"The American Giant" was 6'11" back in 1842 and was a circus acrobat and strongman, supposedly being able to lift 'fifteen hundred weight' and do 20 somersaults in succession. Having no pugilistic experience, the former British champion Ben Caunt figured he could make big money, as well as get revenge on his nemesis "The Tipton Slasher" William Perry.
He trained the colossus until he thought he was able to defend himself against the likes of Perry, and then bombarded the press and the telegraph wires that a giant American had a huge undefeated streak against all top contenders in the States and was proclaiming himself to be the "Champion of the World", an unheard of statement in those days, as Britain was the mecca of boxing and America was just getting into the game.
William Perry was outraged that some man who nobody ever heard of before, let alone under the guidance of his former foe Caunt, could lay to such a claim and totally disregard him [Perry] as the champion of Britain. He sent out a telegram to be sent to Caunt and Freeman, issuing a challenge.
Caunt and Freeman came on British soil soon after and Caunt played up Freeman as if he was the coming of the Messiah. Freeman stunned the public with his enormous size [Freeman suffered from gigantism and was still growing] of nearly seven feet, though Caunt prclaimed him to be 7'6". Freeman also demonstrated his great strength and athleticism, but very seldom showed his boxing skills---which made many wonder if it was all a huge hoax, that the wool was being pulled over their eyes.
The Brits soon found on on December 14th, 1843 as Freeman and Perry fought all through the day and into the night, going some seventy rounds under the London Prize Ring rules, until the bout was stopped due to bad weather and being so dark that no one in attendance could see the two men fight.
Six days later Freeman and Perry fought again. The fight went on for hours, going 125 rounds until finally Perry collapsed and Freeman won because Perry could not continue. Charles Freeman then became the first American to lay claim to being the first champion under the London Prize Ring Rules, if not the first 'world' champion, even though he never beaten any of the American title holders.
Freeman later on had a few exhibitions, and a match, with his mentor Ben Caunt, who he himself was quite large for the times at 6'3", Freeman never lost, and retired from boxing after his match with Caunt. He later on became a star of the stage and of the circus, only to die young from consumption [alcoholism]. Freeman at the time of his death was 7'3".
Nicolay Valuev of Russia is currently the WBA champion, having 'won' a decision over 2x WBA Heavyweight champion John Ruiz in Germany, in one of the most controversial decisons in last few years.
Valuev, though quite nimble for a man of his size, reputedly in excess of seven feet, though it has been shown that he is 6'11", has yet to show the boxing world his abilities and worth as a fighter---as his last few 'wins' were against questionable opposition and/or questionable decision wins for the 'Russian King Kong'.
Like Freeman, he too is undefeated. Both men had athletic careers before turning to boxing, Freeman a strongman/acrobat and Valuev a basketball player in his native Russia. Both men are not lanky or disproportioned like most tall men, they are rather built and suited for their size.
I do not know much about Freeman's ability as a boxer, what he did in the ring, or even what his style was----Valuev's style is quite unorthodox, because unlike men of height, he doesn't use his reach as often and rather his opponents come to him.
Like Freeman, Valuev has never fought nobody near his size as well, so it does pose a question mark as to whether or not either of these two men could handle facing a man near their height or same height or larger.
In my personal opinion, Valuev has 44 fights and though he has improved a bit, if it took him 'gift decisions' to win over Ruiz and Donald and then face fringe contender [if you can even call him that] Beck as his first title defense and is soon to face disappointing Monte Barrett, then this shows this giant, as soon as he faces a real opponent, will go down like the Phillistine Goliath some 4,000 years before.
Freeman on the other hand, had NO boxing experience whatsoever, and then faced possibly THE number one man in the sport at that time, went seventy rounds to a DRAW, then won by TKO [in the modern sense] in 125 rounds in the 'rematch' and then beat the number two best boxer in the world in Ben Caunt.
Freeman fought over 200 rounds in his brief career as a boxer, and gained recognition as THE man in the business. Take Valuev in the same situation when he was just starting out [the champion then was Evander Holyfield] and 'The Real Deal' would have turned Valuev into the 'Real Meal'.
That's why I would take Freeman over Valuev, even though when Freeman fought the sport was different, as slamming an opponent to the mat was legal and rounds ended whenever a man hit the canvas and it was always a fight to the finish---now its 12 rounds and gloves and three minute rounds with TKO's and standing 8 counts and neutral corners.
Charles Freeman vs Nicolay Valuev
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HomicideHenry
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HomicideHenry
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I have a very rare artist depiction of Charles Freeman that I thought I would share. It's a copy from an original I suspect, and took a picture of it from out of my book, so I apologise if it a bit blurry, didn't have quite the steadiest of hands.
http://img115. .us/img115/8023/freemancq9.png
The inscription around the picture [illustrated from the original by Robert Ripley of 'Believe It or Not!' fame] says:
CHARLES FREEMAN, FIRST AMERICAN CHAMPION, WAS BIGGER THAN CARNERA. HE WAS 7'3" TALL AND WEIGHED 320 POUNDS.
This is somewhat an exaggeration on Ripley's part, considering that when Freeman faced Perry and later Caunt he was 6'11" and by the time he died, long after he retired, he was 7'3" and 320 pounds. In either case Ripley was right in proclaiming Freeman was being bigger than Primo Carnera, as the 'Ambling Alp' was nearly 6'6" and 275 pounds, more than four inches shorter and forty-five pounds lighter than 'The American Giant'.
http://img115. .us/img115/8023/freemancq9.png
The inscription around the picture [illustrated from the original by Robert Ripley of 'Believe It or Not!' fame] says:
CHARLES FREEMAN, FIRST AMERICAN CHAMPION, WAS BIGGER THAN CARNERA. HE WAS 7'3" TALL AND WEIGHED 320 POUNDS.
This is somewhat an exaggeration on Ripley's part, considering that when Freeman faced Perry and later Caunt he was 6'11" and by the time he died, long after he retired, he was 7'3" and 320 pounds. In either case Ripley was right in proclaiming Freeman was being bigger than Primo Carnera, as the 'Ambling Alp' was nearly 6'6" and 275 pounds, more than four inches shorter and forty-five pounds lighter than 'The American Giant'.