Sam Langford Today

[OBCboxer]

If Sam Langford made his pro debut and goes on a championship run today from divsions 140-201, how would he fare?

[Manassa]

Very well, but then probably not quite as well as some would hope, being thwarted by at least a couple of champions along the way.

I mean, after taking time to adapt, you'd think Langford would beat the crap out of Floyd Mayweather - but then at 147lbs en route to a higher weight division he might get his arse kicked, twice.

[OBCboxer]

What top fighters does he beat on his journey? What top fighters beat him?

[Manassa]

Well I'm not sure, but it wouldn't surprise me if he picked up a loss here n' there to Hopkins, Calzaghe, Mayweather and a couple of bigger heavyweights.

[OBCboxer]

Well I'm not sure, but it wouldn't surprise me if he picked up a loss here n' there to Hopkins, Calzaghe, Mayweather and a couple of bigger heavyweights.

Seems about right, I think he beats Calzaghe though.

[Manassa]

Probably does, but might lost once in three. I think a lot of posters would like to believe he goes undefeated.

[cotto20]

What top fighters does he beat on his journey? What top fighters beat him?
I think langford beats kosta, gatti, corrales, hatton, manny, oscar, mosley, winky, mayweather, froch and david haye. But gets beat by trinidad, roy jones, hopkins, Vitali and valuev.

[djanders]

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[McGrain]

Trinidad has absolutely no chance versus Langford.

Even the pre-destructive version would murder him.

He would do very very well. Calzaghe's chances versus Langford are very limited. He wouldn't go higher than 175.

[mcvey]

Mummy ! Please get him off me!

[mcvey]

That guy doesn't appear to be enjoying things does he?

Mummy please take him away!

[McGrain]

:lol:

[Mendoza]

If Sam were around today, he could have been a tripple crown champion at welter, middle and light heavy.

[mcvey]

If Sam Langford made his pro debut and goes on a championship run today from divsions 140-201, how would he fare?

Sam sparring. Looks fat doesn't he? That's Wills on the left.


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[janitor]

Ithink that his record would develop a lot like Paquiao's in many ways.

By that I mean that he would get mixed results against the top fighters in the lower weight classes around 140/147/154 due to his relative lack of experience and the fact that he did not have such a speed advantage over the smaller fighters.

As he stepped up in weight he wopuld become more consistant, more dominant, and start producing more spectacular knockouts. When he is at 160 and 168 he is going to be anihilating the competition and will develop a Tysonesque aura of invincibility.

Alphabet and Ring magzine titles at lightheavyweight and cruiserweight would fall before his sledgehammer blows setting him up for the big push on the heavyweight title.

What would decide Langfords heavyweight ambitions for me is how long it takes him to get there. Owing to the time it takes for contracts to be signed and fights to take place he might already have seen better days. Having said that if he has much left in the tank he will rapidly establish himself as one of the top contenders.

If things fall into place for him it is possible to imagine his epic journey ending when a sneaky left hookseperates Wladamir Klitscko from his senses to se Langford crowned Ring Magazine Heavyweight Champion. The some people would say that Wladamir was never any good anyway and only had the skill of an amateur boxer.

[Stevie G]

I think that he'd do pretty well. He was a great fighter,who had some unlucky breaks. he'd be at least a four division champion. I read somewhere that he used to predict which particular area of the ring where he'd drop an opponent.

[Flea Man]

I think most people would think he'd destroy everyone.

From what I've seen it's clear he has power (the Aussie fighter he drops with a nice left hook) but if it was Langford as he was back then going through all oft odays figthers I say he starts finding it hard past at Light-Heavy. He has a punchers chance against Wlad but I seriously doubt a 5'6 man is going to get past that jab.

He does okay but I don't think he would get the same accolades as he does now;we would be able to see all of his shortcomings.

No doubt someone will say 'Langford had no shortcomings' but I seriously doubt a 5'6 man could fight from Welter to Heavy nowadays.

He'd probably be on the level of a Qawi. But with bigger power.

[janitor]

No doubt someone will say 'Langford had no shortcomings' but I seriously doubt a 5'6 man could fight from Welter to Heavy nowadays.


