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15Yes40.00%6No60.00%9 -
Yes, if you can beat Joe Louis, be one of the biggest names in boxing during a war torn era and also survive until your nearly 100 and survive through a war, a **** era, have classic fights and also save 1000s of ***s from holocaust then you deserve god status among men not just ATG, i don't think words can do enough about this guy. -
Always a tough one.. He won and lost the championsip to Sharkey and was also halted by Max Baer, but he KO'd two ATG's in Louis and blown up MW champ Mickey Walker.. I suppose what he did to Louis was a bit like what Buster Douglas did to Tyson, but Douglas is far from being regarded as an ATG.. This is mainly because he was blown away in his 1st defense and wasn't really heard of again, where as Schmeling, if anything, improved after losing the title.. All in all he beat 2 ATG's, 2 HOFA's, was a brief undisputed HW champion, and a 2 time European champion.. Is that enough?,, Hard to say, but Schmeling was a great ambassador, not only for the sport of boxing, but for mankind in general, so for me he's a Yes..Comment
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I dont rate him as an ATG boxer or heavyweight champion so I ticked 'no'.
But I do rate him as a legendary/iconic figure who had some good fights in an era I'm very much a fan of.
The man was more than just a boxer, he was a terrific human being.......not the **** he was portrayed to be by the Germans. He outlived his contempories and inspired many.
ATG human being and philanthropist? Yes! And that certainly is more important than being an ATG boxer.....Comment
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Depends on your ATG list and where you decide to cut it off. He is probably amongst the top 150-200 fighters all time. Thats pretty impressive when compared to the amount of people who have actually fought professionally. In that sense I consider him an ATG. His wins over Stribling, Walker and Louis are very impressive, but not enought to get him into the "elite" level of ATG's (top 50 or so) in my opinion.Comment
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Are Corrie Sanders and Oliver McCall ATG's? cause they beat Wladimir Klitschko resp. Lennox Lewis
no offense and don't get me wrong Schmeling was a great boxer and an even greater man. But if you look what he has achieved as a boxer he didn't achieve more than Sanders or McCall did.
Just think about it.Comment
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Actually he achieved much more just by beating the better fighters. Sanders has beaten nobody of note with the exception of Wlad, who many only consider a top fighter because of the extremely weak era he fights in. Rahman only has Lewis and was starched in the rematch. Thats comparable to what happened to Max against Louis, but Schmeling was still beating other top heavies and has wins over Walker and Stribling. That right there sets him much further apart then Corrie or Hasim.Comment
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I get your point.
And don't get me wrong i like Schmeling.
Ok i have to admit Schmeling achieved more than Sanders, Rahman or McCall did but is it enough to be an ATG?
Walker was an welterweight he beat him and Stribling but he also lost to Jack Taylor and Steve *****, got knocked out by Gipsy Daniels and and got an brutal beating from Max Baer.Comment
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Like I said, it depends on how far your list of ATG's goes. If he is one of the best 150-200 fighters ever, out of the hundreds of thousands who have fought, than yes he's an all time great. If we cut the list off at 100, than no he's not.
Walker started at welter and was beating top rated heavies, its why he is ranked so high p4p. He may have lost to ***** and Daniels, but he also holds wins over them too. And while I haven't watched the Schmeling-Baer fight in some time I remember it as a good fight where the better man prevailed on that particular night. It was also "The Ring" magazines fight of the year for 1933.
Im nit picking though. I think Max was a great fighter. But no, he doesn't meet the standards of what most would call an all time great.Comment
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