what if bruce lee was a boxer instead of a martial artist?

[ewenhay]

Aye you've caught a lot of fish in this thread.

Still casting I see!

[Caractacus]

did you check out the "Tribute to Bruce Lee" thread in the off-topic forum too ?

[Caractacus]

One fighter that Bruce Lee intensly studied when he was developing Jeet Kune Do in the mid 1960's was Willie Pep.

[ewenhay]

One fighter that Bruce Lee intensly studied when he was developing Jeet Kune Do in the mid 1960's was Willie Pep.

Good clip. I really enjoyed that

[Caractacus]

Bruce Lee aso studied films of Gene Tunney for his jab,footwork and defensive moves.
( and had Tunney's book A MAN MUST FIGHT in his massive collection of books on boxing)

[HomicideHenry]

I have many books on boxing, and watch fight films too, but that doesn't equate to me being Gene Tunney this is a weaker argument than anything I've read so far.

[APerno]

Bruce Lee aso studied films of Gene Tunney for his jab,footwork and defensive moves.
( and had Tunney's book A MAN MUST FIGHT in his massive collection of books on boxing)

Who is the fighter at 2:17; throwing the right hand haymaker and falling into the bottom rope; is it possible that it is Greb?

[HomicideHenry]

http://www.harrygreb.com/harrygrebtunneyphotopage.html

If it is, there is round by round descriptions from the fights they had. It seems like it would be Greb... The guy is significantly smaller than Gene, and throwing a wild shot...

[Caractacus]

That fighter was Georges Carpentier (whom I'm sure Bruce Lee also studied films of).

[Caractacus]

Bruce Lee also studied Jack Dempsey and "The Kinetic Chain".

[APerno]

That fighter was Georges Carpentier (whom I'm sure Bruce Lee also studied films of).

Maybe but that fighter looks too strong to be Carpentier.

EDIT: I retract my statement that does look to be Carpentier -- is the actual punch in the video you posted?

[Caractacus]

Check 4:00 in round 7 of the clip for Carpentier's charging right that missed..
and according to Boxrec,this was Carpentier's 108th professional fight ( not 99th).
He was 30 years old.

[APerno]

Check 4:00 in round 7 of the clip for Carpentier's charging right that missed..
and according to Boxrec,this was Carpentier's 108th professional fight ( not 99th).
He was 30 years old.

Got it -Thanks!

[Caractacus]

Happy Birthday to the King of Kung Fu -Bruce Lee !

[Caractacus]

BTW check out Bruce Lee at age 9 in this movie.
He was already acting like he would years later
especially the scenes from about 56 minutes to 57 minties and 15 seconds
where he is seen knife throwing,doing a somersult just like he did in Enter the Dragon
and at 1:08:09 he does a "stop-hit" punch on some dude whowas taller to him then(in proportion) then Kareem Abdul Jabbar was to him in 1972.
He fights he did in 1972 back in 1950.

[HomicideHenry]

Mary Lou Retton could do somersaults too but I don't think she could whip even my ass you're not proving much.

[Controversial]

especially the scenes from about 56 minutes to 57 minties and 15 seconds
where he is seen knife throwing,doing a somersult just like he did in Enter the Dragon

Notice when he throws the knives at the target the first one lands in the white section but when the camera zooms in it shows it on the bullseye.

[Caractacus]

he only needed one knife to practice to get it right !

[Caractacus]

actually I remember this question being brought up years and years ago (back in 1975) when FIGHTERS magazine
did an in-depth article on the subject and interviewing some boxing experts of the time.
(unfortunately I can't remember which experts they asked because I didnt have enough money to purchase
the magazine at the newstand and the propieter told me to either purchase it it but it back on the rack)
but here is a link to prove what I just said anyways.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-6-75-FIGH ... 3006963223

did anyone buy the magazine to find out what it said ?

[Caractacus]

Bruce Lee would have probably boxed professionally as a Southpaw not because he was left handed but the old school way was to have his power side leading.
and Man, Bruce Lee would have been Cool as a Cucumber under pressure in boxing too.(IMOP)
Check his opponents Bell getting rung at 0:46 of the clip.

