January 2002 - March 2004 - The Jerry Quarry Foundation

generally conceded to be great, believe it or not. Floyd Patterson lost too much
status from his humiliating defeats to Ali, and his other losses. Chuvalo and
Bonavena were virtually considered "opponents". Foreman lost part of his
reputation in Zaire. Frazier was considered great even in defeat, yes. Norton,
no. There was an earlier cast including Zora Folley, Doug Jones, Eddie Machen,
Cleve ("Big Cat") Williams, Amos ("Big Train") Lincoln, Buster Mathis, King
Fletcher, Thad Spencer, even George ("Scrap Iron") Johnson -- who went 12 rounds
with a young Joe Frazier and lost as decision -- who had many excellent outings
and stayed in the Top 10 or 20, but who fell well short of greatness. Some were
deserving at high ranks, especially Zora, but never got their shots until the
last phase of their careers. There was also a slew of overseas fighters
including Karl Mildenberger, Henry Cooper, Brian London and others who were
built up for Ali and the cable promoters, and he made mincemeat of them all.
Funny how Ali never really learned how to box .. guess he was so gifted,
athletic and smart he never needed to. I also believe Liston and Foreman
were great fighters, but with the way Sonny was owned by the Mob, his real
greatness is unrevealed, so to speak. Perhaps more than anyone, Larry Holmes
proved his greatness again and again and again, and his left jab is the finest
any of us are ever likely to see. Ken Norton was a tremendous fighter, and quite
likely took the 2nd Ali fight in LA, but didn't get the decision. Where,
then, is the greatness? In those days, Rocky Marciano was considered the
paradigm of a great heavyweight, and so was Joe Louis. None of the sportswriters
or commentators of the day would have considered any heavyweights fighting in
the 60s and 70s to be at the Marciano-Louis level. The Ezzard Charles-Joe
Walcott era was thought to be truly great. Anyway, do we call the heavyweight
division in the 60s and 70s great because there were so many very good fighters?
I guess that's reasonable. Or is it because the pickin's are so putrid now?
Even then, though, people were groaning and sneering about the rotten state
of boxing, the final decline, etc. Therefore when we say it now -- and I believe
it is true, now -- it sounds questionable. When Butterball fights, or even David
Tua or Johnny Thunder (sorry to have the name wrong)or even these 2 Russian
brothers, surely Jack Johnson, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis and Sonny Liston turn
over in their graves. What do you guys think? I think to make a boxer, you
generally need a pretty desperate kid, a poor kid, someone who's willing to
bleed to make it, and usually one who sees boxing as his only chance. With the
dozens of pro and "amateur" sports now and their huge programs, as well as the
phenomenal sums of money to be made and the worldwide exposure, most kids choose
other sports. In terms of bringing young boxers along, the promoters, managers,
and cable people have completely knuckled under to instant gratification, and
throw fighters into title fights way too early and long before they deserve it.
Obviously, one of the key reasons Jerry Quarry did so well is that he began
early and served a long apprenticeship with excellent teachers and good
opponents. I may be wrong, but I don't think many American kids get that any
more as they learn to fight and get into the amateurs. Myself, I finally got my
clock convincingly cleaned 37 years ago, so I've been out of the game too long
to know. Can anyone correct me or confirm any of these ideas? Seems like we
always have strong fly to middle divisions, right? By the way, whatever
happened to the kid named Baby Cassius who used to fight at the Olympic
Auditorium around 1966-1970? He had everything he needed to become champ.
Who believes Oscar de la Hoya will prevail against Shane Mosely? I just
can't pick against Oscar. They're perfect examples of what I'm arguing here --
there are no heavyweights nearly as good as Oscar, Shane, Roy, Pernell, James
Toney -- oops, Evander was, in his prime. Take care, guys. |
|8/24/03 12:55:19 PM|Massimo|Rome||3peat.com||||10|To Kent or Gerry: Did Shaq
ever meet Wilt ?What did Wilt think about Shaq ?What does Shaq think
about Wilt ?Thanks !|
|8/24/03 02:44:57