Primo Carnera vs Vitali Klitschko

[Cojimar 1946]

This was discussed a bit in another thread and I thought it deserves it's own thread. How do people see the fight playing out?

[handsofstone]

Klitschko with ease IMO

[crusader]

Klitschko with ease IMO

You're not allowed to say that in this section

[Ezzard]

Vitali wins easily. Lop-sided points decision would be my bet. He doesn't have the one shot power to pull a Baer or a Louis and I don't see Carnera getting broken down enough...maybe late on... But Vitali would win almost every round.

[Ezzard]

Klitschko with ease IMO

You're not allowed to say that in this section

Even sane posters here will try and tell you that Chris Byrd was ahead in their fight. That's when I stopped taking any heavyweight debate on this forum seriously.

[SteveO]

Klitschko wins by early KO. Easy fight for him.

[Tony1244]

Primo Carnera always reminded me of Bonecrusher Smith style wise.

Vit by beatdown. Probably late round stoppage.

[Ambling Alp II]

Klitschko could not stop any decent in the early rounds. He would be just as wide open for Carnera's jabs and crosses. Very evenly matched fight; could go either way. Almost for sure would go into the late rounds if it doesn't go the distance. Would have been ugly to watch.

[HyacinthusTurnipseed]

Pre-layoff Vitali knocks Primo everywhere but down and forces most modern refs to wave it off before round 9. Post-layoff he never gets close to the stoppage but wins most every one of the 12 (or 15?) rounds.

Vitali is a little clumsy and lacks explosiveness but he's way way better than Carnera.

[Tuan_Jim]

Vitali can't punch like Baer, and he gassed the one time he was matched with a fellow brute he couldn't bully. Carnera would outlast him down the 15 rd stretch.

[gilgamesh]

Vitali would win this easy as pie. Not sure what round he stopped Primo in, but Primo doesn't win a round.

[DaveyMac]

I guess I'm wrong as everyone thinks this is easy fight for K, but I think this is a competitive fight. Carnera was as big as K and Klitschko has had trouble with taller guys. Carnera fought better people and I don't think near as much of it was fixed as has been made out to be.

I'm sure Klitschko is the favorite but I don't see him as any lock.

[Kalan]

Once Vitali got his legs rehabbed with the Peter fight he destroys the plodding, wide open punching bag, Ambling Alp (Carnera) with ease in 3 rounds.

It would be like his Herbie Hide or Ed Mahone fights because Carnera had no chin -- Vitali had one of the greatest chins in Heavyweight History. Vitali was never knocked down in his Boxing career while Carnera was knocked down at least 20 times because he was so hittable and defenseless. I don't expect anybody like Ambling Alp to assess a boxer's defensive skills accurately by watching him perform. He has no idea what he's looking at so I'll go with stats.

Loughran would win only 1 of his next 8 fights when he signed for Carnera... He was worn out and washed up -- and that's why he was picked as a challenger.

I would put the 6'2" X 216 Tomasz Adamek, who was 44-1, well above the worn out 5'11" X 186 Tommy Loughran, who was 78-16-5 and well past his best... A 40-year-old Vitali dominated and stopped Adamek, who had never been knocked out before.. Vitali defended everything the smaller man threw very easily -- never getting hit with a single hard punch... In contrast the giant Michael Grant was bigger, bulkier, and slower than Vitali (more like Primo Carnera) and Adamek was able to score on Grant and beat him -- like Loughran was able to score on Carnera at times.. Loughran won some rounds, even though he was a gone goose with no power.

Loughran lost his next 3 fights and was losing regularly leading up to the Carnera fight... The idea that Carnera could beat a good prime boxer is a joke.

Carnera only survived because Loughran couldn't punch... Loughran had a 8% KO ratio... Adamek still has a 54% KO ratio at age 40 -- and he's still an active boxer, but losing a lot of fights lately -- just like Loughran lost a lot when he was completely washed up. Why washed up boxers keep fighting? Who knows.

[SteveO]

Vitali can't punch like Baer, and he gassed the one time he was matched with a fellow brute he couldn't bully. Carnera would outlast him down the 15 rd stretch.

What fight was Vitali 'gassed' in?
I think you might be confusing him with his brother.

[SteveO]

It would be like his Herbie Hide or Ed Mahone fights because Carnera had no chin -- Vitali had one of the greatest chins in Heavyweight History. Vitali was never knocked down in his Boxing career while Carnera was knocked down at least 20 times because he was so hittable and defenseless.

As I said earlier, this would be a very easy fight for Vitali.

