup. Just a brilliant, poetic and explosive left hook.

But Floyd did utilize the jab well. He sometimes would jab, then turn it into a left hook all in one motion. This was a brilliant knockout set-up utilized by Joe Louis that other heavyweight champions would use later on, including Patterson and Smokin’ Joe Frazier. For Patterson, most jabs were a way to help him get inside or a setup for a power punch.

When it comes to hand speed among the heavyweight champions, there are five names always mentioned - Muhammad Ali, Floyd Patterson, Joe Louis, Jack Johnson and Mike Tyson. You could make a case that any of them had the fastest hand speed in heavyweight boxing history.

I can only go by what my eyes tell me. Muhammad Ali had the quickest jab, with Joe Louis being a few hairs behind. Jack Johnson had the quickest defensive hands, often parrying his opponent’s attacks with cat-like reflexes. Lous and Tyson threw the fastest combinations. But it was Floyd Patterson who threw the fastest hooks.

One of the fastest punches I've ever seen on film was Floyd's one-punch knockout of Henry Cooper. It came from out of absolutely nowhere, and there was no chance that poor Cooper saw it coming.

Floyd obviously couldn't bang like George Foreman or even Joe Frazier. But as Cus D’Amato used to tell both Patterson and Tyson, “Speed kills.” The punches you don't see are the ones that knock you dead. Your brain doesn't have a chance to prepare for it. With Floyd's hands being so fast and his punching accuracy being so precise, he knocked a lot of people out.

We know Cus used to specialize in throwing punches with “Bad Intentions.” Floyd lacked the killer instinct of Mike Tyson, but like Tyson, he aimed to punch right through you.

His most devastating punch, however, was when he sprung off the mat and smashed Ingemar Johanson with a beautiful left hook. Ingemar went down and out. His left foot was quivering as he lay there unconscious. Anyone that doubts Floyd's power should watch that knockout.

Later in his career, Floyd knocked out Charley Green with a brutal left hook to the body. As Charley slumped to the canvas, Floyd tried to help him up. He definitely lived up to his moniker, “The Gentleman Of Boxing.”

Floyd was most famous for his Gazelle Punch. As the name implies, he would spring high into the air with the grace of gazelle and land his dynamite on his opponent’s chin. Years later, Joe Frazier, Mike Tyson, Tommy Morrison and David Tua would sometimes emulate this punch, but no one did it better than Patterson.

Ken "The Jawbreaker" Norton

Ken Norton fought during the greatest era of heavyweight boxing..the 1970s. This was the era of animals such as George Foreman, Earnie Shavers and Ron Lyle. Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali were past their peak years, but still winning most of their fights, and did so in impressive fashion. Larry Holmes emerged as a top contender towards the end of the decade and ruled well into the ‘80s, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

What’s important is that among all of this great talent, Norton sometimes held his own, proving that he belongs among this special group of heavyweight champions.

Ken started out modestly, as a sparring partner for Joe Frazier. Marvis Frazier told me that Norton once dropped Joe in a sparring session, and that their gym wars were competitive. I had assumed that Joe would beat the crap out of Norton based on their styles (and Norton's chin) but based on Marvis’ testimony, Norton did well, which shows me that Norton was even better than I’d given him credit for. Not many guys could hang in there with a young Joe Frazier.

Larry Holmes told me that Joe cracked one of his ribs, and that his sparring wars with Frazier were among the most brutal sparring sessions of his career. Listen to our interview.

While Floyd rushed at you bobbing and weaving in a crouch, Norton patiently jabbed and waited for mistakes. When he saw the openings, that’s when he attacked most aggressively. He was also difficult to hit at times due to his awkward armadillo defense taught to him by Eddie Futch. But a flaw in this defense is that it always leaves you open somewhere.

The most brilliant display of Norton’s career was the way he beat Muhammad Ali during their first fight in 1973. Eddie Futch told Norton, “When Ali jabs, you jab with him.” Everytime Ken saw Ali’s chest flex before he threw a jab, Ken through his jab too, countering Ali and breaking his rhythm. Most of the time, his jabs landed right down the pipe. This scored plenty of points for Norton, and kept Ali from finding his rhythm almost all night.

Norton couldn’t jab like Louis or Holmes, but his jab was a straight, almost precise one. Ali, known as one of the most effective jabbers in boxing, was finally getting a taste of his own medicine.

But the icing on the cake was when Norton broke Ali’s jaw. There’s so many conflicting reports on what round Ali’s jaw was broken in. I won’t even venture a guess, but we do know for a fact that when the fight with Norton was over, Ali had a broken jaw and the second loss of his career

Ken was able to consistently out-jab Muhammad Ali in all three of their epic battles.

Ken was, in some ways, a throwback to the classic Jack Johnson counter-punching style, although Ken took new approaches to it. To be more accurate, I would say that Norton combined the strength of Jack Johnson with the counter-punch and armadillo defense of Archie Moore (who originated the defense).

But unlike many counter-punchers, Ken could brawl well when he had to. In his battle with Larry Holmes on June 9, 1978, Ken and Larry took each other to the brink. It was exhausting to even watch them. In the end, Larry won the encounter by a point, but it’s a bout that could have just as easily went the other way. Because of this, you could argue that a younger version of Ken would have won it.

Chins

Both Patterson and Norton were vulnerable to the heavy-handed sluggers. Floyd was damn near killed by Sonny Liston on two occasions. Norton was easily destroyed by Foreman and Shavers. But throughout their careers, Patterson was down more times than Norton was. I don’t see Norton getting floored seven times in one fight by someone like Ingemar Johanson. That’s one of several reasons I feel that Norton had a better chin than Patterson.

Floyd still had lightning fast hands when he fought Muhammad Ali in 1965, but the former heavyweight champion was outmatched.

The Power Of The Punch

As I mentioned before, Floyd had the speed to surprise his opponents. He also had fierce accuracy. It was rare that he missed his target. A punch that you don't see coming that lands square on the button is more than capable of knocking you unconscious. Floyd's blows had an explosive impact, but he didn't have the natural, raw power that Norton had.

Norton was a more natural slugger than Patterson. But he obviously wasn't on the level of a Liston, Foreman, etc. If I had to rate his power from a 1-10 with 10 being the highest, he'd probably get a 7 and a half. Ken knocked out a lot of people, but the guys with concrete chins like Holmes and Ali always withstood his punch.

Ken Norton smashing Muhammad Ali in the body with one of his crushing left hooks.

Heart

Ken Norton was a tough guy, both mentally and physically. I just can’t say the same about Patterson, though. Under the advice of Cus D’Amato, Patterson shamelessly ducked the menacing Sonny Liston for five years. During both of his championship reigns, Floyd also stayed away from Eddie Machen, Zorra Folley and Cleveland Williams, all of whom were deserving of cracks at the championship.

Instead, Patterson took easy title defenses against guys like Tom McNeely and Hurricane Jackson. Ingemar Johansson was supposed to be another “tomato can” for Patterson to make easy work of, but obviously it didn’t work out this way.

Let me rewind a bit. Cus D'Amato and Floyd Patterson waited for Rocky Marciano to retire before moving Floyd up to heavyweight and challenge for the heavyweight title. Cus wanted to protect his young fighter at all costs. When Marciano hung up the gloves, the only man standing in Floyd's way of the title was the old Mongoose Archie Moore. As predicted, this was an easy fight for Floyd to win. Knockout in round 5.

Floyd Patterson awaiting his death...

Now let's fast forward back to 1962. It wasn’t until President John F. Kennedy expressed his wishes to see a Patterson-Liston fight that Floyd finally gave into peer pressure and offered Liston the title opportunity that he deserved for years.

Floyd was paralyzed with fear during both encounters with Sonny Liston. While Patterson doesn’t have the chin to ever survive Liston, he never gave himself a fair chance either. If you watch closely, Floyd was making Liston miss a lot of punches. His bobbing and weaving made him a hard target for Liston to initially hit. Instead of countering all of those missed punches the way Frazier or Tyson would have, Floyd just dodged the punches and waited to be hit. It didn’t take long.

What I’m saying is that if Floyd had thrown counter blows to the body and the chin, he could have given Sonny to think about, or at least made a better fight out of it. Floyd was so embarrassed that he wore disguises in public after the fight. He once said in an elevator that someone casually said, “Hi, Mr. Patterson” while Floyd was decked out in a disguise. Funny.

Given his reputation for getting knocked out by huge punchers, Ken Norton likely would have gone down against Liston too, but he would have been a tougher cookie for Liston to crumble than Patterson was. Muhammad Ali nick-named Patterson “the rabbit” for good reason.

Ken Norton was also able to out-jab Larry Holmes. Larry told me during our interview that it was the toughest fight of his career.

LEGACY

Floyd Patterson accomplished two feats that still stand today. He was the first heavyweight champion to regain the title after losing it. This is something that Jack Johnson, Jack Dempsey and Joe Louis failed to do.

Floyd is also the youngest heavyweight champion in history, a record I doubt will ever be broken. I realize that Mike Tyson (20) is the youngest title holder, but Floyd was the youngest lineal heavyweight champion at 21.

