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Sam McVey: The Mike Tyson of his time

Posted: 07 Aug 2004, 13:42
by kovit
I would like to know what was the same style between Sam McVey and Mike Tyson. Here are the list that I did know:
1. They were both short and under 6 feet.
2. They both possissed a compact, powerful physique and an awesome punch.
3. They both have the same weight in the heavyweight division
Here are the list I did know what was the difference between those two:
1. Tyson was way heavier than McVey from 216-239 1/4 lbs.
2. Tyson was the former two time Heavyweight Champion and McVey was not, because he was denied that chance against the Heavyweight Champion at that time Jack Johnson.
3. Tyson stands at 5'11 1/2" and McVey stands at 5'10 1/2".
That's all I know about those two. Please tell me do you think McVey have the same reach as Tyson or in the different way like McVey have the shorter or longer reach than Tyson?

Posted: 07 Aug 2004, 13:46
by IronKidDynamite
What fights are available on tape of him today?

Posted: 07 Aug 2004, 14:01
by dempseyfire
McVey and Tyson in their primes weighed about the same-212-217 ish.
Both were short compact pressure fighters who used combinations. From what I know there's no real way to know Sam's exact reach. There's also only one film of McVey in existance, vs Jim Johnson. It's supposedly a pretty bad quality film, with the film speed being very herky jerky. You can also see him as one of Jack Johnson's cornermen in the film of his fight vs Jess Williard.

Judging from fight reports and most importanly his record, the guy was a great fighter.

Posted: 07 Aug 2004, 14:01
by Cap
McVea was a slugger with some good defensive skills. He had a dynamite punch as evidenced by a large number of KOs., and a pretty good chin. Joe Jeannette had him down about thirty times before knocking him out in the 49th round in their famous Paris battle. McVea was likely the least talented of the legendary Terrible Trio (Langford, Jeannette & McVea), but he was an awesome force in his day. During his best years, he only lost to Langford, Jeannette and Harry Wills. He knocked out a handful of the leading White Hopes and had wins over Langford and Jeannette as well. Talent wise he was maybe a notch above Ron Lyle at his best, if you're trying to compare him to a modern heavy.

In their respective primes, I'd pick Tyson to knock him out, but it would be a good battle while it lasted.

Cap

Posted: 07 Aug 2004, 14:23
by kovit
What was McVey's best punch? Maybe McVey's reach is 71 like Tyson, because I look at his arms in the picture.

Posted: 07 Aug 2004, 14:26
by dempseyfire
kovit wrote:What was McVey's best punch? Maybe McVey's reach is 71 like Tyson, because I look at his arms in the picture.
Left hook

Posted: 07 Aug 2004, 14:40
by kovit
Thanks dempseyfire and Tyson have a lot of his best punch. I believe McVey have the reach of 71, because I looked at the picture of him, do you?

Re: Sam McVey: The Mike Tyson of his time

Posted: 09 Aug 2004, 23:03
by Tantum
kovit wrote:3. Tyson stands at 5'11 1/2" and McVey stands at 5'10 1/2".
Tyson's police record says 5'8 3/4"