Could Jim Brown have become a Heavyweight Champion?

[Nile4000]

I remember in the HBO documentary,in it Jim Brown had said that he had never lost a fight.
He once flattened fellow Cleveland Browns team mate fullback John Wooten( 6-2,230 lbs),

and it was also reported he had beat up AFL Halfback Cookie Gilchrist( 6-3,251 lbs)


http://www.books.google.com/books?id=rT ... pg=PA59&dq

Surprised him and Wooten got into a fight, they were friends, he denies throwing Eva off the balcony.

[Brutu]

I guess it was in Jim Bown's rookie year before they became friends.
As far as Eva.From what I heard she threw herself off the balcony
in order to distract the police who were coming up the stairs to accost Jim Brown
because a nosey neighbour in the apartment below had called the police.

[Brutu]

Yeah but he went 0-1 with a big speeding truck.

Are you sure that you are not thinking of the late Soul singer James Brown?

[HomicideHenry]

Facts are facts, football players historically haven't had the best of times inside the pro boxing ring. Basketball players have had more success in the boxing ring than football players, and I think alot of it translates to the fact that football focuses on offense and power, while basketball is more about speed, timing and technique.

[Brutu]

Back in late 1973,Jim Brown challenged George Foreman,Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali
to fight him and his co-stars of the movie Three The Hard Way.
Sounds like it may have been just a publicity stunt to me.


http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8W ... 2484582&dq

[Nile4000]

Back in late 1973,Jim Brown challenged George Foreman,Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali
to fight him and his co-stars of the movie Three The Hard Way.
Sounds like it may have been just a publicity stunt to me.


http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8W ... 2484582&dq

Jim Kelly was no joke, but Fred Williamson, as tough as he was, was questionable.

[Brutu]

the movie trailer for THREE THE HARD WAY(1974)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25RdRdiw2Uo

[Brutu]

Anyone remember the ABC-TV special
WIDE WORLD EVENT:On location with George Foreman and Muhammad Ali.
it aired September 17.1974.
In it Jim Brown visits and interviews George Foreman at his home in Livermore California
and goes visits Muhammad Ali at Deer Lake too.
Jim Brown also interviewed Angelo Dundee and Dick Sadler and others.
Has it been replayed since 1974.
Was any of it used in the documentary WHEN WE WERE KINGS?

[hernanday]

The Syracuse New York Boxing Promoter Norman Rothschild thought Jim Brown could have been.
(he had promoted most of Carmen Basilio's major fights).

Newspaper article from January 1964.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1J ... ,856779&dq

The football player, in 1965
You probably could not pick a worse time in history.
-This was when Ali, arguably the greatest heavyweight ever, was making mince meat of Sonny Liston, possibly one of the hardest punchers ever
-When Frazier was rising up as a formidable force
-Floyd Patterson was not completely washed up
-Cleveland Williams wasn't too bad, think he was pretty good before he was shot
-Eddie Machen almost beat Liston
-Henrey Cooper was still dangerous
-And the other future champions like Ellis were coming up

This would be about the worse time since the 1900s to try and go for a run at it.

[Nile4000]

Back in late 1973,Jim Brown challenged George Foreman,Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali
to fight him and his co-stars of the movie Three The Hard Way.
Sounds like it may have been just a publicity stunt to me.


http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8W ... 2484582&dq

Ironically, just found out that Jim Kelly died of cancer today, RIP JIM.

[HomicideHenry]

The Syracuse New York Boxing Promoter Norman Rothschild thought Jim Brown could have been.
(he had promoted most of Carmen Basilio's major fights).

Newspaper article from January 1964.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1J ... ,856779&dq

The football player, in 1965
You probably could not pick a worse time in history.
-This was when Ali, arguably the greatest heavyweight ever, was making mince meat of Sonny Liston, possibly one of the hardest punchers ever
-When Frazier was rising up as a formidable force
-Floyd Patterson was not completely washed up
-Cleveland Williams wasn't too bad, think he was pretty good before he was shot
-Eddie Machen almost beat Liston
-Henrey Cooper was still dangerous
-And the other future champions like Ellis were coming up

This would be about the worse time since the 1900s to try and go for a run at it.

Jim Browne as a boxer? I imagine it would be the same thing as when Gastineau or Jones did it. Liek I said, football players historically never could make the transition from the gridiron to the ring. The athleticism is not right for it. Football players, however, do make a good transition to mma.

