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View Full Version : George Godfrey?

Russell
07-08-2007, 07:12 PM
Big (6'3 and ran over 250 pounds for a good part of his career) boxer from the 20's and 30's. 82 KO's in 99 fights.

Also had over half a dozen DQ losses. Classy.

He fought and lost via a DQ against ol' Primo once... Over 500 pounds of man in that ring! :D

Anyone know anything about George? He sounds interesting.
Bad_Intentions
07-08-2007, 08:13 PM
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:good :good
SuzieQ49
07-08-2007, 08:28 PM
very underated fighter
Mendoza
07-08-2007, 08:44 PM
Bad Intenstions,

The picture you posted was the old Geroge Godfrey of the 1890's, not the 6'3" 220-260 dangerous contender of the 1920's and 1930's.
Bad_Intentions
07-08-2007, 10:01 PM
mendoza. i apologize

you must be talking about this george godfrey?

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Russell
07-08-2007, 10:02 PM
I'd have no idea. Not what I imagined if that is him though.
janitor
07-09-2007, 03:41 AM
Godfrey is a bit of an enigma.

He is the kind of fighter that contemporary opponents and trainers raved about but dose not have the paper record to back up what they say. Larry Gaines for example considered him to be better than Jack Dempsey.

Some historians to this day consider him to be a top 20 all time heavyweight.
Cachibatches
07-09-2007, 04:45 AM
Godfrey is a bit of an enigma.

He is the kind of fighter that contemporary opponents and trainers raved about but dose not have the paper record to back up what they say. Larry Gaines for example considered him to be better than Jack Dempsey.

Some historians to this day consider him to be a top 20 all time heavyweight.
Didn't he loose to Sharkey though?
janitor
07-09-2007, 04:49 AM
Didn't he loose to Sharkey though?

Yes.
Cachibatches
07-09-2007, 04:51 AM
Yes.
Did he ever get a big win of note?
janitor
07-09-2007, 04:56 AM
Did he ever get a big win of note?

His biggest wins are over Larry Gaines and Tiger Jack Fox. A huge win always seemed to elude him.

The important question is whether he could have done better with sound managment.
TBooze
07-09-2007, 04:58 AM
very underated fighter

Was once, but on this forum he got so much exposure (which is good) that he is now borderline overrated IMO.
Cachibatches
07-09-2007, 04:58 AM
His biggest wins are over Larry Gaines and Tiger Jack Fox. A huge win always seemed to elude him.

The important question is whether he could have done better with sound managment.
I know for his part Gaines beat up Schmeling good, if I remember correctly, and was one of those guys sighted as being an uncrowned champion. So that is a big win.
janitor
07-09-2007, 05:04 AM
Godfrey was never able to achieve his full potential because of bad managment. He wore the cuffs a lot which prevented him from establishing himself as the principal challenger for the title.

His manager also robbed him blind. Godfrey was inumerate so his manager just used to give him a handfull of dolar bills when he asked for his share of a fight purse. His managers made Primo Carnera's look like reasonable human beings.

In summary he was a wasted talent who could have been much more if guided corectly.
Mendoza
07-09-2007, 06:24 AM
His biggest wins are over Larry Gaines and Tiger Jack Fox. A huge win always seemed to elude him.

The important question is whether he could have done better with sound managment.

It wasn't only the management. Godfrey often fought his own battle of the buldge.
fists of fury
07-09-2007, 09:41 AM
Got any stories of him sparring with Dempsey, Janitor?
janitor
07-09-2007, 12:16 PM
Got any stories of him sparring with Dempsey, Janitor?

Dempsey used Godfrey as a sparing partner and purportedly broke his ribs in one sesion.

It is worth noting that Kearns would not let Dempsey spar with Godfrey in thew run up to a title fight for fear of him geting injured.
UpWithEvil
07-09-2007, 12:27 PM
Dempsey used Godfrey as a sparing partner and purportedly broke his ribs in one sesion.

It was in the training camp for the Tommy Gibbons bout in 1923. Godfrey was forced to cancel his own scheduled bout against Jack Thompson on the undercard.
KSmith9116
07-09-2007, 12:34 PM
If you would like some good information on Godfrey see my book "The Sundowners: The History of the Black Prizefighter Volume 2 Part One" which has a 30 page biography of big George. The sparring sessions with Dempsey are well covered, including some newspaper pictures of one of their tussles. George was used twice by Dempsey as a sparring partner in 1923, for Gibbons and Firpo.

The orginal Godfrey is also covered.
mcvey
07-09-2007, 03:35 PM
Big (6'3 and ran over 250 pounds for a good part of his career) boxer from the 20's and 30's. 82 KO's in 99 fights.

Also had over half a dozen DQ losses. Classy.

He fought and lost via a DQ against ol' Primo once... Over 500 pounds of man in that ring! :D

Anyone know anything about George? He sounds interesting.
I think its hard to evaluate Godfrey,he is popularly suppossed to have had the handcuffs on for a number of bouts,so his true talents may never be appreciated,larry Gains spoke very highly of him ,he was a n awesome physical specimen,Gains said he was a frightening figure to see.