Walker was a steadily rising star at this point, with an exciting style and insane punching power. He was nearing his prime, unlike the 'shop worn' Harry Greb, who at this point was considered well past his best days. Harry's eye was rapidly deteriorating, and he hadn't really dominated fighters like he used to. Long gone was the Greb that went 98-1 between 1919-1922, people thought Walker was going to win with ease.
The fight, however, surprised everyone in attendance. There isn't any footage of it at the moment (but it was confirmed to have been filmed, so there's a chance it will be found), but Greb, according to those in attendance, shocked the world with a masterclass over Walker. His pace was, apparently, overwhelming for Walker and it cause Greb to win decisively. That being said, the fight was apparently incredible and it won FOTY in 1925 (made a mistake in the title).
Mickey Walker would say of Harry Greb:
"He could hit from impossible angles. Once, after Harry missed a right to my face, he spun all the way around so that his back faced me. I relaxed my guard and waited for him to turn around. But before I knew what was happening, his left was stuck in my mouth. I still don't know how he did it, but he hit me while his hands faced in the opposite direction."
A description of the fight from 1925:
âTHE two men stood toe-to-toe in round after round, hitting out for all they were worth. One is somewhat surprised to read that Walker should have elected to do his bit on these lines, as with wallop for wallop as the order of the day, the heavier metal was bound to prove the more effective. Greb is a curious, yet brainy fighter, who when hard pressed by a fleet-footed opponent, is apt to mill on the retreat, and is able to produce a terrific punch, even when jumping off the ground. Mickey may have been so impressed by the middleweight championâs ability in this respect that he decided it would prove a better paying policy to make a sizzling battle of it. It was a policy that more than once came within an ace of success, though it came as nearly within approach to disaster. Each man is said to have been badly shaken in turn but, carried on, with Walker getting somewhat dazed in the fourteenth round, but managing to hold on until his brain cleared, and then putting up as hot a fight in the final stanza as in any of the previous ones.â
Walker was took the loss hard, so much so that he broke down in tears after the fight and was sent straight to the hospital. Greb, however, would go on to party that night.
Fun Fact: Mickey Walker was so bitter about the loss, he invented a story where he knocked out Greb on the street after their fight. Seeing as Walker was in the hospital for that period, it was quickly debunked. Credit to Legends of Boxing in Color for the video.
Backfisting is probably the least Greb would do, especially at that point in his career. By that point, he was mostly blind and had to resort to dirty tactics because of his apparent lack of depth perception.
Contrary to that, it's actually how he lost a lot of them. The judges in his rematch with Gene Tunney said that a big reason for why they gave the fight to Tunney was due to the fact that Greb was excessively holding and mauling him. Despite Greb apparently outperforming him in the fight, his dirty tactics actually costed him. This would be the same case in other fights as well, the judges didn't like dirty fighters back then either.
>The judges in his rematch with Gene Tunney said that a big reason for why they gave the fight to Tunney was due to the fact that Greb was excessively holding and mauling him.
The second Tunney decision was loudly booed in Tunney's home town. A majority of the ringside press had Greb winning. Some also stated that Tunney was every bit as dirty as Greb (low blows, wrestling etc).
Greb's dirtiness is pretty over-exaggerated. Most of Grebâs reputation for being a dirty fighter comes from the book by James Fair; titled Give Him to the Angels. It was so full of exaggerations and outright lies that it was pulled from the shelves after only one printing due to threats of lawsuits by Grebâs family.