Tyson was a few days shy of turning 22 when he knocked out Michael Spinks to win the lineal championship and officially become the undisputed heavyweight champion.

Technically Tyson is the youngest champion, but due to the fact that the lineal championship is the most important title of all, Floyd still has some right to this record.

Ken Norton held the WBC Championship once and soundly defeated Muhammad Ali. He also came within a hair of beating Larry Holmes in one of the closest fights ever. Other than those feats, he didn’t accomplish much.

This is tricky because it depends on how you rank your fighters.

From a head to head perspective, Norton matches up better with the modern heavyweights. At 5'11 and 189 pounds, Floyd Patterson would be a cruiserweight today. A match against someone the size of Lennox Lewis would be a disaster for him.

A 6'3, 220 pound hard-punching counterpuncher like Ken Norton would have picked up more titles if he fought during the 1990s. If he were fighting today, he would most likely fall victim to Deontay Wilder's right hand and get counted out. But he'd still be a top contender. Norton's skill may get him past sloppy fighters like Andy Ruiz (though Ruiz has a puncher's chance). Still, you could argue that he would give Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury good fights before they knock him out.

Patterson accomplished more than Norton, and at a real young age, so I have no choice but to rate him higher than Norton. But again, it depends on your ranking criteria.

Ken Norton played a molested slave in 1975 film, "Mandingo."

Backlash From The Black Community

The black community was temporarily harsh on both of these men. In these blogs I rarely talk about things that happened outside the ring, but since both of these guys had trouble with the African American public at certain times, I feel the need to address it.

Norton was criticized by playing a slave in the 1975 movie, Mandingo. Years earlier, former light heavyweight champion Archie Moore faced similar criticism for playing Jim in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. But during Archie’s time, there were not many roles for African Americans that were not slaves, butlers, or dancing bug-eyed fools. Because of that, I don’t have a huge issue with Archie playing a slave. It was likely the only movie role he could get at that time in U.S. history.

By the 1970s, on the other hand, things had lightened up. For example, Duane Jones had already played the lead character in 1968’s Night Of The Living Dead. Ken Norton didn’t have to play a slave. He had more options. Because of this he was slammed by the black press.

Floyd Patterson was famously (and repeatedly) called an Uncle Tom by Muhammad Ali and other Civil Rights leaders. Here’s the thing. Guys like Joe Louis and Joe Frazier, for example, were not great speakers like an MLK, Muhammad Ali or Malcolm X. It just wasn’t their gift. The same is true of Floyd Patterson. But unlike Patterson, Louis and Frazier did what they could behind the scenes to make change for African Americans.

Joe Louis refused to entertain only white troops during WW2, and desegregated the United States Army as a result. Joe also desegregated the PGA golf program during the 1950s after his final retirement. Similarly, Joe Frazier stayed out of the spotlight with his good deeds also, most notably going to then-President Nixon to persuade him to give Muhammad Ali his boxing license back.

Louis and Frazier were not public civil rights activists, but they discreetly made change. Just because they were quiet about it didn’t make them “Uncle Toms” no matter what Ali said. That was wrong of him, especially publicly slamming Frazier, who went out of his way to give Ali a shot at his championship.

Ken Norton about to get some of that white chocolate....

That brings me to Floyd Patterson, who not only didn’t do anything to bring about change for his people, but openly sucked up to the white man. Floyd publicly said that Muhammad Ali was “not an American.” What the hell, dude? And he also refused to call him “Muhammad Ali,” instead referring to him as Cassius Clay. Some fellow boxers (both white and black) such as Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano, initially didn't agree with Ali's new name and other political statements, especially refusing the induction into the Army. But once they got to know him, they understood. Louis confirmed this in his autobiography, and Peter Marciano mentioned this in his interview on the Marciano v. Ali Computer Fight documentary.

But even Marciano and Louis didn't publicly slam Ali the way that Patterson did, and for Patterson to say these things about another black man (especially one fighting for Civil Rights) was a blatant sell-out move in my opinion.

Floyd was commonly referred to as “the good Negro,” especially in his fights against the “thug” Sonny Liston and the “militant black Muslim” Muhammad Ali. In fact, many former heavyweight champions like Rocky Marciano, Jim Braddock, Ezzard Charles, Jersey Joe Walcott and Ingemar Johanson picked Patterson to beat Liston, but they were thinking with their hearts. I honestly think their prediction was a pick against Liston rather than a pick for Floyd. As former heavyweight champions, they had to know Patterson would lose, especially Ingemar, who basically made a habit of dropping Patterson. If he could hurt Patterson, surely Sonny Liston would.

There’s more I could get into here...a lot more. But I prefer to talk about boxing rather than politics. Let's move on to the final segment.

Muhammad Ali: "I smell an Uncle Tooooooom!!!

FIGHT NIGHT

Here we go. The fun part. The most similar fighter to Ken Norton that Floyd Patterson fought was Ingemar Johansson, going 2-1 against him during a great trilogy.

During their first battle, Floyd had issues getting inside because of Ingemar's consistent jab. The jab was not landing so much, but it kept Floyd from getting set to attack. By the third round, Ingemar began to surprise Floyd with a thunderous right hand after a preceding left hook. Patterson went down 7 times from there.

Floyd got his revenge by knocking out Ingemar in their next two fights. He occasionally got hurt and knocked down in these fights, but he fought more aggressively, not allowing Ingemar to control the action with his jab.

Now, I said earlier that Ingemar was similar to Norton. This isn’t too accurate of a statement, but Ingemar was the closest thing to a Norton-esque fighter that he fought.

Norton was better than Ingemar. He was noticeably much bigger at 6’3, 220 pounds. He hit harder than Ingemar. He fought with an awkward defense, and could knock you out with either hand. In short, he was a much better fighter than Ingemar Johansson, who was the best fighter Floyd fought during his best years. (Aside from Sonny Liston and an aging Archie Moore).

Now, the closest fighter to Floyd Patterson that Norton fought was Jimmy Young. (Jimmy wasn't really anything like Patterson, but he was the closest fighter I could compare Patterson to). Norton won a close and controversial split decision. Most observers, including referee Carlos Padilla, felt that Young should have won the fight.

The fight was back and forth. Young fought aggressively at times, and defensively at others. Jimmy was a small man that could be hard to catch. He was also much more durable than Patterson could ever be. Young not only withstood blows from Norton, but from a prime George Foreman as well.

To be fair, by 1977 George was still haunted by the ghost of Muhammad Ali in Zaire. He was afraid of losing stamina and was hesitant to “pull the trigger.” But still, Young got hit throughout the fight and survived Foreman’s blows. Patterson would never pull that off, regardless of Foreman’s mental state.

Jimmy Young beat George Foreman so bad that George saw Jesus after the fight. True story.

Knowing Floyd, he might get intimidated by Norton’s physique alone. Norton wasn’t Sonny Liston, but he looked imposing, as his nickname “Black Hercules” suggested. Floyd had a lot of speed, but I think the beginning of the end would happen the moment Norton lands his first big punch. It could be a hard left to the body, or a brutal jaw-breaking right hand.

Like Ingemar, Norton had the jab to keep Floyd from finding his rhythm. Norton’s jab was a straight punch and more of a clever counter attack than Liston’s long, slow jab, which Floyd dodged well but failed to counter.

I could never imagine Ken being afraid of Floyd, but I could see it being vice versa. Also, I believe Ken had the chin to withstand Floyd’s dynamite blows, but Floyd would probably get hurt bad by Ken’s attacks. With Ken's armadillo defense and counter-jab, it would be hard for Patterson to move in without getting cracked. Norton would see the gazelle punch coming and counter effectively.

Again, Norton waited for your chest to flex, so I don't see Floyd's speed being a factor because Norton would always know when a punch was coming.

It’s just not a good match-up for Patterson. The smaller Patterson would get knocked off his feet multiple times and wish he’d have stayed a light heavyweight. After the fight, he would cry more than my grandma did when Marvin Gaye died. OK, I'm exaggerating. But seriously. My final prediction would be a referee stoppage after Floyd has repeatedly hit the deck, too dazed to continue.

Ken Norton wins by technical knockout in round 3.

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What If? David Tua Versus Primo Carnera

12/20/2019

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Imagine the year is 1933 and you're a top-ranked heavyweight contender stepping into the ring with the heavyweight champion. As the announcer pumps up the crowd during the introductions, the heavyweight champion glares at you from across the ring. He is a huge man, standing at a tall 6'6 and ½ inches and a massive 250 pounds. His name is Primo Carnera, (88-14, 71 Knockouts) and he just recently killed a man named Ernie Schaaf in a previous fight. You're about to face one of the strongest men alive on the planet, even capable of murder in the ring.

Let's fast forward to the year 2000. You're a boxer and the only man standing between you and a potential crack at the heavyweight championship is a strong, stocky powerhouse of a heavyweight named David Tua. (52-5-2, 43 Knockouts)

Tua may be on the small side standing at 5'10 and wearing a "Kid N' Play" haircut, but it doesn't matter. You've seen what his devastating left hook can do. He basically hits you with the entire island of Samoa. Tua has his Polynesian dancers drumming and dancing as he makes his way to the ring. As he climbs through the ropes, he shoots you the meanest look you've ever seen in your life. He has knocked out his last ten opponents in a devastating fashion and looks to add you to his list. You visibly shudder at the thought.