[Kalan]

Right... Vitali was never gassed... never knocked down... and never behind on points after any fight... His 2 losses were due to cuts and a completely severed rotator cuff assembly which the surgeon performing the operation to repair the rotator cuff said it was in 2 separate pieces -- and he'd never seen that.

[SteveO]

Right... Vitali was never gassed... never knocked down... and never behind on points after any fight... His 2 losses were due to cuts and a completely severed rotator cuff assembly which the surgeon performing the operation to repair the rotator cuff said it was in 2 separate pieces -- and he'd never seen that.

He must have been in agony having suffered the torn rotator cuff. No shame in him not continuing against Byrd.
Vitali did win a later fight one handed - He bashed up Dereck Chisora using only his right hand. He had torn his left shoulder ligaments in the 3rd round and could only throw rights.

[Ambling Alp II]

I guess I'm wrong as everyone thinks this is easy fight for K, but I think this is a competitive fight. Carnera was as big as K and Klitschko has had trouble with taller guys. Carnera fought better people and I don't think near as much of it was fixed as has been made out to be.

I'm sure Klitschko is the favorite but I don't see him as any lock.

You aren't the only one. Klitschko can't do anything better than Carnera. His jab is at least as good. Klitschko was just as slow, was as easy to hit, and didn't hit any harder. Unlike Klitschko, Carnera actually has wins over quality opponents. (This is usually the part where we starting hearing people pretending that Herbie Hide and Corrie Sanders were really good)

There is really nothing Klitschko has that overmatches Carnera at all. The biggest difference between the two is that Carnera fought in a much earlier era. Which is the real reason that many people think Klitschko was so much better.

[Tuan_Jim]

The state Vitali is in after six rounds tangling with the brawn of an old fat Lewis gives you an idea about how VK would cope in a two-sided physical fight, espcially with a creature as big and strong as a 6'6'' 260lb Primo.

Against Lewis, Vitali staggers back to his corner wobbly, gassed and bloody. After six rounds. Six!

He could rack up a 100 wins over Mahone, Sullivan, Chisora types. It doesn't change the fact that he was spent after 6 rds with an old fat man who was his own size and willing to fight.

[Kalan]

You're full of hate and BS... VItali Klitschko was winning the Lewis fight on ALL SCORECARDS at the finish... Lewis averaged over 250 pounds for his final 6 fights.. He got much bigger and stronger throughout his career... Lewis had no belly or excess hanging over his belt in that fight -- so he wasn't fat like Frazier, Foreman, Holmes, and many others were at 37 or older with their big fat pot bellies sticking out... And the only fighter staggering in that fight was Lewis in the 2nd round from right hands to the chin... That's why LL started fouling in the 3rd.. Vitali never staggered and wobbled back to the corner you liar.

Vitali came back from physical rehab at age 37 and fought the 10 best fights of his life through the age of 41... There's nothing magical about the age of 37 that makes you an old man... Tyson was younger than Lewis (35 to 36) and Lennox beat Mike every single round before flattening him for the full count...

[Kalan]

There is really nothing Klitschko has that overmatches Carnera at all. The biggest difference between the two is that Carnera fought in a much earlier era. Which is the real reason that many people think Klitschko was so much better.

Carnera was knocked down over 20 times and Vitali Klitschko was never knocked down in his entire Boxing Career... Everybody says he has one of the greatest chins ever... Are you going to pretend Carnera had a great chin when he hit the deck so much when he got hit by Cruiserweights????

Watch Kiltschko's defense against Tomasz Adamek where Adamek couldn't get a good shot in -- and watch Michael Grant's defense against Adamek where the smaller man got good shots in and won the fight... WHO do you think defended more like Carnera??? Klitschko or Grant???

[Ossyrules]

I like to give the older fighters their dues, but Vitali klitschko wins this fight

[Ambling Alp II]

Why? Klitschko didn't do anything better than Carnera.

[Kalan]

Other than boxing, punching, thinking, avoiding big loaded punches -- and avoiding 20 knockdowns executed by Cruiserweights -- maybe you're right.

Carnera was so easy to hit that he got insulted if you missed him... Baer-Carnera was a replay of Dempsey-Willard... The theme was, "Load an Throw"

How many Heavyweight Champions could you hit if you did that with a lot of your shots??? ... Not too many.

[Tuan_Jim]

A fat, rusty, 40 year old Corrie Sanders nearly decked Vitali in the 1st round with one punch, so a prime Max Baer could be expected to deck Vitali just as he did Primo - particularly if the Ukrainian opted for the recklessly aggressive style he employed vs Lewis, which nearly cost him his face.

On the subject of KDs, Wladimir Klitschko has been down 15 times in his career and a fight with big brother is generally seen as 50/50 - a nice illustration of how highly Vitali's "punch power" is regarded.