BoxRec

They fought three times and all three were very close. Ross was younger and naturally larger; who was the better fighter, overall, and did age and/or size have any hand in the results of their fights? How would each man fare in today's market?

Both Jimmy McLarnin and Barney Ross were small in
comparison with other welterweights. In fact, I think
that you could compare them with Jose Napoles in
terms of size. It is a good comparison because Ross,
McLarnin, and Napoles had many prime years as
lightweights.

When comparing their careers, I would rate McLarnin
over Ross. McLarnin was a world-class flyweight or
bantamweight as early as 1925. Consider the fact
that McLarnin had wins over Fidel La Barba and Pancho
Villa before he was eighteen years old.

- Chuck Johnston