David Tua is arguably the greatest heavyweight never to win the title. But he was blessed with pure dynamite in his fists and had one of the best chins of all time. His left hook was pure blunt force trauma.

Primo Carnera was also a warrior gifted with almost supernatural physical strength. He is one of the biggest heavyweight champions to ever fight in the ring. What would happen if these two mammoths clashed in the center of the ring? Who controls the action? Who goes down? Who has the better legacy? Let's discuss.

Standing at 6'6 and 250 pounds, the massive Primo Carnera would hold a significant size advantage over "The Throwin' Samoan."

The Ambling Alp

Known as the Ambling Alp (What kind of name is that?!?!) Primo was the biggest heavyweight champion in history until the arrival of the 7-foot tall Nikolai Valuev. Carnera was incredibly strong, even working as a strongman and professional wrestler at one point.

Primo naturally had an intimating presence because of his size, but his scary reputation increased when he fatally knocked out Ernie Schaaf in February 1933. In the 13th round, a jab from the giant sent Schaaf sprawling to the canvas, and he never entirely woke up. He briefly awoke paralyzed in the hospital, but lapsed back into a coma and passed away 4 days later. Here is a clip of the knockout.

Primo knocked out Jack Sharkey to win the heavyweight championship in 1933. In the 6th round, a vicious uppercut literally knocked Sharkey off his feet and took his title. What's ironic is that Sharkey had easily boxed his way to a decision over Primo in their previous encounter, but he was obviously intimated by Primo's “murderous” reputation in their title fight. The man was terrified.

Primo was not heavyweight champion for long. He was absolutely destroyed by Max Baer a year later, hitting the canvas 11 times. The referee mercifully stopped the massacre in the 11th round.

The following year, Primo was again humiliated...this time by a young up and coming Joe Louis. The Brown Bomber unloaded his dynamite and put Carnera on the floor three times. By the 6th round, it was over. This fight was the first major milestone in Louis' career. When he showed that he could knock out the massive Primo Carnera, people knew he had a future. Here is what Louis had to say about fighting Primo, brilliantly walking us through the fight.

Louis said here that “Carnera was nothing.” It's interesting that Louis was able to literally pick up the giant and not vice versa. This was an easy fight for Louis, and he makes it sound as if Primo wasn't as talented as people thought, which I'll get to in a second.

There are many rumors that Primo was controlled by the mob. I don't know the details of this, but if true, Louis' statements ring even more true. Primo was huge, but couldn't fight. His size and mob connections are what led to his success. But that's all a matter of opinion.

The Tuaman

That 19-second demolition you just witnessed is the entire David Tua-John Ruiz fight. Many of Tua's early fights went like this, and he was referred to by many as "The Samoan Mike Tyson." Like his hero Mike Tyson, David Tua often ended fights early in an explosive fashion.

After turning pro in 1992, David gained a reputation for being one of boxing's most feared sluggers. His trainers were Lou Duva, Ronnie Shields and Kevin Barry. Duva was friends with Rocky Marciano and said during one of Tua's post-fight interviews that he gave his pupil a “Rocky Marciano style.” That may have been Duva's intent, but in my opinion David combined Tyson's aggressive approach with Joe Frazier's explosive left hook and stamina. Throw in a granite chin, and the result is David Tua.

David had a reputation for destroying guys within the first round, but he was also dangerous because he could go the distance no problem. There were many fights where David was behind on the scorecards but his bomb of a left hook bailed him out at the last second. Well, I guess you could compare him to Marciano in that regard. Marciano and Tua both had fights where their one-punch power saved the day at the last second.

Tua also had a chin of absolute granite. He was rarely hurt or staggered. Those huge tree trunk legs kept him sturdy.

Tua's first loss came to Ike Ibeabuchi in one of the best fights of all time. The battle was close. I had it 6-4-2 for Ike Ibeabuchi. Tua had issues adjusting to Ike's jab during the first four rounds, and Ike fought like hell to survive the last round, outpointing Tua. If not for his late start, Tua would have won.

Despite losing, this was Tua's best performance. He threw devastating combinations of hooks and uppercuts, he threw dozens of punches to the head and body almost consistently. Both guys wanted the win badly, and wound up having the highest number of punches thrown in a heavyweight fight.

After his undefeated streak was broken by Ibeabuchi, Tua seemingly lost his spirit. His weight began to balloon the next year in a fight with Hasim Rahman. Tua began to get bigger and bigger with each fight, and now fought a bit more lazy, often looking to end things with his thunderous left hook. The combinations, the uppercuts, and the thudding body blows were suddenly gone. It was now all about the left hook. This lack of strategy and motivation gradually ruined David's career.

David Tua narrowly missing a massive left hook on Lennox Lewis in 2000.

A Clash Of Styles

Primo fought as an upright, outside boxer. He used his long 85-inch reach and jab to fight from the distance.

Tua, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. He charged right at you and launched his thudding hooks and uppercuts in close range.

If we go by what Louis said, Primo had a “pretty decent jab” and pushed with his right. What we know is that when sluggers slipped under his guard and landed on Primo's chin, he went down in a heap.

Max Baer and Joe Louis are the hardest punchers Primo fought, and they both shattered him easily once they landed their first significant punch. Louis wisely concentrated on a body attack during the early rounds to "soften" Primo up. Once Primo was visibly getting fatigued and began to drop his guard to protect his ribs, that's when Louis got aggressive and went for the kill.

But Max Baer? He was a wild swinging madman. No finesse, no grace, no setup, just wild crazy random swings. If he could connect on Baer, I'm almost sure anyone could.

The difference between their victories against Primo is that Louis started setting Primo up as early as the first round, so it took less knockdowns to finish him later. Primo was broken down and ready to go by round 6. Baer hurt Primo earlier, but because he didn't "weaken" him the way Louis did, it took him a lot longer for Baer to finish the giant. (11 rounds).

Joe Louis struck Carnera so hard that blood squirted from his mouth and he went crashing to the floor.

Fighting big men wasn't necessarily a problem for Tua, but his kryptonite was a good jab, regardless of his opponent's size. Tua never learned how to sufficiently block or slip them. Hasim Rahman was far from a spectacular heavyweight, but because he had a decent jab, Tua had trouble adjusting to him in two fights.

Tua's defense was so bad that he made Hasim Rahman almost look as good as Joe Louis. Similarly, Chris Bryd had a field day humiliating Tua for 12 rounds. Bryd's awkward, pawing jab and slick mobility kept Tua befuddled and allowed Bryd to stay out of danger. Tua never learned how to sufficiently cut the ring either. If he had, then he would have mowed down Rahman and Bryd and pulverized them. But he had no idea how to close the gap if his opponent kept their jab in his face.

Tua might attack aggressively like a Frazier or Marciano, but he had no idea how to trap and corner guys the way they did.

During their heavyweight championship fight in November 2000, Lennox Lewis basically treated Tua like a sparring partner in one of his easiest title defenses.

But Primo Carnera was even bigger than Lennox Lewis, and we saw what happened when Tua fought Lewis. Does this mean Carnera would automatically beat Tua? Not necessarily.

Tua had knocked out guys as big as Lewis before, but none of them had Lewis' defense and skill. It was difficult getting around Lewis' reach, especially with him constantly shooting that jab.

Lewis also had his right hand prepared to surprise Tua with a straight right or uppercut. Once Tua felt the uppercut during the early rounds, he stopped attacking as much, knowing that this was the punch that awaited him if he got too close.

Tua also had a rib injury that was aggravated early in the fight when Lewis struck him with a body shot. Whether it was the uppercut or the body punch to the rib (or both) Tua mentally submitted and followed Lewis around for the remainder of the fight in a trance, hoping to smash him with an explosive left hook that never connected. He had no plan B.

During the last 2 seconds of the fight, David desperately threw a left hook so wide that he threw himself into the ring post.

Lewis and his trainer Emanuel Steward had Tua all figured out long before the fight. In addition to keeping Tua at bay with his telephone pole jab, Lewis held his right hand near his jaw, protecting it from Tua's only threatening punch – the left hook.

Despite being bigger than Lewis, Primo didn't jab nearly as much, nor was his right hand as vicious. I also don't think he'd employ any set strategy to keep Tua off of him. Because Primo lacked proper defense, it's more than possible that Tua would sneak through and blast his jaw the way Louis and Baer did.

Then again, Tua could be a lazy fighter at times. There were many fights he had against big guys with minimal talent similar to Carnera – David Izon, Oleg Maskaev, and Danell Nicholson immediately spring to mind. These guys were far from great fighters but they were having a fun time dismantling Tua until he suddenly landed that big left hook that put them to sleep.

Primo was so big that it was difficult for his opponents to get under his reach and attack him.

Legacy

Another reason why these two probably don't get the recognition they deserve is because their biggest victories in the ring are somewhat tainted. Primo's biggest win was over the much smaller and absolutely terrified Jack Sharkey.