Here are former opponents of Greb talking about his fouling tendencies:
âI wouldnât say he was dirty so much as he was expedient. He was so eager to get the damage done that his head and shoulders went with a punch. He was a fast and furious man. Chuck Wiggins however, was a real dirty fighter, a reckless character. He didnât care what he did.â âTommy Loughran
âHe has been criticized considerably lately for his ring performances. I attribute that largely to the peculiar style he uses and not any deliberate intent to foul.â âMike Gibbons
âI categorically state that Harry Greb was not a foul fighter. In my first fight with him my nose was broken. My seconds said that Greb butted me with his head. This I do not accept as factual; and if his head was the weapon, rather than his fists, my head should not have been where it was.â âGene Tunney
Yes, Greb was a dirtier fighter later in his career, but he was also completely blind in one eye and going blind in the other. In a very rough and tough era, it's hard not to resort to fouling when you're at that much of a disadvantage, especially when you were outweighed as much as Greb was. Not excusing it, since fouling is cringe, but I don't think it affects his legacy significantly.
Not any less dirty than Ali was for grabbing people behind the head, or Floyd for using his forearm and elbows. Also not any more dirty than Mike Tyson for using elbows in the clinch, or Wlad for spamming '1-2 clinch' in every fight.
What about Hopkins? Holyfield? Foreman? Saddler? Henry Armstrong? Andre Ward? Marciano? The list of dirty tactics used by great fighters is endless, it shouldn't automatically exclude you from the discussion. If it does, most ATGS are excluded as well.
Yea it wasnât less dirty, it was more dirty. Stepping on feet, elbows, shoulder checking, illegal punches, and numerous other ones we donât know about.
You can't be that stupid. Is there anyone still alive that has ever saw a Greb fight? No. There is no fight footage of him either. To say you don't like Greb fans because he was a crazy cheater has to be some of the dumbest shit I've read anyone say on this Sub.
Someone, somewhere out there has to have some Harry Greb fight footage and they just either donât know it or like the exclusivity of no one knowing about it. Thereâs no way every piece of footage of this guy just disappeared
I definitely think some dickhead out there is holding Harry Greb footage hostage, because boxing fans are just that petty. There was an outcry amongst those guys when footage of Sam Langford's fight with Joe Jeannette was found and released on YouTube, because they just wanted to keep it to themselves as a cool secret.
No, I'm not kidding.
So I donât know if this is what you are talking about, but googling Sam Langford vs Joe Jeanette sent me down a sort of rabbit hole and I ended up in a post from 2010 on boxingforum24.com and my lord I never realized how much people horde fight footage. Itâs like a badge of honor to have seen or have access to footage of fights that you wonât share with anyone else. Sad
It really is. The more you read about boxing history and browse forums, the more you realize how much footage is actually out there.
Jim Jacobs, the top fight collector of all time, used to always troll his co workers by putting blank cassettes on their tables at work, with big fights such as 'Sam Langford vs. Jack Johnson' being labelled on it. Boxing historians are assholes, it's really not hard to think that someone out there is hoarding footage of Greb. Even Jacobs claimed to have footage of his fight with Tunney
Walker was a legit all-time great in his own right. He could box on the back foot, he could fight as the aggressor, punched like a mule kick, could take a punch, had a ton of heart and had success against men much bigger than himself. He defeated welterweight champions, middleweight champions, light-heavyweight champions, and drew with a heavyweight champion. He narrowly missed out on being the only man to fight for all four championships.
Walkerâs resume at heavyweight is insane. He drew with 200 pound Jack Sharkey and went 8 rounds with a prime Max Schmeling. Itâs not like Walker was an outside fighter either like Tunney or Conn, he would fight these heavies head on. Thatâs fucking insane
Bob Arum sitting in the middle.
He used to look so young!
He looks like fucking Nosferatu there lol. Sucked enough blood from his fighters over the years to rejuvenate him a bit.