This one would.

Never doubt it for a second.

[frankenfrank]

he would have had some losses , but , IF he'd get only almost half the rematches he got , so you'd see those few loses more than avenged.
and by that i mean - for every points loss he'll have about a points win and a stoppage win in return.
i see him , with enough opurtunities becoming the man at every weight class from 140 to 175 in his reign in it. well , maybe #2 sometimes (he'll surely find dawson and williams very difficult , to say the least).
i also agree he wouldn't have gone beyond 175 (good chance that even no more than 168 , and then dawson will have to come down to him , or else - no dawson problem). the reason why he got above 175 in his days was because he had not enough quality oposition and opurtunities up to 175. i see him as a menacing force from 147 to 160.

[he grant]

If Sam Langford fought today he would start at 154 and end up at light heavy. If a big money fight existed, maybe cruiser. His prime weights would be 160, 168 and 175 and he would rewrite the books.

If Langford had the opportunity to capitalize on top training camps, conditioning coaches and a near level playing field the devastation left behind would be astounding.

[janitor]

There were probably more quality heavyweights and cruiserweights around while he was coloured champion than there are now.

[McGrain]

If Sam Langford fought today he would start at 154 and end up at light heavy..

I agree that he would end up at LHW, but why do you say he would start at 154? He was able to make 140 as a young man and weight-makin is an area of the sport that has come on in leaps and bounds with isotonics, 24 hour weigh in etc etc. Maybe if he had an amature career and started late.

Anyway, he'd be a monster.

[McGrain]

There were probably more quality heavyweights and cruiserweights around while he was coloured champion than there are now.


He COULD do it, but would he? It would take some absolutely extraordinary vision to move him up to HW given his height/style. Not many would think to do it I don't think.

[janitor]

He COULD do it, but would he? It would take some absolutely extraordinary vision to move him up to HW given his height/style. Not many would think to do it I don't think.

If he gained weight late in his career like he did in his own era (always a big if) he might have been forced to move up like James Toney was.

In that situation expect to see him at cruiseweight at least.

[McGrain]

I always felt that Langford's weight ballooned and his training suffered upon Willard's lifting the title. I would expect promoters to be knockin down Sam's door to get him to fight for titles in 2000's, not shutting him out.

[janitor]

I always felt that Langford's weight ballooned and his training suffered upon Willard's lifting the title. I would expect promoters to be knockin down Sam's door to get him to fight for titles in 2000's, not shutting him out.

Langford was so feared as a finisher that when past his prime and overweight no sensible manager would have wanted to put the champion in against him.

They knew better.

On the issue of the lowest weight that Langford could have fought at today it is hard to judge. He was basicaly malnourished when he started his boxing career so eith with modern weight making techniques it is not a given that he can be shoe horned into 140 or 147.

[McGrain]

I see a guy making 140 in that era, i'm happy he can make it today, as you know.

I think 147 would be doable for the teenage Langford, certainly.

[196osh]

What is the most Langford weighed during his carrer?

[McGrain]

He went soft in the body late on and was kicking the arse out of 200 i believe.

[196osh]

Ok.

[Big N Bad]

This dude would shake the boxing world or maybe the whole world like a prime mike tyson did back in the late eighties.

height may be a small issue but thats it, we know that small fighters can get in if they know how to. a good example is dwight muhammad qawi who once beat a 6'5 cruiserweight.

Langford had a huge left hook, tua like. and his overall power was feared all the way upto the heavyweights, many fighters heavyweights of the day said they had never been hit harder after fighting ol sam, names like harry wills and jim flynn to name few. Power wasnt an issue.

Skill? This guy forgot more tricks than many guys no nowadays, he was awesome. stylistically similar to james toney, and joe frazier. someone once told me they watched a very rare fight of langord against jeanette. he said sams style if very similar to joe fraziers, without the constant bobbing, he was more stand up than crouching. other reports say he was more like toney.
Skill certainly wasnt an issue.