As for David Tua, he knocked out four former heavyweight champions – Hasim Rahman, Michael Moorer, Oleg Maskaev, and John Ruiz. Ruiz was destroyed in 19 seconds and Moorer was blasted out in 30 seconds. But at the time Tua knocked out these men, none of them were the heavyweight champion.

Tua's biggest loss was to a peak Lennox Lewis, and his second biggest loss was to a young Chris Bryd.

Carnera's biggest losses were to Max Baer and Joe Louis. Primo's losses can be forgiven. Baer was one of the most dangerous punchers of all time. Joe Louis is arguably the greatest heavyweight champion of all time, so there isn't any shame in getting knocked out by those men.

Early on, Chris Byrd looked TERRIFIED of David Tua. But he soon realized he had nothing to worry about.

Lennox Lewis was too good for Tua, but Tua could have given himself a chance if he'd thrown more punches. In Lewis' next fight, Hasim Rahman destroyed him with one punch and took his championships. Tua is a much harder puncher than Rahman. The difference between the two is that Rahman actually threw punches in his title fight with Lewis, and Tua didn't.

Tua lost his fight against Bryd for similar reasons. He spent the whole fight looking to smash the elusive Bryd with his fierce left hook. Bryd has a great chin and could roll well with a punch if he saw it coming. Tua landed plenty of body punches throughout the fight, but by the time Bryd started to slow down because of it, it was round 11 and the fight was nearly over.

Lennox Lewis said it best. “It takes a whole arsenal to beat Lennox Lewis, not just a left hook and a haircut.” A cocky statement, but true.

If I had to rank Carnera and Tua, I'd rank Carnera ahead. For starters, Primo actually won the heavyweight title, something Tua never did. Even sadder for Tua is that there were four heavyweight titles during his era and he never picked up a single one, while many lesser fighters did.

Secondly, Primo's biggest losses were understandable. Tua, on the other hand, fell in love with his power and had no strategy against Lewis and Bryd aside from smashing them with a huge left hook to the chin.

Sugar Ray Robinson hanging out with Primo Carnera and Joe Louis.

Speed

As far as mobility goes, Primo moved a bit better than Jess Willard, but he was no gazelle. Still, Carnera wasn't necessarily slow, but you could see most of his punches coming. You could say maybe he was average at best.

Tua's hand speed wasn't on the Tyson or Ali level, but when he's in range that left hook could certainly catch you by surprise. Ask Darroll Wilson about that. He and Tua were scuffling up close, and Wilson all of a sudden went down. Tua had snuck a left hook to his chin. 1st round knockout.

People used to compare Tua's left hook to Joe Frazier's, but Joe's was clearly better. Joe could launch that punch from any angle, and you often couldn't see it coming.

Joe would “double” his hook, throwing one left hook to the body and then another one to the head. BANG! BANG! It was this combination that sent Muhammad Ali staggering into the ropes during round 11 of the fight of the century in 1971.

Sometimes Frazier threw the left hook after a jab in one motion, and sometimes he threw the left hook after a right hand set-up.

Tua was more predictable, often leaning a bit to his left just before launching the punch. Generally, you could see his hook coming if he were more than a foot and half away. But up close? You'd never see it coming.... and wake up in the locker room.

An older David Tua smashes an opponent with his left hook. Like George Foreman, Tua's power never faded.

The Fight

Here's what you've been waiting for. One guy (Tua) had awesome power, a concrete chin and no problem going the distance. The other (Carnera) was one of the biggest men to ever lace up the gloves and even killed a man in the ring. How does the fight go?

Well, it depends on Tua. The 1994-97 version of David Tua would attempt to smash Carnera immediately. It took Louis and Baer a few knockdowns to keep the giant down for good, but they succeeded. They also connected their blows rather easily.

If Louis said he had issues getting under Primo's guard during the first few rounds, so would Tua, who lacked Louis' defense and was even shorter. Louis broke Primo down with his jab and counters to the body, waiting for the perfect time to strike. That moment finally arrived in round 6.

The '90s version of Tua still had issues adjusting to jabs, but because Primo didn't throw that many and Tua kept attacking, he'd land that big left hook midway through the fight after struggling a few rounds to close the gap. A surprised and outgunned Carnera would be repeatedly put on the canvas.

If it's the overweight David Tua that lost to Lennox Lewis, Carnera may stay in the game a bit longer, but it'd be the same result – Carnera tries to survive, but the referee stops the fight after the big man takes one left hook too many.

David Tua Wins By Sensational Knockout in Round 5.

Agree? Disagree? Duke it out in the comments!

This would be the outcome of the fight. David Tua wins by 5th Round Knockout.

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What If? Sonny Liston versus Evander Holyfield

12/16/2019

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The most infamous photo of Sonny Liston (50-4, 39 KOs) is the one where he's laying flat on his back under a confident Muhammad Ali in 1965. Similarly, the most historic picture of Evander Holyfield (44-10-2, 29 KOs) is the photo of Mike Tyson making a bloody snack of his chocolate bunny ears.

As a result, history has unfairly overlooked how both men were among the best heavyweight champions of all time. First there was the burly, menacing Sonny Liston who wrote the book on how to terrify opponents before even getting into the ring. Years later, Evander Holyfield came along and clashed with many ring giants during his roller-coaster ride of a career. He used brilliant strategies and the Power of Jesus to win his battles.

There is a short list of heavyweights in history that would survive the power of Charles "Sonny" Liston. But is Evander Holyfield on that list? Is he the “real deal?” Let's discuss.

Sonny Liston's long 84-inch reach made it hard for opponents to avoid his punches.

The Big Bear

Sonny got by using pure power and intimidation. His scary glare terrified opponents, and was a major influence on George Foreman and Mike Tyson who came after him.

Interestingly, Sonny had the same strategy for most of his fights. If you watch many of his knockouts, it was his long bulldozing jab that often got guys in trouble first. Sonny had arguably the hardest jab in heavyweight history. After smashing you with his jab, Sonny would club you death with his left hook or uppercut. Or both. Either way, fight over.

Sonny might look like some crude monster, but he was technically smart. He realized the importance of the left jab. He used it to set up many of his spectacular finishes. That huge jab was capable of a knockout all by itself. Most observers feel that Larry Holmes had the best heavyweight jab. I don't disagree, but you could certainly argue that Sonny also had the best jab, just in a different way. Because of his long reach and Sonny's fearless lunging, it was a hard punch to avoid. And if he landed flush, it would be the beginning of the end.

It's amazing how short people's memories are. Sonny looked to be indestructible. Unbeatable. Invincible. Even while heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson was blatantly ducking Liston, everyone knew Sonny was the best heavyweight around.

But, while Mike Tyson retained his scary mystique after his shock loss to Buster Douglas, Sonny's fearsome reputation suffered after the Ali losses. People don't remember that Sonny won all but one of his fights following the Ali rivalry. It's a shame that he wasn't given a title shot against Joe Frazier during the late 1960's.

The Real Deal

As you can see above, Evander came to fight! He wasn't the hardest puncher, but he made up for it with mental toughness and buckets of heart.

Compared to Sonny Liston, Evander Holyfield was more well-round heavyweight. “The Real Deal” got by using his ring smarts and courage. Evander could fight by slugging, boxing or countering. Sometimes he did all of them within one fight. Evander was a hard fighter to train for because you could never predict how he would fight on any given night.

George Foreman is one of the few heavyweights to fight both Muhammad Ali and Evander Holyfield. According to Big George, there are a few similarities. One of them is that both recovered really fast when hurt. George said there were times when he had both men shook, but just that fast they were hitting him back.

George also said that their punching power was similar but Evander hurt more and this makes sense. Ali threw blows from a distance and danced away from you as he punched. Evander would come forward, dip for leverage and throw hooks and uppercuts while in close. Hooks and uppercuts are the knockout punches.

I'll go in detail on this later, but one of the reasons why Evander defeated Mike Tyson is simple... he outfought him. There was a brief moment in the first round of their 1996 fight when Evander surprised Tyson by landing a string of three consecutive hard left hooks to the body and head. BANG! BANG! BANG! Tyson stopped right in his tracks and sneered as if to say, “So this is what fighting this bastard is gonna be like?!”

Watch the interaction below...

Evander's strongest asset was probably his mental toughness. Like Ali, Frazier, Johnson and Marciano before him, Evander didn't believe he could lose. His faith in The Lord and courage held him together.

Rocky Marciano is often cited as the best-conditioned heavyweight champion of all time. He trained twice as hard as his opponents, which gave him an edge over them on fight night. By round 10, his opponents were often tired, but Marciano was only getting stronger.

The late trainer Lou Duva was great friends with Marciano, and when asked by Bert Sugar and ESPN's Brian Kenny if he knew anybody that trained as hard as Rocky, Lou quickly replied, “Holyfield. Evander worked and worked and worked and worked.” Duva trained Holyfield during his early years as a heavyweight.

Before we move on, let's take a look at Evander's cruiserweight career. In my opinion and the opinion of many other sports writers, Evander was the best cruiserweight of all time. His battles with Michael Dokes and Dwight Muhammad Qwai are exhausting, brilliant wars that you need to watch if you haven't seen them.

