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Fitzsimmons
Bob Fitzsimmons was born too soon. Of course it's hard to take a man outside the time period that he has born into, but just based on pure physical skills he was awesome, a skinny-legged, small-hipped middleweight with the upper body strength and punching power of a heavyweight. He also had the heart of a lion and the patience to match. He might not have had the speed and slick boxing ability of great modern fighters, but he had more than adequate skills for the time period in which he fought. If you took a prime Fitzsimmons and transferred him to modern times there's a strong argument that he would become a middleweight champion, close to the equal of Bernard Hopkins in his prime. I wouldn't go as far as to put him up there with Hagler but some people might consider that quite reasonable.
Sure Lennox Lewis was a great fighter and Calzaghe and Hatton have impressed the boxing world, but pound for pound Fitzsimmons was perhaps even greater.
From the article:
"There is no question that Fitzsimmons had a heavyweights punching power. In 1893, he knocked out seven men in one night and accomplished the feat in under nineteen rounds. All men weighed over 200 pounds. One stood 6-7 and weighed in at 240 pounds according to Carpenter (1964, p 8). The fact that a middleweight could knock out a man the size of Lennox Lewis demonstrates his worth as a hitter. Fitzsimmons actually defeated top heavyweight contenders Peter Maher, Gus Ruhlin and Tom Sharkey all by knockout."
http://boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=10552
Bob Fitzsimmons was born too soon. Of course it's hard to take a man outside the time period that he has born into, but just based on pure physical skills he was awesome, a skinny-legged, small-hipped middleweight with the upper body strength and punching power of a heavyweight. He also had the heart of a lion and the patience to match. He might not have had the speed and slick boxing ability of great modern fighters, but he had more than adequate skills for the time period in which he fought. If you took a prime Fitzsimmons and transferred him to modern times there's a strong argument that he would become a middleweight champion, close to the equal of Bernard Hopkins in his prime. I wouldn't go as far as to put him up there with Hagler but some people might consider that quite reasonable.
Sure Lennox Lewis was a great fighter and Calzaghe and Hatton have impressed the boxing world, but pound for pound Fitzsimmons was perhaps even greater.
From the article:
"There is no question that Fitzsimmons had a heavyweights punching power. In 1893, he knocked out seven men in one night and accomplished the feat in under nineteen rounds. All men weighed over 200 pounds. One stood 6-7 and weighed in at 240 pounds according to Carpenter (1964, p 8). The fact that a middleweight could knock out a man the size of Lennox Lewis demonstrates his worth as a hitter. Fitzsimmons actually defeated top heavyweight contenders Peter Maher, Gus Ruhlin and Tom Sharkey all by knockout."
http://boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=10552
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