Sam also had a pretty tight defense and could take a helluva shot

Imo he can win titles from lightweight all the way upto heavyweight, but i wont be surprised if he loses a dicision here and there.

[Seamus]

Sam would have no chance with today's heavies and cruisers. He was fat and very inconsistent in his day at those weights and the folks he fought were cavemen compared to today's fighters. Properly trained, he would be a terror at welter and middle.

[janitor]

Sam would have no chance with today's heavies and cruisers. He was fat and very inconsistent in his day at those weights and the folks he fought were cavemen compared to today's fighters. Properly trained, he would be a terror at welter and middle.

Which of the curent crop of cruiserweights could you see beating him?

[djanders]

Sam would be a serious pain in the ass to ANY modern fighter who stepped into the ring with him! Coming along in today's world, I think he would start off as a 160 middleweight, then move up quickly to capture a 168 super-middleweight crown. Later he would move to 175 light heavyweight and capture a belt there. As time marched on he would capture a heavyweight crown at around 205. As he aged he would celebrate his late career by grabbing the 200 cruiserweight crown and whatever other weight class they sandwiched in between light heavy and cruiser by that time. Even after he was over the hill, no beltholder that interested him (and would fight him) would be safe between light heavyweight and heavyweight...until he retired...which would cause a collective huge sigh of relief from all concerned...in my opinion.

[Cmoyle]

"Sam sparring. Looks fat doesn't he? That's Wills on the left."

That is not Harry Wills on the left in the photo on the first page of this thread. I don't remember who that is now, but it was nobody significant as a fighter. Wills was much bigger than that fellow. I've seen the photo before, and remember the individual was identified, but don't recall the name now.

[Mr Butt]

if he turned pro today, this very day he would be very lucky as calzaghe is now retired :lol::lol:


seriously he wins tittles at every weight these days

[OBCboxer]

Good posts. Just assume that he does move from 140 to HW.

[ripcity]

For some reason I fell his best weight was around 168.
I think he would clean that division out move to 175. I think Hopkins and Dawson can give him problems and even beat him. I think he would do about as well as he would do at 168 as he would at 200. I think he is too small to be truly effective at 201 +

[mcvey]

"Sam sparring. Looks fat doesn't he? That's Wills on the left."

That is not Harry Wills on the left in the photo on the first page of this thread. I don't remember who that is now, but it was nobody significant as a fighter. Wills was much bigger than that fellow. I've seen the photo before, and remember the individual was identified, but don't recall the name now.

He was identified as Wills in the caption from which I took this and he looks like him to me.

[Jack]

He was too primitive to win a world title.

[mcvey]

He was too primitive to win a world title.

Well,that settles that then.
Thanks for your insight.

[McGrain]

He was identified as Wills in the caption from which I took this and he looks like him to me.


It is him.

[Cmoyle]

Fellas, Wills was 6' 3" and 210 to 230 lbs. Take a look at the size of that fellow in the picture in comparison to 5' 7" Sam Langford. There is no way that is Harry Wills. Somewhere amongst all of my Langford related files I have that photo with an accompanying caption identifying who that is, but it could be anywhere. If/when I come across it again I will let you know what it says.

[Cmoyle]

Wait a minute, I think I may have misunderstood you guys. I thought you were saying that photo was of Langford sparring with Wills, but you're just saying that's Wills in the robe in the background watching the two guys sparring, right? Here's a link to site with the photo identifying the name of the guy he's sparring with in that photo: [Only registered and activated users can see links]

[mcvey]

To be honest ,I posted that it was Wills WATCHING ,but thought as the guy sparring with Langford was WHITE, my post looked a bit condescending ,so I edited it.The guy sparring with Langford is Albert Badoux, Wills is to the left watching ,Sam Mcvey is also in the photo ,but I am damned if I can spot him.

[Cmoyle]

Me either, unless they're claiming McVey is the guy over the left shoulder of the balding party in the white robe directly behind Langford. That fellow kind of looks like McVey, but I wouldn't bet on it. Sorry for my confusion, I really had tunnel vision there, focusing only on the two men sparring. I couldn't imagine how you guys could think that fellow sparring with Sam was Wills :)