Evander cleaned out the entire cruiserweight division and became the undisputed crusierweight champion. Bored and undefeated, he moved up to the heavyweight ranks to challenge for the undisputed heavyweight championship, eventually winning it from Buster Douglas in 1990.

Sonny Liston crushing Floyd Patterson with an uppercut in 1962. It took less than a round for Sonny to win the title from Patterson.

Toughness

Evander would fight to the death if he had to. There was no quit in him, which is one of the reasons why he didn't retire until he was 51. The man loved to fight. Joe Frazier said in his autobiography that Evander was his favorite heavyweight of the modern era because he loved to break down much bigger men and had a natural love for fighting.

I can't say the same about Liston. He never came from behind to win a fight he was losing. He quit on his stool against Ali, and decided to lay there and get counted out in his rematch against The Greatest.

In his next to last fight, Sonny was suddenly knocked out by Leotis Martin. Because it's Liston, I question if it's a legit knockout or not. The punch definitely hurt him, but could he have got up? Maybe.

Then again, Liston was famously controlled by the mob. Maybe he was told to take dives against Ali and Martin? Whether he was legitimately knocked out by those guys or was instructed to lose by the mob, either way is bad for his legacy.

Evander initially went berserk when Tyson bit him, but watch his reaction once he regained his composure. He didn't resort to cheating or quitting. Despite the pain, he continued to fight Tyson during that wild third round.

How would Sonny Liston react if Mike Tyson bit him? Given his reactions to losing the first fight to Ali (quitting) and the rematch (again quitting) I think a terrified Sonny would want nothing more to do with Tyson.

"The Brown Bomber" Joe Louis holds the heavy bag for Sonny Liston.

Fighting Dirty

Both men had reputations for occasionally being dirty fighters, so it would not surprise me if anyone was blinded or headbutted in this fight.

Muhammad Ali was famously blinded during the 5th round against Liston in 1964. Now, being in the ring with Sonny is a scary enough thought, but to fight him without vision? Muhammad Ali was some man. He deserves all-time great status for this action alone.

You could argue that Ali being blinded was an innocent mistake. However, two previous fighters who were also fighting well against Sonny Liston (Zora Folley and Eddie Machen) both complained about something getting in their eyes. Unlike Ali, they couldn't turn things around and wound up losing.

Is it a coincidence that every guy who was on the verge of upsetting Liston suddenly got blinded during the fight? I seriously doubt it.

Evander had reputations for headbutting his opponents. In this writer's opinion, not all of them were on purpose.

If you closely watch “The Bite Fight” with Tyson, you'll see that Evander dips for leverage before unloading his punches. From his crouch, he'd spring upward and throw his blows with full force. Tyson fought like a bull, always charging forward. The result was a clashing of heads.

But this wasn't always the case. In their first fight in 1999, Holyfield deliberately charged into Lennox Lewis with his head. He also tackled him to the ground at one point.

On commentary, George Foreman called him out for these dirty tactics. Larry Merchant defended Holyfield's blatant cheating by saying, “He's a rough fighter because it's a rough game.”

Foreman's reply? “You'd never see Joe Louis resorting to all of this.”

Larry Merchant's comment was just another example of Holyfield unfairly getting away with these shenanigans because people liked him. I don't like that. Just because he is a Bible-toting man healed by the Power of Jesus doesn't mean we should ignore his wrongdoings.

Evander's 1997 rematch against Michael Moorer was the best performance of his career in my opinion.

Styles Make Fights

Stylistically, Evander should give a brawler like Liston some problems, though this doesn't automatically mean he'll win.

Evander fought like a modern Ezzard Charles – a clever counter-puncher who could go toe to toe when necessary. Evander often knocked guys down by striking when they were off balance as they missed a punch. He could pull this off with either hand.

This tactic is exactly how he won his first heavyweight championship from Buster Douglas. He used another counter-punch to floor Mike Tyson in their first battle. Tyson lunged in and was caught square with a left hook to the chin.

Sonny Liston often left himself open to counter attacks by lunging in with his fierce jab and left hook. The infamous "Phantom Punch" is a pure example of this, as Ali caught Sonny when he was off balance leaping in.

Holyfield should be favored on paper due to their distinctive styles, but Holyfield's biggest strength was also his biggest flaw - his heart. What happens if Sonny hits Evander after the bell? Evander would surely want payback and duke it out with the "big bear" in the next round and put himself in peril.

Holyfield has a granite chin. He withstood absolute bombs from Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Lennox Lewis, Riddick Bowe, Bert Cooper, Ray Mercer and others. With the exception of Bowe, none of these men knocked him out, and the Bowe loss had more to due with Holyfield being sick and weak due to Hepatitis A. You could argue that Evander was at his best against the sluggers.

But in a fierce shoot-out war, Liston would inevitably win. He was just too powerful.

Could Evander get around that heavy Sonny Liston jab? I would say yes. Holyfield didn't have the gazelle speed of Muhammad Ali, but his mobility was enough to keep him out of danger. Lennox Lewis had a long 84-inch reach and telephone pole jab just like Liston. In their rematch, Holyfield neutralized his jab by jabbing him in the body. Lewis didn't like that and opted to slug it out. I'm sure Liston would do the same, so the Liston jab wouldn't be a factor for long.

What about Sonny's left hook? During clinches, Holyfield leaned his head on Tyson's left shoulder to avoid his uppercut while at the same time smothering his left arm, restricting Tyson from utilizing his left hook. Holyfield also did this against Mercer, and no doubt he'd do it successfully against Liston too.

Legacies

Evander was a four-time heavyweight champion, but he never dominated the way a heavyweight champion is expected to. Coming after the five-year reign of Tyson dominance, Evander wasn't really taken serious as heavyweight champion. He was fighting for respect.

Later in his career, Evander won the WBA title in a fight with John Ruiz, becoming the first man to win the heavyweight championship four times.

Sonny Liston only held the heavyweight championship from 1962 to 1964, but everyone knows he should have been given a crack at the title much sooner. Despite Floyd Patterson clutching the belt and blatantly ducking Liston for five years, Sonny Liston was dominating the heavyweight scene.

If you're comparing legacies between Holyfield and Liston, Liston looks better as far as win-loss ratios go. He adjusted to his declining skills much better than Holyfield did, evidenced by him winning 15 out of 16 out his fights after being embarrassed by Muhammad Ali. Not only that, but he won 12 by knockout. Aging or not, he was still a legitimate threat to anyone that fought him. That power was still there.

Evander picked up more championship wins and fought much better competition than Liston overall. He got some huge wins, but fought way too long and picked up some unnecessary losses that hurt his record.

Evander twice beat Tyson, who was the monster of his era. Sonny, however, lost twice to Ali, who was the biggest name he shared the ring with. Sonny was more consistent overall, but Evander was an overachiever with much more championship success, both at heavyweight and crusierweight.

It's really apples and oranges to compare. It depends on how you evaluate greatness.

But if I had to rank them I'd rank Sonny above Evander but not by much. Head to head Sonny had more success and lost fights less often than Holyfield did. Liston only lost four times. Marty Marshall broke Liston's jaw, a fight that Sonny understandably lost. Sonny's last loss was to Leotis Martin as an old fighter. Sonny's only huge losses were to Ali. I can forgive that.

The Fight

Before I start, remember that Evander is famous for standing up to bullies. He thrived on standing up to bigger men and surprising them. Sonny is just that kind of bully. There would be no fear from Holyfield.

Ring The Bell!!!!!

Ultimately, it depends on which Evander we put in the ring with Liston. The 1990 version of Evander that swiftly defeated Buster Douglas would get blown away by a peak Sonny Liston. At 28 years old and 208 pounds, Evander was too small. He had great experience as a cruiserweight, but Dokes and Qwai are like puppies compared to Liston. Besides, if Evander was hurt so bad by Bert Cooper, I'm sure Sonny would have damn near killed him.

But what about the older Evander from 1997? To me, this was the best Holyfield. He had bulked up tremendously, gained much more experience by this time, and could find a way to beat almost anybody. His best performance as a heavyweight in my opinion was his 1997 WBA/IBF Heavyweight Championship fight with Michael Moorer.

Evander never looked better on that night. He never punched harder and maintained his punch accuracy. He floored Moorer 5 times, and outsmarted him consistently once he figured out Moorer's fight patterns.

Even more impressive is that this was a clean win. No headbutts, no football tackles, nothing illegal. On that night, Evander combined the ring smarts of Ali and the vicious attack of Jack Dempsey. Perfect.

Now this version of Evander would give Sonny a fight!!

Liston would make himself vulnerable by lunging with that long powerful left hook of his, leaving himself open to counter-punches, which is what Holyfield excelled at. It would be the phantom punch scenario all over again.

Sonny may temporarily hurt Evander a time or two, but Evander had the chin to recover fast and the wits to fight back or clinch to survive. Knowing that the left hook, jab and right uppercut were his most powerful blows, Evander would neutralize them using angles and clinches just as he did against Tyson.

I see Evander discouraging Liston throughout the fight with his mobility and combinations of hooks and uppercuts to the body and head. Evander also had much better stamina than Liston, hurting the Big Bear's chances if the fight went the distance. Sonny didn't necessarily fade during the later rounds, but he gradually became less effective the longer the fight went.

