January 2002 - July 2006 - The Jerry Quarry Foundation

course, he was small compared to the big heavyweights. Very few fighters can
think during a fight, as Evander Holyfield, Muhammad Ali, Alexis Arguello and
Billy Conn could. Jerry did stupid things like sprain his ankle shortly before a
big fight, supposedly sliding into 2nd base at a family softball game.
Considering his weaknesses, he took his career about as far as he could, and was
a very good but not great fighter. Some of the opinions expressed on this sight
about his abilities are sentimental and exaggerated. Anyone who believes Jerry
ever had a ghost of a chance against George Foreman is, well, incorrect. Jerry's
loss to Smokin' Joe in their second fight was devastating and something no one
who saw it could ever forget. Like most of us Irish harps, Jerry just took on
too much and took on too many guys better than he was too fast. Jerry used to
say that if the cruiserweight division had been around when he fought, he would
have been the champ for years. That's possible, but he would have had to get
past Sheriff Bob Foster, who incidentally stopped Mike Quarry with one of the
single best shots in the history of the sport. There were also Jose Torre and
other good fighters in the 1970-195 range. Anyway, to see Jerry finish a guy was
watching a natural at work, as inevitable as a lion at the kill. Many of the
comments here imply that Jerry was never given credit for what he could do.
That's hogwash because he was celebrated all over the world, extremely popular,
fought many of the biggest names, and got plenty shots at the title. Every
ranked boxer gets screwed out of fights he deserves and decisions he should have
won. Anybody good will be ducked now and then, as Jerry was. To those who say
Jerry was set up in Atlanta for Muhammad Ali's return to the ring are making
something out of nothing. When the opening bell rang, he had every chance in the
world to win. I had Irish uncles who made all us boy cousins fight in the back
yard from the time we could stand up, too, and it's a pretty damned miserable
thing to do. It's unfortunate that Jerry got so punchy, but anyone could see it
coming from early in his career. The last time I saw Jerry was at an Angel game
in Anaheim in about 1976. He didn't recognize me. Requiescat In Pace, Jerry --
take us home early. |
|8/22/03 09:23:36 AM|John Gerard|NYC||rock289z@yahoo.com||||10|Years ago, I
remember reading that Dick Saddler said that early in his career Jerry turned
down a fight against Liston a few times as did Frazier. Anybody know anything
about this? |
|8/22/03 10:34:01 AM|JIMMY DORSEY|VENTURA
CALIFORNIA||RONNYRAINS@YAHOO.COM||||10|TUBBY: I agree some of us Quarry fans
exagerate JQ'S talents to sometimes a high degree,Personally I think Sheriff Bob
Foster,and Jose Torres would have been 5 to 1 underdogs vs Jerry, as Quarry
would have been to Foreman,However I think Quarry should have gotten his title
shot anyway,Mike Quarry Getting iced by Foster has not a thing to do with
Jerry,Or Frazier's massacre of JQ,has nothing to do with George,Boxing is a
battle of styles,And JQ always beat the "big slugger"Lets put it this way and
i'll drop it,After Quarry's title eliminator victories over Shavers And
LYLE,George could have and should have given him a shot,Then we all would have
been satisfied forever,August 31, 1973 would have been a perfect time for both.
TAKE CARE|
|8/22/03 11:52:09 AM|John Gerard|NYC||rock289z@yahoo.com||||10|Jimmy Dorsey: I
agree 100% that Jerry should have gotten a title shot against Foreman after
beating Lyle and Shavers so convincingly. Don't get me wrong, I think George
would have beaten him because unlike Mac Foster, Lyle, and Shavers, he was not a
1-dimensional sluggeer. I would have made George a2-1 favorite and bet on
him. But that does not obituate the fact that Jerry was denied a title shot he
clearly earned. That is still one of the best fights never made. And Jerry vs.
Torres or Bob Foster? Their is nothing in either man's record to even hint they
could handle a 200 lb hitter like Jerry.|
|8/22/03 01:18:59 PM|Forest Ward|South Carolina||Joekevin@cs.com||||10|Hey
Tubby, that was the most objective and accurate portrayal of Jerry Quarry's