January 2002 - October 2006 - The Jerry Quarry Foundation

Time and time again, Quarry proved that he had stamina to throw punches later in
a fight, even up to the end of his career against Zanon. If he could have taken
Foreman to the middle rounds, anything could have happened. Again, I think
Foreman would have stopped Jery on cuts, but I also think Jerry would have a
legitimate chance to pull off an upset. Look, Jimmy Young ended Foreman's first
career---Young was smaller, lighter and not a big hitter. But he knocked Big
George down late in the fight. Jerry's leather was a lot heavier than Young's.
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|8/26/03 02:42:30 AM|Massimo|Rome||big aristotle.com||||10|Thanks Gerry, but I
wished to know if Wilt andShaq ever meet in life, not in a basketball court.
If they were friends ! If Wilt had a good opinion about Shaq ! My mistake,
English is not an easy language !|
|8/26/03 03:29:03 PM|Tubby Breslin|Fullerton,
CA||bearstubastanchu@aol.com||||10|Let's define "greatness" as unassailably
superior to all or almost all of one's peers and predecessors, distinguished by
an exceptionally high level of explicit success, possessing innovative and
creative qualities, setting standards of excellence, and sustaining this
extremely high level of quality in performance and achievement for a significant
span of time. OK, that would be Jack Johnson, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Cassius
Clay/Muhammad Ali, probably Larry Holmes and probably Mike Tyson. (By
comparison, in other divisions, it would include Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray
Leonard, Roy Jones, Jr. and others.) The essence of this definition is a quality
of rising above one's own time or the temporal, and joining the all-time elite.
Jerry Quarry, for all his skill and heart, makes no claims to this status.
George Foreman does. Another point is that boxing is a physical science,
more or less codified and classical. Roughly speaking, there is one way to box,
with individual variations. Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali did not box. He fought,
and brilliantly. He has been the most popular man of sport and the most
celebrated or famous human being since the early 1960s. There are those who
dislike him or disapprove of him, whether for his attitude about the Selective
Service or his fighting behavior, but he cannot be said to be widely disliked.
He is 6'4" and George Foreman is 6'5". I have met them both many times, and
I am 6'3", with these two clearly being that much taller. Of course it is not
size alone that makes a man a good fighter, or any athlete a good athlete. But
when a very good 6'4" fighter goes against a very good 5'10" fighter, the bigger
one has a major advantage in many ways. Primo Carnera was indeed an
aberration in terms of being heavyweight champion. There was no one like him
previously or since, except for Jess Willard. Neither had good records against
good fighters. Yes, I was wrong about Bowe fighting Tyson. Finally, what
is it about George Foreman than makes so many of you friends disparage him and
his boxing abilities? With the possible exception of Sonny Liston, George had
the most powerful and damaging punch of all time. He conquered Joe Frazier as if
Smokin' Joe were an amateur. The name and memory of Rocky Marciano are
enshrined in hyperbole and worshipful grandiosity. He may have been a great
fighter and he certainly had an outstanding unbeaten record, and he fought many
excellent fighters. If you examine his style and yes, his size, can you actually
imagine him entering the ring and fighting on a par with George Foreman, Sonny
Liston, Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson or Lennox Lewis? I cannot. This
assertion will surely rile the Marciano devotees out there, so bring it on. Be
objective, though, please. One more thing -- could we restrict our
discussion here to boxing? Wilt Chamberlain boasted for years he could win the
heavyweight boxing championship as well as most other athletic standards. He was
a supreme egotist, and of course, a great athlete. Any decent professional
heavyweight would have cut the Big Dipper in two. Yes, he knew Shaquille O'Neal,
but it was almost impossible for Wilt the Stilt to acknowledge that any other
center was good. Did they ever play together in a pickup game, maybe at Pauley
Pavilion? Probably, but so what? Wilt may have been the greatest player in NBA