Eventually a frustrated Liston gets dropped by a perfectly timed counter-punch, and refuses to get up.

Evander Holyfield Wins By 9th Round TKO

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What If? Jack Dempsey v. Rocky Marciano

11/19/2019

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Elvis Presley was the King of Rock And Roll during the 1950s, but the king of the boxing ring was a young, hard-punching kid from Brockton, Massachusetts named Rocky Marciano. (49-0, 43 Knockouts) Bobbing and weaving, Rocky routinely knocked out opponent after opponent. Eventually he won the heavyweight championship in 1952 and retired as the only undefeated heavyweight champion in boxing history in April 1956.

But Rocky's particular style and signature aggression reminded many boxing fans of an echo of the past – the Manassa Mauler Jack Dempsey. (60-7-8, 50 Knockouts) Jack Dempsey was boxing's first celebrity. During his prime, his popularity escalated to the point where it rivaled Babe Ruth and Charlie Chaplin. Dempsey was also the primary inspiration for Mike Tyson, who borrowed many of Dempsey's signature moves in the ring.

Dempsey and Marciano fought during different eras, but it's rare that one is discussed without the other eventually being mentioned. How similar and dissimilar were they? Who would have won if these two legends clashed in the middle of the ring? Let's discuss...

A very familiar ending for Jack Dempsey fights.

The Original Mauler

I shudder to think what boxing would be like today if Jack Dempsey never existed. Obviously, there were always boxing fans. Jim Jeffries was a popular athlete and Jack Johnson was a notorious one. But Jack Dempsey changed boxing forever when he smashed the jaw of Jess Willard with that dynamite left hook on July 4, 1919. Dempsey was so popular that he drew boxing's first million dollar gate. Because of his savage aggression and knockout records, he attracted people who were not boxing fans. Before the arrival of Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey was the most popular boxer of all time.

It was Dempsey who wrote the textbook for Tyson, Marciano and Frazier. Each of these men channeled Dempsey's bobbing and weaving and powerful hooks and uppercuts. Dempsey's dynamite hook to the body is still imitated to this day.

Dempsey's explosive left hook was a huge inspiration for Joe Frazier and others.

Jack Dempsey

A Clash Of Styles

Dempsey and Marciano often drew comparisons to each other. In fact, when Marciano first appeared on the scene, some writers labeled him “another Dempsey.” On the surface it's easy to see why people said that, but when you examine the two guys, you'll see a lot of differences in their styles.

As you can see in the picture, Dempsey often threw straight punches. This worked well for him because it didn't leave him as open as a haymaker would, and it helped his punches to land right down the pipe. Dempsey was crude, but his punches were not half as wild or wide as Marciano's. Like Frazier, Dempsey didn't generally throw the wild haymakers until he was finishing someone off.

Marciano was totally different in this regard. He threw each punch as if it was a baseball. He threw every punch as hard as he could, and he often put all of his weight behind it. The problem with this is that if he missed, he was off balance and vulnerable to counter attacks.

This is precisely how Archie Moore was able to drop him. In the second round of that fight, Rocky was swooping in with a lunging punch and Moore clocked him when he was off balance diving in. Observe.

But here's the thing – Rocky threw these looping blows but he threw them from all directions. From his crouch, he could punch upward from down below, or he may throw a wild shot from elsewhere. He just kept attacking and there was no way to see where each punch was coming from, giving you no chance to protect yourself sufficiently.

Moore had early success against Rocky but as the rounds progressed, Rocky beat the man and beat the man and beat the man until he wilted.

Rocky fought like a propeller that kept moving right in on you. He once said that he fought as if there's a fire right behind him and the guy in front of him is constantly in his way.

Dempsey was more like Mike Tyson in the sense that he attacked in spurts. Dempsey would attack his way inside, but once there he didn't punch as much, leaving him open to be clinched or giving his opponent time to counter or run away. But you gotta watch out for that left hook, which was the punch that got most guys in trouble. See below.

Jack Dempsey mauls Gene Tunney

I realize that Dempsey was past his best during their fights, but I believe that Gene Tunney had the style to always befuddle him. (No, I'm not saying this means he would automatically beat Dempsey; I'm just saying Dempsey would always have problems mowing him down).

Gene wasn't awkward, slow moving and huge like the guys Dempsey developed a reputation for destroying. Those guys stood and fought Dempsey, and paid the price for it.

However, Gene was much smaller and more elusive, playing boxing as if it were a game of tag. He would pop Dempsey and get the hell out of range before Dempsey could retaliate. Tunney closed both of Dempsey's eyes in their first fight. After losing, Dempsey's handlers had to lead him across the ring to shake the new heavyweight champion's hand.

How would Rocky Marciano do in the same situation against Tunney? Well, the Tunney-Dempsey bouts were similar to Rocky's first battle with Jersey Joe Walcott. Yes, Rocky was behind on points at the time of the stoppage, but Rocky was always on the attack and cut the ring better than Dempsey. Walcott was a much better escape artist than Tunney, even utilizing a shuffle and sneaky sucker-punch to his arsenal. But in the 13th round, Marciano was able to corner Walcott and feint a jab.

Walcott raised his right hand to counter the “jab,” but Rocky blasted a surprised Walcott with his Suzy-Q right hook. Walcott slumped to the canvas unconscious, and we had a new heavyweight champion.

Raw Power

Both Marciano and Dempsey were relatively small heavyweights with a huge wallop in both hands. But the main difference between them power-wise is that Marciano's right hand was his sledgehammer, while Dempsey's fierce left hook generated some of his most famous knockouts.

Dempsey could punch alright, but I think it was the speed and ferocity of his attacks that made his blows so brutal. Jack would leap off the mat to land a punch. He also developed the “Dempsey Roll,” which was a string of vicious hooks in succession. Until the day he died, Jess Willard swore that Jack had a pipe hidden in his gloves. He just couldn't fathom that the much smaller man could pack such an unbelievable wallop.

There's also the story of the robbers that attempted to mug an elderly Dempsey, who proceeded to knock them both to the ground. The men said that it felt like he had rocks in his hands.

Marciano was not slow of hand, but Dempsey's hand speed was better, and overall his accuracy was better.

But Jack Dempsey himself stated that Rocky hit harder. This is what he had to say about The Rock's power in the 1953 fall edition of Fight Magazine...

“What everyone forgets is that Marciano can punch harder with a right hand than any modern-day heavyweight. In his first fight with Walcott, Rocky needed only one blow to win the title. The power in his right scrambled Jersey Joe's brains at Chicago.”

“I've scored my share of knockouts along the way, but more often than not my opponents got up after being knocked down and had to be knocked down repeatedly. The same is true of Joe Louis. But Marciano only needs one solid smash and it's over. That's why I say Rocky Marciano is the hardest-hitting heavyweight champion I have seen.”

What he said is very much true. Jack rarely knocked guys cold the way Rocky did. For example, Willard went down numerous times in that brutal first round but Jack could never finish him and exhausted himself trying. Compare this to Marciano's knockout victims. Walcott, Louis, Vingo, Matthews and many others were put to sleep. Others, like Archie Moore, were too beaten and battered to continue on.

Part of what made Rocky special was his freakish punching power. He was a small 184-pound man that punched with the strength of someone twice his size. Even Muhammad Ali famously said, “Man, he hit hard. My arms were sore from just joking with him.”

Rocky also knocked out a lot of guys with his left hook, especially early in his career. His knockout of Harry Matthews was a brilliant example. It was evident that trainer Charlie Goldman's teachings were starting to pay off. During the second round, Rocky absolutely destroyed Matthews with a Joe Frazier-esque double left hook.

Overall, Rocky was a better puncher than Dempsey. Rocky's knockout percentage was 88% while Dempsey's was 65.22%

HEART

Both guys had a lot of heart and toughness. Jack Dempsey was famously knocked out of the ring by Luis Firpo. The image was painted by George Bellows. The fight was an exciting one. There were 11 knockdowns in two rounds before Jack knocked him out. It's not often that a guy gets knocked out of the ring only to come back and knock out his opponent.

Oh my bad! That's the wrong picture.

Jack literally fought to eat during his hobo years. If he didn't win, he didn't eat. That would motivate anyone.

While Marciano never lost, Dempsey was only knocked out once during his 6 losses. No one knows the true story of what happened when Firemen Flynn knocked him out in 25 seconds. There were reports that Jack hadn't eaten in four days. Some, including Dempsey's wife, said that he threw the fight because he was offered more money to lose. Either way, Jack got his revenge by knocking out Flynn in the first round of their rematch.

Marciano was a clutch fighter. The closest he came to defeat was when Ezzard Charles split his nose. With blood constantly pouring, Rocky needed an emergency knockout. The ring doctor only gave Rocky one more round. Rocky responded by pummeling Ezzard to the canvas to maintain his championship and undefeated record.

Another scare Rocky had was against Walcott. As I explained earlier, Rocky managed to maneuver Walcott to the ropes and get his punch to the target. Rocky always found a way to win in urgent situations.

