Victor Grimski - a forgotten legend of the ring

[nomadman]

I don't know if me old Pappi ever saw him fight live, but he did tell me he met him one and he was a mountain of a man with hands the size of catchers mitts. We use to argue bout who would win an Ali-Grimski fight. I would tell him Ali's speed and athleticism coupled with modern training techniques and nutritional advances would be to much for the "Russian bear" and he'd argue back that Ali had never see the likes of a man like Grimski with his combination of size, reach, power and skills.

I'd favour Ali in that matchup, but then I've hardly seen any footage on Grimski so it's hard to say. Ali would definitely have the athletic and nutritional advances advantages though. As for the modern training techniques, rumour has it that Grimski used to train stripped to the waist in the freezing snow fields of Northern Nebraska where he had a dude ranch. Pretty effing hardcore if true. Whether it was better of worse than Ali's scientific methods is uncertain, but there's something to be said for the toughness of the old schoolers, that's for sure.

About 13 or 14 years ago I read something about genetic experimentation on Grimski as a child. I don't remember if I read it in an old "Ring" magazine or on a boxing website. Hell, maybe I dreamt it, its been so long ago. Can anyone confirm or deny these rumors?

Don't know anything about that. Sounds made up to be honest. Still, Grimski's childhood is more or lest lost to us. There's still debate, I believe, as to which region, let alone village in Russia he came from, so who really knows? Maybe someone with access to past issues of Ring might be able to dig up something. I know that they experimented with an early form of synthetic testosterone on Russian soldiers pre World War 2, but that would have been at least two decades after Grimski left for the United States and wouldn't have affected the genetic structure of the individual anyway.

Seems likely he was just born big.

[The Surgeon]

I'd never heard of him either until now, though it does make you wonder how many other "forgotten legends" there might be lurking around in the underbelly of boxing's heyday. He certainly looks like a fighter who should never have been allowed to lapse into obscurity, that's for sure.

Not sure about the vid myself. It's in very poor quality.

It does get u thinking dont it, also WORRYING some of our lesser Known or accomplished favourites are forgotten in time....


As for the video its clearly mocked up to look old. Its Vitali vs Sanders no doubt about it. Perhaps a play on Vitali being big and Russian? (i know u know this but just so u know i do, Vitali is actually Ukrainian!) Also his lone loss on cuts in a fight he was viewed to be winning.....Rings a bell dont it. Although its of course not Vitali's only loss.

Either that or someone is trying to say fighters are viewed as great as soon as they are in grainy definition with jittery speed and are black and white?

[The Surgeon]

About 13 or 14 years ago I read something about genetic experimentation on Grimski as a child. I don't remember if I read it in an old "Ring" magazine or on a boxing website. Hell, maybe I dreamt it, its been so long ago. Can anyone confirm or deny these rumors?

As ive said JAB id never heard of Grimski pre this thread (Thanks for highlighting him Nomadman) but that sounds like something the American press would whip up half jokingly and ran with it, playing on the size of the big man.

[nomadman]

It does get u thinking dont it, also WORRYING some of our lesser Known or accomplished favourites are forgotten in time....


As for the video its clearly mocked up to look old. Its Vitali vs Sanders no doubt about it. Perhaps a play on Vitali being big and Russian? (i know u know this but just so u know i do, Vitali is actually Ukrainian!) Also his lone loss on cuts in a fight he was viewed to be winning.....Rings a bell dont it. Although its of course not Vitali's only loss.

Either that or someone is trying to say fighters are viewed as great as soon as they are in grainy definition with jittery speed and are black and white?

There are some similarities to Vitali I agree, but then there are also similarities between Vitali and Carnera/Willard/B Baer, hell pretty much any big fighter throughout history minus perhaps Lennox and Wlad. Ultimately I guess, I just don't know why someone would mock up an old fight like that just to look old. Seems a bit pointless to me.

Would be willing to bet that the cut loss was coincidental though. Fighters in those days were more prone to cuts due to the gloves they wore as well as the amount of fighting they did. Grimski likely participated in many non-regulated bare knuckle matches growing up, which would have resulted in a lot of scar tissue.

Dempsey's face looked like cured leather by the time he was thirty.

[Capaedia]

Leonard Louis was past his prime and was just beginning to come on strong.

A very underrated fighter.

[JAB5239]

Leonard Louis was past his prime and was just beginning to come on strong.

A very underrated fighter.

You.....you're good, you!

[BennyST]

About 13 or 14 years ago I read something about genetic experimentation on Grimski as a child. I don't remember if I read it in an old "Ring" magazine or on a boxing website. Hell, maybe I dreamt it, its been so long ago. Can anyone confirm or deny these rumors?

I can confirm them.

Grimski was unbeatable. Even his 'loss' wasn't a loss, despite getting his face smashed to pieces, he was still leading on the cards, but his defense was a touch mediocre for him to hold on to that lead before getting punched in the face so many times that he nearly went blind.

He later did go blind though because the only good fighter he fought destroyed his face so badly he later went blind through delayed damage. It was lucky it was stopped when it was otherwise we would never have heard of him.

I did hear he also quit once though in a fight he was winning against some blown up middleweight.

He might have been good, but just didn't win against anyone good enough and got stopped by the only other top fighter he faced.

Maybe with modern training techniques and in today's era things would have been different.....or maybe they would have turned out exactly the same.

I do remember though that Leonard Louis was talking about retirement and came into the fight in terrible shape, though he won the last couple of rounds after losing the first few. Good scrap though for the older, fat man. Still showed he could win against a young determined fighter even at the end of his career in terrible shape. He is the one that should not be forgotten.

[nomadman]

Leonard Louis was past his prime and was just beginning to come on strong.

A very underrated fighter.

Definitely. Another forgotten legend of the ring. And just look at the moustache on him!

[Barn]

Definitely. Another forgotten legend of the ring. And just look at the moustache on him!

that's got me laughing.

[GrandpaBernard]

I can confirm them.

Grimski was unbeatable. Even his 'loss' wasn't a loss, despite getting his face smashed to pieces, he was still leading on the cards, but his defense was a touch mediocre for him to hold on to that lead before getting punched in the face so many times that he nearly went blind.

He later did go blind though because the only good fighter he fought destroyed his face so badly he later went blind through delayed damage. It was lucky it was stopped when it was otherwise we would never have heard of him.

I did hear he also quit once though in a fight he was winning against some blown up middleweight.

He might have been good, but just didn't win against anyone good enough and got stopped by the only other top fighter he faced.

Maybe with modern training techniques and in today's era things would have been different.....or maybe they would have turned out exactly the same.

I do remember though that Leonard Louis was talking about retirement and came into the fight in terrible shape, though he won the last couple of rounds after losing the first few. Good scrap though for the older, fat man. Still showed he could win against a young determined fighter even at the end of his career in terrible shape. He is the one that should not be forgotten.

how do you find info on these super old time fighters? I just googled Grimski and Leonard Louis. There's almost nothing on them. I thought this was a troll thread first because the video is Vitali in black and white with low quality.