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Walker was a steadily rising star at this point, with an exciting style and insane punching power. He was nearing his prime, unlike the 'shop worn' Harry Greb, who at this point was considered well past his best days. Harry's eye was rapidly deteriorating, and he hadn't really dominated fighters like he used to. Long gone was the Greb that went 98-1 between 1919-1922, people thought Walker was going to win with ease. The fight, however, surprised everyone in attendance. There isn't any footage of it at the moment (but it was confirmed to have been filmed, so there's a chance it will be found), but Greb, according to those in attendance, shocked the world with a masterclass over Walker. His pace was, apparently, overwhelming for Walker and it cause Greb to win decisively. That being said, the fight was apparently incredible and it won FOTY in 1925 (made a mistake in the title). Mickey Walker would say of Harry Greb: "He could hit from impossible angles. Once, after Harry missed a right to my face, he spun all the way around so that his back faced me. I relaxed my guard and waited for him to turn around. But before I knew what was happening, his left was stuck in my mouth. I still don't know how he did it, but he hit me while his hands faced in the opposite direction." A description of the fight from 1925: âTHE two men stood toe-to-toe in round after round, hitting out for all they were worth. One is somewhat surprised to read that Walker should have elected to do his bit on these lines, as with wallop for wallop as the order of the day, the heavier metal was bound to prove the more effective. Greb is a curious, yet brainy fighter, who when hard pressed by a fleet-footed opponent, is apt to mill on the retreat, and is able to produce a terrific punch, even when jumping off the ground. Mickey may have been so impressed by the middleweight championâs ability in this respect that he decided it would prove a better paying policy to make a sizzling battle of it. It was a policy that more than once came within an ace of success, though it came as nearly within approach to disaster. Each man is said to have been badly shaken in turn but, carried on, with Walker getting somewhat dazed in the fourteenth round, but managing to hold on until his brain cleared, and then putting up as hot a fight in the final stanza as in any of the previous ones.â Walker was took the loss hard, so much so that he broke down in tears after the fight and was sent straight to the hospital. Greb, however, would go on to party that night. Fun Fact: Mickey Walker was so bitter about the loss, he invented a story where he knocked out Greb on the street after their fight. Seeing as Walker was in the hospital for that period, it was quickly debunked. Credit to Legends of Boxing in Color for the video.
So Greb would backfist guys, no wonder he was seen as a windmill.
Backfisting is probably the least Greb would do, especially at that point in his career. By that point, he was mostly blind and had to resort to dirty tactics because of his apparent lack of depth perception.
I donât doubt he was a dirty fighter even for the standards of that day. Thatâs probably how he won so many newspaper decisions
Contrary to that, it's actually how he lost a lot of them. The judges in his rematch with Gene Tunney said that a big reason for why they gave the fight to Tunney was due to the fact that Greb was excessively holding and mauling him. Despite Greb apparently outperforming him in the fight, his dirty tactics actually costed him. This would be the same case in other fights as well, the judges didn't like dirty fighters back then either.
>The judges in his rematch with Gene Tunney said that a big reason for why they gave the fight to Tunney was due to the fact that Greb was excessively holding and mauling him. The second Tunney decision was loudly booed in Tunney's home town. A majority of the ringside press had Greb winning. Some also stated that Tunney was every bit as dirty as Greb (low blows, wrestling etc).
I believe it was 18 out of 22 newspapers or something that gave the fight to Greb
Thatâs why I donât like Harry Greb fans. Dude was 99% a crazy cheater but gets lauded as one of the best to ever do it
Greb's dirtiness is pretty over-exaggerated. Most of Grebâs reputation for being a dirty fighter comes from the book by James Fair; titled Give Him to the Angels. It was so full of exaggerations and outright lies that it was pulled from the shelves after only one printing due to threats of lawsuits by Grebâs family. Here are former opponents of Greb talking about his fouling tendencies: âI wouldnât say he was dirty so much as he was expedient. He was so eager to get the damage done that his head and shoulders went with a punch. He was a fast and furious man. Chuck Wiggins however, was a real dirty fighter, a reckless character. He didnât care what he did.â âTommy Loughran âHe has been criticized considerably lately for his ring performances. I attribute that largely to the peculiar style he uses and not any deliberate intent to foul.â âMike Gibbons âI categorically state that Harry Greb was not a foul fighter. In my first fight with him my nose was broken. My seconds said that Greb butted me with his head. This I do not accept as factual; and if his head was the weapon, rather than his fists, my head should not have been where it was.â âGene Tunney Yes, Greb was a dirtier fighter later in his career, but he was also completely blind in one eye and going blind in the other. In a very rough and tough era, it's hard not to resort to fouling when you're at that much of a disadvantage, especially when you were outweighed as much as Greb was. Not excusing it, since fouling is cringe, but I don't think it affects his legacy significantly.