[gilgamesh]

Bruce Lee would have probably boxed professionally as a Southpaw not because he was left handed but the old school way was to have his power side leading.
and Man, Bruce Lee would have been Cool as a Cucumber under pressure in boxing too.(IMOP)
Check his opponents Bell getting rung at 0:46 of the clip.

Literally seconds into this clip a kick is thrown. That's not a Boxing match.

Also the fact that Bruce has a particularly thick headgear, and chest padding like a Catcher would wear in a Baseball game on doesn't exactly make him look like "The toughest guy that ever lived"

I Love Bruce, but I'm not gonna sit here, and claim him to be capable of something he never came close to proving.

[gilgamesh]

I think if Bruce lee would have turned professional boxer in 1965,he probably would have fought a lot in the manner of Sandy Saddler,( a 5 ft 8 and one-half inch tall Featherweight champion)except Bruce Lee would have been more aggressive and far faster,a heavier puncher more volume and combinations.

Sandy Saddler is arguably the hardest puncher in Featherweight history, and has more knockouts to his credit than any other Featherweight. I doubt very highly Bruce would've hit as hard as Sandy.

[gilgamesh]

Also I must say I find it funny that several examples of Bruce's toughness in this thread are f*cking movies

Movies can pass off anybody as a tough guy. Hell grey haired Liam Niesen suddenly has become a tough guy by Hollywood standards...just sayin'

Bruce obviously knew some martial arts, and I'm sure was no pushover, but movie fights, and real fights are a whole different kettle of fish my friend.

[dawudboxer]

You can't go against physics. "Mighty Mouse" in the UFC may be the best MMA fighter in the world p4p but there's no way that a 135-140 pound man is beating a Brock Lesnar or anything remotely close to that. Maybe a 265 pounder who doesn't know how to fight at all, but not someone with some ability and IQ.

In a fight with rules then yes the small guy will struggle. But with no rules its who is quickest to go for the balls or eyes and nobody was quicker than Bruce.

[dawudboxer]

Here are quotes from the top Karatekas of the 60s on Bruce.

"For me to have spent eight hours, with somebody and have it seem like only 20 minutes had gone by, he would have to been a very knowledgeable person - both mentally and physically."--- Chuck Norris.

"He had a brilliant martial arts mind and, he gave me a lot insight into the martial arts. ---Bob Wall.
(The legendary Bruce Lee by the editors of black belt magazine 1986)

"For his size and weight, Bruce was one of the strongest people - pound for pound - I have ever met. I think he could have beaten a lot of people much heavier and much stronger than he was. He would have done extremely well in competition; if anything, he would have been much too fast for a lot of the officials." --Mike Stone.
(The legendary Bruce Lee by the editors of black belt magazine 1986)

"I have met Mr Lee and have had the provolege to work out with him several times. Although I have won 42 karate tournaments, I do not consider myself a match for him. His speed surpasses most of the black belts I know." --Ernest Lieb.
(Martial arts Legends magazine December 1995)

"I have never met anybody with more ability in fighting and knowledge than Mr Lee himself." --Fred Wren
(Martial arts Legends magazine December 1995)

"I have never seen anyone like Bruce Lee. I have met and sparred with several karate men, but Bruce has been the only one who has baffled me completely. I am completely in awe when I fight with him."--Louis Delgado
(Martial arts Legends magazine December 1995)

“Because I had just won the championship, he immediately challenged me. He said, “I want to challenge you to an arm wrestling match.” I thought this guy barely weighs 120 pounds soaking wet. This will be simple, and I immediately accepted his challenge. Then he said, “But we’re going to arm wrestle — Chinese style.” I agreed since I really thought I could take him any way that he wanted to wrestle. At the time, I weighed about 225 pounds to his 120 pounds. So we got to it, and I will confess that trying to twist his arm was like trying to twist a piece of steel! He looked at me and smiled while I was giving it all I had. Then he just dumped me over like it was nothing at all. He was quite a martial artist– the best I’ve ever seen. Yet with skill that masterful, he was always very warm and friendly — the kind of guy everyone wanted to meet.” --J. Pat Burleson. (https://professionalblackbeltassociatio ... bruce-lee/)

Here is a video that shows Joe Lewis' opinion on Bruce and mentions a former pro heavyweights comments on Lee.



And here is a video that talks about Bruce' influence on the Martial Arts.