Opposition

Dempsey fought much bigger and heavier opposition than Rocky did overall. Dempsey destroyed the huge 6'6 Jess Willard. Prior to beating up Willard, Dempsey knocked out the 6'4 Carl Morris in one minute of the first round of their December 1918 battle. Likewise, it only took Dempsey 23 seconds to put away Fred Fulton that same year.

Dempsey was pretty good at knocking out much bigger men. His secret? His sparring partner was the talented 6'6 Big Bill Tate. Because he was African American, Bill unfortunately never got a crack at the heavyweight title. But from all accounts he deserved one. He was a damn good fighter from what I read and seen. Regardless, he helped shape the history of boxing by preparing Dempsey to clash with the then-heavyweight champion Jess Willard, who was the same size as Tate, but not as good of a fighter.

During his first round with Willard, Dempsey was more than prepared. At first he circled his prey, waiting for an opportunity. The moment Willard missed a loose jab, Dempsey exploded with his left hook, dropping Willard and allegedly breaking his jaw in 7 places.

During Marciano's reign, there were not many giants to fight. It'd be easy to assume that Rocky would be clueless on how to get inside and fight big men because he never had to when he was at the top level, but history proves he could handle big guys when he needed to.

For starters, Rocky damn near killed Carmine Vingo, who was a big Italian fighter standing at 6'4. Unfortunately there's a lack of footage of this fight available, but Rocky's sledgehammer right hand literally knocked Vingo into a coma.

When Rocky was a journeyman, there were other big men he knocked out, and according to the numbers, he often conquered them quickly in a vicious, Dempsey-esque manner.

Here's a short list of some of the men over 200 pounds that Rocky defeated.

Bill Hardeman (206 pounds) : KO 1
James Connoly (213 pounds) :TKO 1
Artie Donato (201 pounds) : KO 1
Elbridge Eatman (206 pounds) :TKO 3
Johnny Shkor (220 pounds) :TKO 6
Bill Wilson (229 pounds) :TKO 1
Keene Simmons (200 pounds) :TKO 8

Add to this Rocky's time filming the computer fight with Muhammad Ali. The two sparred for 75 one-minute rounds. Muhammad at the time was still in his prime. He had great mobility and flash lightning hand speed. On the other hand, Rocky was balding, overweight and hadn't fought in over 13 years. But yet, Ali said he could hardly land his jab on Rocky, and even demanded more money because Rocky injured his ribs with a body attack.

Rocky was able to cut off the ring and bring the fight to the great 6'3 Muhammad Ali, who had the speed of a graceful gazelle. Keep in mind also that Muhammad danced on his toes, which made him actually around 6'5 as he skipped around the ring. This didn't deter Rocky.

Would Jack Dempsey have the same success against Ali? I say no, because Dempsey wouldn't consistently overwhelm him with a high work-rate the way Rocky and Frazier did. Also, Dempsey wasn't so hot against “stick and move” guys in the Gene Tunney-Muhammad Ali tradition. But he did possess the one punch Ali was always most vulnerable to throughout his career – the left hook. But a Dempsey-Ali fight is a story for another blog.

LEGACY

Some say Marciano fought during a weak era. You could argue that, but he knocked out at least four hall of famers – Moore, Charles, Walcott and Louis.

Let's be real here. Ezzard Charles was only 33 and two years older than Rocky when they fought. (Rocky was 31). Jersey Joe Walcott reminds me of Lennox Lewis and the Klitschko brothers in the sense that he got better as he aged and put on his absolute best ring performance ever against Rocky until he got cracked in the 13th round.

Archie Moore was aging for sure, but the problem was that each time he fought a quality heavyweight, he was knocked out. In addition to Marciano, Moore was also KO'd by Floyd Patterson and a young Muhammad Ali. Moore recaptured the light heavyweight title not long after losing to Rocky. All of this confirms to me that Archie was still great, but was just out of his element against heavyweights.

Rocky smashes an aging Joe Louis with a brutal uppercut

Joe Louis was still fundamentally sound at the time he fought Rocky. With the exception of his loss to Ezzard Charles in 1950, Joe was winning his fights.

However, his victories often lacked the impressive knockout flash of his prime years. Joe was confident and had a great fight plan against Marciano, but his timing and reflexes were gone.

To hear Rocky tell it...

"What surprised me was that Joe didn't have much of a right. They told me he had lost some of his power, but I didn't expect nothing. That's what his right
hand was – nothing." -Rocky Marciano

This says a lot, because ring officials literally had to scrape Jimmy Braddock off the canvas after he got knocked out by Louis' right hand years earlier.

The best guys Dempsey fought were basically just more impressive from a size perspective. Jess Willard was aging, out of shape, and had been largely inactive since winning the title from Jack Johnson. Luis Firpo was a real warrior at times but far from all-time great material. Jack Sharkey was a capable heavyweight but, like many others, crumpled when he felt Dempsey's left hook.

Dempsey was not a great heavyweight champion in my opinion. Instead of defending the crown he once worked so hard for, he went to Hollywood and got a nose job. Since he used to be a hobo, he quickly took advantage of his rich new lifestyle. I wish he'd have been an active heavyweight champion.

Following orders from his management, Dempsey avoided facing black challengers. Because he refused to fight black athletes and was inactive for much of his championship reign, I don't think we ever got to see Jack Dempsey at his best. All we saw were brilliant flashes of potential in a number of fights.

Marciano was the exact opposite. He came into each fight in perfect condition. In fact, he trained twice as hard as his opponents, which gave him an edge in stamina. As his opponents got winded and tired later in the fight, Rocky was still fresh as ever.

Rocky never ducked anyone and fought everyone in front of him and won. That's what a heavyweight champion is supposed to do. Dempsey got caught up in Hollywood life after winning the title, but when Rocky held the strap, he wanted to prove that he was the absolute best fighter in the world.

Poor Lee Savold....

Marciano also never spoke on or endorsed the “great white hope” nonsense. His boxing role model growing up was Joe Louis, and he was also a fan of Ezzard Charles and Archie Moore. Eventually, he got to defeat each of his heroes in the ring.

Rocky also got really close to Muhammad Ali during the filming of the Computer Fight. His brother Peter Marciano revealed how the two shared a grapefruit and discussed how they could bring society together during a time of racial bigotry.

I respect Marciano as a man. I interviewed Marciano biographer John Cameron, who explained that Rocky didn't have a racist bone in his body. Aside from having a chief black sparring partner, Dempsey seemed to be a man of his time. (There are news accounts confirming Dempsey's racism, but I won't get into that discussion on here).

Because of his small size, clumsy movement and short reach, Rocky had no business boxing and much less being heavyweight champion. But he overcame these “handicaps” and not only won the heavyweight title, but he is to this day the only heavyweight champion to retire undefeated. This is why when people say that Rocky Marciano is the greatest heavyweight champion of all time, I never argue.

THE FIGHT

Finally! I know this is what you're here for. This is a hard one to call. To do a round-up...

Dempsey was a fast starter who ended fights early, while Rocky generally had to warm up into the fight and scored knockouts later.

Dempsey had faster hands than Rocky.

Rocky hit a little harder than Dempsey.

Rocky cut much easier than Dempsey.

Rocky was dropped two times in early rounds, the time of the fight when Dempsey is at his peak.

Hmmmmm..

When you look at that, you'd assume that Dempsey wins and probably by a quick blowout. But it's not that simple for me.

A relaxed Jack Dempsey...

Before I make my prediction, I must note that Rocky was actually 5'9 according to his biographer John Cameron, while Dempsey was around 6'1. Dempsey being taller is not an advantage. In fact, I bet it would work against him.

Also, I feel that Rocky was smarter than Dempsey. The way Rocky set up Walcott with that jab feint was a thing of beauty, as was his impressive double left hook knockout against Harry Matthews. Rocky always had tricks up his sleeve. Dempsey, however, came out with one plan - to destroy you and go home.

I see the fight going like this – Rocky is overwhelmed initially and hits the canvas. He gets up and smothers Jack by clinching, mauling and pounding away to his body on the inside. (This is how he responded after getting floored by Walcott)

Dempsey's style is based on him being the shorter man, but in this fight he'd be the taller man and would have to adjust to that. And I don't think he could.

Marciano was also a much busier inside-fighter than Dempsey. He would be in his element. It's Jack who would get uncomfortable and start backing away. Once Rocky gets inside and starts wearing on you, you're gonna go eventually.

Inevitably, perhaps sooner than later, Rocky would land a severe punch – the kind of punch that would take Dempsey by surprise and make him respect him. From that point on, Dempsey wouldn't be as aggressive and fight a bit more cautiously. That's when Rocky would step up his pace and land punch after punch, punch after punch, until eventually an exhausted and battered Dempsey loses by TKO late in the fight.

My official prediction? Rocky Marciano defeats Jack Dempsey in round 7 by Technical Knockout.

What's yours?

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Andre Bishop Versus The Heavyweight Greats

7/31/2016

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On the boxing section of this website, I started a thread a few years ago asking if Fight Night Champion Protagonist Andre Bishop was a real boxer, would he be an all-time great? The discussion among fans is pretty divided, both stating good opinions on why he is or isn't. However, one way to determine if he was the real deal or not is to see how he does head to head with some of the greatest heavyweight champions.

Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali would embarrass Andre the way he did most of his opponents. Too fast, too pretty. Andre was a very capable boxer, but what does he bring to the table that could help him beat Muhammad Ali? For starters, I don't see how Andre could cope with Ali's speed. Granted, Andre would be too smart to wear himself out trying to blast Ali with lunging haymakers the way Sonny Liston did. I don't think Andre would leave himself open for too many counters. But he would lack offensive opportunities against Ali. No way does Andre knock Ali out, especially considering Ali had one of the best chins of all time and Andre was not the world's biggest slugger. Andre would not give up, but I see Ali winning a boring decision over Andre, who would patiently try to press and catch Ali but not land enough punches to make a dent or score points.

Winner: Muhammad Ali by unanimous decision

Rocky Marciano

Andre would show a lot of heart against Rocky Marciano, but that may be the exact thing that gets him killed. I would personally pick Andre to beat a lot of sluggers. But not Marciano. Unlike Isaac Frost, Marciano would not tire. No matter what strategy Andre attempts, Rocky is going to keep coming. To make another Isaac Frost comparison, Isaac got weaker and weaker as the fight progressed; Marciano had a habit of getting stronger. Due to Andre being a counter-puncher, it is possible that he takes advantage of Rocky's crude swings and hurts him with counters. Like Ezzard Charles, Andre could alternate between brawling and countering, which frustrated Rocky to a degree because he didn't know what to expect at any time. That would be Andre's best strategy.

But Andre never faced anyone quite like Rocky. Both guys had heart, but Rocky's was bigger. I don't see Rocky giving in and staying on the floor in a fight against Raymond Bishop the way Andre did. I dunno. This would be a fast-paced war of attrition that Andre would not be prepared for. I see Andre doing OK against Rocky in the early rounds, but once Rocky finds his rhythm, Andre would be unable to keep Rocky off of him and would take a beating, leading to a late round stoppage. I imagine this fight would be similar to Rocky's fights with Archie Moore and Ezzard Charles.

Winner: Rocky Marciano by TKO during the late rounds

Joe Louis

I don't see any way for Andre Bishop to beat Joe Louis. He may surprise him with a good right hand, but that wouldn't be enough. Joe was arguably the best finisher of all time, sometimes setting you up for the knockout as early as round 1 and you wouldn't know it. In each round he's working you over at his own subtle pace.

Joe would sometimes end things early if his opponent hurt him (Tony Galento, Max Baer) or if he viewed him as a threat - (Max Schmeling, John Henry Lewis, Buddy Baer, etc). Given Andre's reputation for winning fights with a broken hand, knocking out Isaac Frost, I believe Louis would see him as a threat and not waste time once the bell rings.

Once The Brown Bomber hurts Andre with his first significant punch, it would be the beginning of the end. That's when Louis would put his finishing blows together and put Andre to sleep. Andre can't out-slug Louis nor can he out-box him. Andre may get a good lick in here or there, but this fight only lasts as long as Joe wants it to.

Winner: Joe Louis by Knockout

Lennox Lewis

I think Andre is capable of beating Lennox Lewis, just as the old version of Holyfield nearly did in late '99. I'm not saying it would be an easy task, however. Andre would have to get past the long telephone pole jab of Lewis and be aware of that right hand or uppercut when he gets in range.

But I feel that Andre could be smart enough to pull off a victory here. Lewis had a habit of abandoning his jab when guys repeatedly hit him in the body. (See his battle with Ray Mercer and his rematch with Holyfield for references). If he employs a constant body attack early on, Andre would be able to manipulate Lennox into a close-range brawl, which works to Andre's advantage. It's possible that maybe he'd counter Lewis and sneak something past him to get a knockout, but most likely he'd win a close decision in a toe to toe war. If old Holyfield and Ray Mercer could nearly push Lewis to the brink by forcing him into a shoot-out, then I think Andre has a real chance here.

Winner: Andre Bishop by decision, but it could just as easily go the other way.

Joe Frazier

This would be basically the same as my prediction on a bout between Andre and Rocky Marciano. Joe Frazier would be swarming all over Andre. I doubt Andre would be able to fend off an attack from Smokin' Joe. Watch Joe Frazier at his peak during the years 1970-71. The way he cut the ring, combined with the fierce and relentless tenacity of his attack, makes him one of the best heavyweights ever. He fought at such a frantic pace that not many guys would survive.

Like Marciano, Frazier does not tire. So any hope of wearing Frazier down for a late stoppage is futile. Andre doesn't have the big punch of a George Foreman to stop Joe, and he's not built for a nose-to-nose 15 round slugfest with him either. Joe works him over with big hooks and body attacks, eventually stopping him with a thunderous left hook. Andre would be too battered and beaten to continue.

Winner : Joe Frazier by late TKO

Larry Holmes

I don't see Andre being able to cope with Larry's jab, stamina and toughness, both mental and physical. With big wins over men such as Shavers, Cooney, Norton, Witherspoon, etc, Larry has enough experience under his belt to make Andre look like an amateur. I just don't see Andre posing a threat to him unless he exposes Larry's weakness of dropping his left hand after the jab and cracking him with an overhand right. But if Larry could survive a near-fatal knockdown from Shavers (and keep in mind that it took THREE knockdowns from a peak Tyson to keep Larry down) then Andre doesn't have a puncher's chance of stopping Larry. Larry would give Andre a boxing lesson and Andre would not be able to keep up.

Winner: Larry Holmes by unanimous decision

Jack Johnson

Two counter-punchers. In this fight, Andre would be forced to fight as the aggressor. He can't sit back and try to counter Johnson. He'd have to lead, and it wouldn't go well for him. Jack (like Ali and Louis) has too much in his bag of tricks for Andre, who would be in far over his head in this fight.

But on the other foot, Andre has a puncher's chance against Johnson, who had a suspect chin. I think Johnson would slap Andre silly for the most part, but Andre has a puncher's chance and had a history of outsmarting some of this opponents. Would it work against Johnson? I'm not sure. Johnson might just be too tricky for Andre. But in a 12-15 round fight, Andre would find a way to set up the big punch he needs.

Winner: Andre Bishop by knockout

Evander Holyfield

Evander Holyfield is probably the best heavyweight to compare Andre to. Both guys had great strategies and ring intellect to make up for their lack of size, both were natural counter-punchers, and both achieved huge shock victories as underdogs. But Evander had more experience than Andre. Much more. And he beat much better competition than Andre, whose biggest victory was over Isaac Frost. The Evander Holyfield of '96-97 would find a way to beat Andre in a competitive fight while it lasts. The well-conditioned Andre Bishop who defeated Isaac Frost was a very patient fighter who has a legit chance against almost anyone, but the Evander Holyfield who demolished Mike Tyson and Michael Moorer in the late '90s was a more proven warrior with enough ring experience to get the win.

Winner: Evander Holyfield by TKO during the late rounds.

The Klitschkos

To make it short, the Klitschkos would beat Andre. They were a little too patient for Andre to find anything to play off of. While Isaac Frost was similar in size to the Klitschkos, he fought a predictable and stupid fight, trying to blast Andre out of the ring during the early rounds. The Klitschkos would bide their time and counter. With a lack of punches to counter and play off, Andre wouldn't be able to bring anything to the dance. He would be on the outside of their long jabs all night. Andre could attempt to work them over with body shots, a'la Isaac Frost, but the Klitschkos wear their trunks up so high that he might get disqualified for "hitting low." There's just too much against Andre in a battle with these guys. He loses by decision or maybe a knockout if the Klitschkos decide to later in the fight.

I realize that Wlad and Vitali are two different fighters and fans of theirs may be offended that I grouped them together. After all, Vitali is a more awkward fighter, but has the better chin and is more comfortable in a slugfest if the opportunity arises. Wlad, on the other hand, is more of the classic boxer-puncher type. He arguably hits harder than his brother, but doesn't take a punch as well and avoids aggressive encounters as much as possible. But to save time here, the Klitschkos would beat Andre the same way, which is why I put them together in this list.

Winners: The Klitschkos by Unanimous Decision or late TKO

George Foreman, Sonny Liston, Max Baer, Jack Dempsey and Mike Tyson

Sorry to group these guys together, as they all had different styles. But I'm confident that Andre knocks them all out. Foreman and Liston were big, crude men who hit like trucks. But they could be outsmarted (as Muhammad Ali proved) and they faded during the later rounds. Ultimately, Andre facing them would be repeats of his battle with Isaac Frost.

Max Baer had better stamina than Liston and Foreman, but his crude haymakers would leave him open for counters from Andre.

Tyson and Dempsey were smaller than Baer, Liston and Foreman, but they were at their best during the early rounds. Andre was smart enough to avoid getting caught up during their early blitz and would take them apart when they slow down after round 4 or 5.

Winner: Andre Bishop by late knockout

I realize that Andre is a fictional video game character and these fights naturally will never happen, but the guy was quite tough. I have him going 7-8 against the top heavyweight champions of all time, which isn't terrible by any means. And I pick him to put on a good show against most of the men that would beat him. Also, here is the thread on my boxing site where we discuss Andre's legacy. If you're a Fight Night Champion fan, take a look and share your thoughts!

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Muhammad Ali

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