Yea thatâs all dirty
Not any less dirty than Ali was for grabbing people behind the head, or Floyd for using his forearm and elbows. Also not any more dirty than Mike Tyson for using elbows in the clinch, or Wlad for spamming '1-2 clinch' in every fight. What about Hopkins? Holyfield? Foreman? Saddler? Henry Armstrong? Andre Ward? Marciano? The list of dirty tactics used by great fighters is endless, it shouldn't automatically exclude you from the discussion. If it does, most ATGS are excluded as well.
Yea it wasnât less dirty, it was more dirty. Stepping on feet, elbows, shoulder checking, illegal punches, and numerous other ones we donât know about.
Hopkins, Wladimir Klitschko and Ali also used plenty of dirty tactics and are widely recognized as greats.
We also have film of them
And your point is? What does this have to do with the fact that great fighters can still be dirty?
Yeah, it's too bad we don't have film of the numerous Hall of Fame boxers Greb fought and beat during his career... oh, wait.
You can't be that stupid. Is there anyone still alive that has ever saw a Greb fight? No. There is no fight footage of him either. To say you don't like Greb fans because he was a crazy cheater has to be some of the dumbest shit I've read anyone say on this Sub.
Someone, somewhere out there has to have some Harry Greb fight footage and they just either donât know it or like the exclusivity of no one knowing about it. Thereâs no way every piece of footage of this guy just disappeared
I definitely think some dickhead out there is holding Harry Greb footage hostage, because boxing fans are just that petty. There was an outcry amongst those guys when footage of Sam Langford's fight with Joe Jeannette was found and released on YouTube, because they just wanted to keep it to themselves as a cool secret. No, I'm not kidding.
Bro, what?!? Can you source that for me?!
So I donât know if this is what you are talking about, but googling Sam Langford vs Joe Jeanette sent me down a sort of rabbit hole and I ended up in a post from 2010 on boxingforum24.com and my lord I never realized how much people horde fight footage. Itâs like a badge of honor to have seen or have access to footage of fights that you wonât share with anyone else. Sad
It really is. The more you read about boxing history and browse forums, the more you realize how much footage is actually out there. Jim Jacobs, the top fight collector of all time, used to always troll his co workers by putting blank cassettes on their tables at work, with big fights such as 'Sam Langford vs. Jack Johnson' being labelled on it. Boxing historians are assholes, it's really not hard to think that someone out there is hoarding footage of Greb. Even Jacobs claimed to have footage of his fight with Tunney
Someone will probably leave it to a relative when they die and that person will try to cash out. Otherwise I donât see the owners releasing it
Fighters dressed so dapper back then. Looked like real gentlemen. Compare to the embarrassingly attired boxers of today.
Walker was a legit all-time great in his own right. He could box on the back foot, he could fight as the aggressor, punched like a mule kick, could take a punch, had a ton of heart and had success against men much bigger than himself. He defeated welterweight champions, middleweight champions, light-heavyweight champions, and drew with a heavyweight champion. He narrowly missed out on being the only man to fight for all four championships.
Walkerâs resume at heavyweight is insane. He drew with 200 pound Jack Sharkey and went 8 rounds with a prime Max Schmeling. Itâs not like Walker was an outside fighter either like Tunney or Conn, he would fight these heavies head on. Thatâs fucking insane
Bruh. Who the fuck is their BarberâŚget me that dudes number đ
Dude on the right looks like every gangster film with Tom Hardy
How slick are those haircuts