January 2002 - March 2004 - The Jerry Quarry Foundation

underestimated him. Jerry was the No. 1 contender of that era. Whenever he was
challenged by a new hyped contender (Foster,Lyle,Shavers) He showed he was the
boss and in doing so showed his skill. When he fought the champions he had
problems even though it appeared he had the ability to beat them. If he won a
few more rounds against Ellis, Breaks Joe's ribs in frazier one, he was champ
and he came close. 68 Ellis 69 Frazier and 70 Ali (even though no title was at
stake it would have been big) he was so close to being Champ. 71 and 72 were
just cashing in on what he did before. 73 Under Gil Clancy he makes another run.
Who else scored 2 big wins of that magnitude in the same year. Both fights he
was the underdog. What was his mental frame of mind during those years. Hope
everyone had a great holiday season. |
|1/3/04 01:03:26 PM|kookoo|ny||kookooclock000@yahoo.com||||10|To Joe fraziers
credit, he did take some great bodyshots off jerry, you could really hear 1 of
them, if there was a way to have beat ali and frazier jerry would have found it,
THERE SIMPLY WAS NO WAY, (frazier to much pressure) (Ali to much reach)|
|1/3/04 01:13:58
PM|Roadscholarette|Chicago||roadscholarette@hotmail.com||||10|Boxing's funny.
You can sometimes see the end of a fighter coming (usually before he does),
sometimes it comes in just one fight with a crash, but sometimes guys can get
second winds and have brilliant performances way past when they should, by all
logic. In a sport that's unforgiving of off nights or reasons for them, and in
which a "next week/night" often never comes, as in the big four sports, guys can
fall through the cracks pretty fast, and no one really knows the full scope of
what they were about.Jerry Quarry seemed to make people nervous. With
some, he was sort of like an unwelcome guest who won't leave, and no one quite
knows what to do about it. There were those who wanted to make his wins into
near flukes (the ~other~ guy had an off night), and those who waited for a
Frazier 2 to color an entire career. The big three, and some below them didn't
suffer this fate. So many people wrote him off so many times, and judged him by
harsher standards than others (especially ~one~ particular other), yet he kept
coming back and winning. He didn't do flashy things ala Ali, have frightening
power like Foreman, or have a trademark unique style like Frazier, and maybe
some people didn't see him coming. That was their problem. If you're in a
business like boxing, and don't know your competition, you deserve what you get.
It's a tragedy in boxing that usually the greatest virtue in a fighter -
his toughness - so often becomes his greatest enemy.|
|1/4/04 12:31:33 AM|Gerry Schultz|Cleveland, Ohio||jgschultz11@msn.com||||10|I
hate to agree Kookoo, but I do, as far as Ali and Frazier are concerned. Ali I
was a better chance for Jerry than Ali 2, with Ali rusty and coming back from
his exile. He showed Jerry some respect that night, backpedaling from Jerry
throughout. I could definitely see Jerry taking a couple early rounds and
drawing a couple more with the legendary Ali, who enjoyed all the advantages.
But after 5-6 rounds it would only be a matter of time, and it was. No crime in
admiting Quarry, at 195-200 lbs couldn't beat the Greatest, who was 6-3 220.
Very tough matchup for JQ, who gave it everything he had. If not cut early in
Ali I, it would have went 8-9 rounds, and again, I don't think two fights would
have happened. But you could tell he had Ali's serious attention for both
fights, and that's a very short list to be on, as Ali more easily handled so
many... Frazier, I feel, he was much closer to defeating. He started faster than
Joe, was tough enough for him, and such a great counterpuncher and boxer. He
could get the early lead and defend/counter after that, except that Joe was such
a great puncher and always gassed up to attack. That wicked body punch aside in
Frazier II, I felt it could have went much longer. Two fights were definitely
needed to prove the point that Frazier was the better of the two, but if JQ and
Joe had fought 10 times, I feel Jerry would have won a couple of them. I don't
see a way Jerry could have ever beat Ali, even though he did have some great
moments. Still, we're talking about someone who was great enough to command the