[Brutu]

But what if Jim Brown was was trained by Cus D' Amato
to fight Joe Frazier for the Heavyweight Championship in 1969?

[Brutu]

Trailer for BLACK BELT JONES(1974)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66clfRFkEQM

[HomicideHenry]

But what if Jim Brown was was trained by Cus D' Amato
to fight Joe Frazier for the Heavyweight Championship in 1969?

Frazier would eat him alive in one round.

[Brutu]

Frazier seemed in kind of awe of Jim Brown when Brown invited him to sit down and talk about the fight on the closed-circuit live broadcast of the Rumble in the Jungle in 1974.

[Brutu]

I think if Jim Brown fought it would be kind of rough house brute strength tatics.
Maybe like Oscar Bonavena but with more infighting.
He could have had a wallop if he could convert his left forearm crowbar maneuver
that he used in football into some kind of punch.
Ba-Boom!,Ba-Boom!!!

[HomicideHenry]

Frazier seemed in kind of awe of Jim Brown when Brown invited him to sit down and talk about the fight on the closed-circuit live broadcast of the Rumble in the Jungle in 1974.

It was a novelty. I am sure Frazier would of taken it, because Browne would have drawn the NFL crowd and it would have been very fast and very easy money. Imagine getting almost a million dollars fighting someone who stands no chance against you in their pro debut. Frazier would have taken Browne's head off with the first Philadelphia Left Hook he landed.

[Brutu]

Maybe Jim Brown and Cus D'Amato would have studied film footage of Rocky Marciano
to get the maximum use of using his forearms in a fight.

[Nile4000]

Frazier seemed in kind of awe of Jim Brown when Brown invited him to sit down and talk about the fight on the closed-circuit live broadcast of the Rumble in the Jungle in 1974.

Both are from that same southern island culture off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia.

[Bobbyptsd]

If Tyson were 6'7'' could he have been a good SF in the NBA?

What? I think my contribution is on par with these parralel reality threads.

[punchoutsb]

Jim Brown supposedly got owned in a fight by actor Rod Taylor once. Rod had boxed when he was younger. Jim Brown was a talented back, but he wasn't an overly tough guy, just had an attitude.

[DaveyMac]

Jim Brown supposedly got owned in a fight by actor Rod Taylor once. Rod had boxed when he was younger. Jim Brown was a talented back, but he wasn't an overly tough guy, just had an attitude.

Believe me Jim Brown was a tough guy. Talk to any football player from the '60's and they will all go on and on about how Jim Brown was the toughest, grittiest guy they ever played against or with. And this is the NFL of the '60's when play was very dirty and almost everything was legal. Even then Jim could not be phased.

He may or may not have been a great fighter if he'd chose to do so (my guess is if he had started right out of Syracuse he'd have been a contender in a few years) but the was definitely a tough guy.

[DaveyMac]

It's impossible to know for sure, but it's hard for me to not think that if Brown had taken up boxing at a young age he could have gone very very far. He was that unique type of talent + toughness that I think could have excelled at boxing.

And let's remember, he would've DROPPED weight from football to boxing (probably would've weighed in the 210-220 range apart from the 230s+ he weighed in the NFL), as heavyweights put paramount importance on speed/agility and stamina; the opposite of what current heavyweights do. Charley Powell did the same thing' weighed around 240 while playing football but dropped to around 212 for boxing.

I did a study on this and you're exactly right the average football player turned boxer fights at 15 pounds less than he played football at.

[DaveyMac]

Facts are facts, football players historically haven't had the best of times inside the pro boxing ring. Basketball players have had more success in the boxing ring than football players, and I think alot of it translates to the fact that football focuses on offense and power, while basketball is more about speed, timing and technique.

I disagree with you here Henry, and I say that actually the reverse is true. The reason it seems like football crossovers haven't done well is because they have switched so late in life. But if you take the crossover fighters and compare them to other fighters who started at the same age they are way way ahead of the curve.

[punchoutsb]

Jim Brown supposedly got owned in a fight by actor Rod Taylor once. Rod had boxed when he was younger. Jim Brown was a talented back, but he wasn't an overly tough guy, just had an attitude.

Was it in the movie or during the making of DARK OF THE SUN.
Jim Brown is 6 ft 2 in(1.88 m) and Rod Taylor 5 ft. 10 in(1.78)
Man.that was a good but violent movie for its time(1967).
here is the movie trailer

http://youtube.com/watch?v=9Rf_vulEuSw

Yes, it was during the filming and wasn't part of the film.