What do you guys think of Primo Carnera?

[KidKwik]

Was he nothing more than a mob puppet? Or is all that just allegations. The man is big, so there is a possibility, however small, that he really was strong enough to get so man KOs. What do you all think of his career in general?

[GeneralZod]

I don't know about him being in the mob enough to draw a conclusion, but his skills weren't vastly impressive. He took a loss to Sharkey and then knocked him out, but Max Baer and Joe Louis both gave him pretty bad beatings.

[Ray Corso]

Primo was a decent fighter as a young fellow coming up but as a contender he was a fraud! His career was molded and other than putting an impressive 4 fight win streak that was supposed to be legit he didn't earn any contenders shot!

won against;
Schaaf
Sharkey
Uzcudum
Tommy Loughram........got the shot at Baer from those wins and got stopped!

Ray.

[Panamaniac]

Anecdotes:

I once read that due to his size, they considered a "Dreadnaught" division, in fearness to his opponents... The idea was dropped once he did (by Louis), and others of equal size failed to materialize.

I also read that the character of "Mountain Rivera" played by Anthony Quinn in "Requiem for a Heavyweight" was based loosely on Primo Carnera.

[Scott9945]

I once read that due to his size, they considered a "Dreadnaught" division, in fearness to his opponents... The idea was dropped once he did (by Louis), and others of equal size failed to materialize.

I also read that the character of "Mountain Rivera" played by Anthony Quinn in "Requiem for a Heavyweight" was based loosely on Primo Carnera.

Actually the fighter "Toro Moreno" in "The Harder They Fall" resembles Carnera even more than Quinn's character. His early fights were depicted as fixes and set ups. BTW, both the movies mentioned here are my two very favorite boxing films and I highly recommend them. You'll see a lot of great ex pros playing small and big parts in them.

[JAB5239]

By no means a great champion but somewhat underrated today. Incredible heart though that can be witnessed in bother the Baer and Louis beatings.

[Capaedia]

Underrated.

Good skills, good movement and jab. Absurdly strong and surprising speed for a big man.

He also had a lot of heart.

If he had a good chin and a bit of a punch, he would have possibly been a great. Maybe.


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[Panamaniac]

Actually the fighter "Toro Moreno" in "The Harder They Fall" resembles Carnera even more than Quinn's character. His early fights were depicted as fixes and set ups. BTW, both the movies mentioned here are my two very favorite boxing films and I highly recommend them. You'll see a lot of great ex pros playing small and big parts in them.

Now that you mention that film, I'm not so sure it wasn't that rather than Quinn's character in Requiem... In fact, Quinn hardly resembles Carnera, while the fellow who played "Toro" not only does, but is almost as big.

At the onset of Requiem a fellow with blinding speed, you might have heard of him - Cassius Clay - beats the livin' daylights out of "Mountain" thereby forcing his camp to contemplate his retirement...

[Scott9945]

Now that you mention that film, I'm not so sure it wasn't that rather than Quinn's character in Requiem... In fact, Quinn hardly resembles Carnera, while the fellow who played "Toro" not only does, but is almost as big.

At the onset of Requiem a fellow with blinding speed, you might have heard of him - Cassius Clay - beats the livin' daylights out of "Mountain" thereby forcing his camp to contemplate his retirement...

That's right. A very young Cassius Clay is in the first scene of the movie fighting Rivera. The bar scenes in that film were rich with former greats too.

In The Harder They Fall, Jersey Joe Walcott has a major supporting role.

[Kid Achilles]

Carnera beat Loughran in that encounter because he stomped his foot so hard he broke it. Loughran's style depends a lot on mobility and without this, and suffering an 86 lb deficit in weight as he did, how was it a fair fight?

Carnera was decent. Kinda fast hands for someone with that size, and an underrated punch (but still no Baer or Foreman), but overall he wasn't very deep in his science. If he could trap you in a corner he could show you his strong points but getting a good boxer in good health there long enough to work him over is another thing entirely. One of the worst title holders in history, but still a champion. He'd be a top ten heavyweight today of course.