Max Baer, What If He Didnt Clown Around?

[StarshipTrooper]

This is incorrect on Poet's behalf. Baer killed Frankie Campbell, and most belive it was him who killed Ernie Schaaf, although Schaaf was never quite the same after that bout. He complained frequently of headaches[citation needed], and his ring performance was mercurial in succeeding bouts. Five months after the Baer fight, on February 11, 1933, Schaaf died in the ring after taking a left jab from the Italian behemoth Primo Carnera. Carnera was vilified as a "man killer", and two sports writers (Grantland Rice and Jimmy Cannon) claimed that Schaaf had died as a result of damage previously inflicted by Baer.

So it was actually two not THREE.

Interesting.....most of the articles I remember reading in Ring Magazine back in the '90s would quote three not two including Schaaf among them.

Poet

[StarshipTrooper]

3? Name 'em.

1. President Hussein
2. Nancy Pelosi
3. Harry Reid

[Southpaw16BF]

Interesting.....most of the articles I remember reading in Ring Magazine back in the '90s would quote three not two including Schaaf among them.

Poet

Well he didn't actually kill Schaaf, Schaaf would carry on to fight, but most belive it was his fight with Baer that did the damage. I explain it better in one of my previous post's.

[StarshipTrooper]

Well he didn't actually kill Schaaf, Schaaf would carry on to fight, but most belive it was his fight with Baer that did the damage. I explain it better in one of my previous post's.

I understand that.....those same articles would point out that the real damage was done in the Baer fight.

Poet

[TheGreatA]

Baer and Schaaf were having a close fight until the 10th round when Baer flattened Schaaf right before the bell. Schaaf was out cold and had to be carried out.

Against Carnera, as can be seen on the film, he was knocked out by a jab and collapsed. Schaaf supposedly suffered from a previous brain injury which may have very well been caused by Max Baer.

The reason Baer became a "clown" is due to the way he killed Frankie Campbell in the ring, a KO not unlike Emile Griffith's against Benny Paret. Campbell was out on his feet yet Baer kept hammering him with punches until the fight was stopped.

According to his brother Buddy Baer, the clowning started after his fight against Campbell, especially when Max would have his opponent in trouble similarly to how he had Campbell in trouble. He would hold back and taunt his opponents instead.

Before the Campbell fight Max Baer may have even been too wild, with little regard for the rules. He had been disqualified two times.

[Caesar]

baer was surely one of the best punchers and a "clown" in and outside the ring, i don't think he would have more potential, when he don't would be so funny

[JB16]

Ray Arcel once said of Max Baer ''I loved the big guy, he was a big kid who never grew up and every time I was with him I felt twenty years younger''

Baer never quite took boxing seriouly, but when he was at his best and focused, he was a determined, ruthless and one of the hardest punchers of all time, his right hand was a sledgehammer.

Bear almost liked everyone he fought and never held a grudge, but there was one fighter he cound't stomach. ''Two Ton'' Tony Galento. Nobody ever really liked Galento, except the guys who worked at his saloon. Tony was a crude guy to put it in a light manner, who would resort to all sorts of fouls to win a fight.

At the weigh in of Galento and Baer, Galento shouted his extremly abusive mouth off. He would call Max a yellow bum and prosimed to make him quit when he got him into the ring.

Baer's face was flushed, Ray Arcel would dig his his fingers into Baer's rib saying ''Don't let him get your goat, Max take care of him later tonight'' But Baer was riled up and he growled at Galento ''No you won't you fat slob, you're the one who's going to quit''

And Max kept to his word. In the fight Galento was as foul as ever, he butted, heeled, bit and ripped at Max's face with the lace of his gloves. But Baer fought with a savage fury and chopped ''Two Ton' to pieces. Baer really did want to kill Galento that night.

Galento had also angered Baer leading up to the fight, by sending him a postcard showing to scraggy, unkempt bears pawing for one another, across which he had written, ''Max and Buddy and this goes for your whole family, you bums''!

The grudge fight drew 22,711 fans to the ball park and Galento was actually the favourite going into the fight, due to the strength of knocking Joe Louis down in there title fight and his savage victory over Lou Nova, Baer had been stopped by Nova 12 months earlier. Galento also claims to have had trouble with his brother leading up to the fight, saying his brother threw a beer glass at him, due to a ticket dispute.

The fight ended with Galento, a bleeding, chopped down hulk sitting in his corner refusing to come out for the 8th round.

And if you watch the fight, you can see Baer and Galento cursing each other constanley through out the fight.

Galento never really had no interest in training, Galento's idea of roadwork was to sit in the car and smoke a cigar while his sparring parthers got themselves into shape. Why he asked reporters who came upon the scene ''should I pay these bums all that good folding money and do all the work myself''?

When one bored writer referred to the not-too distant preference of Gene Tunney for reading Shaw, Samuel Butler and Shakespeare while in training camp, Galento frowned, thought for a moment and said ''Shakespeare? I aint never hearda him. He must be one of dem European bums, sure as hell I'll moider that bum''

[JB16]

Ray Arcel once remembered that there was one night were there was no clowning from Baer. The night he destroyed Max Schmeling in 1933. There was no clowning around that night remembered Arcel, Baer showed everything it takes to make a champion said Arcel ''Speed, Strength, courage and a lethal punch''

It would of been very interesting to see if Baer would of took every fights as serious as the Schmeling fight, were he just destroyed a world class heavyweight who would go on to take the scalp of the unbeaten Joe Louis.

Jack Dempsey once said of Baer, after Baer had him to the body in a sparring session, ''I have never been hit that hard by anybody''

I have plenty of more stories and facts on both Baer and Galento, but I would be here all night posting, so hopefully I can share them over the coming weeks and months.