Harry Greb "runs the gauntlet" - part one

“Red” Mason was probably engaged in grandstanding for the sake of selling tickets, but the manager’s optimism when the papers were first signed for his fighter to “Run The Gauntlet” against the lineal Middleweight champions of the world was unbridled. “Harry [Greb] is the best that ever tied on the gloves at this weight, and there’s not a one of these chumps that can stand up to him inside the ropes,” Mason opined at the pre-series presser. “There wasn’t anything like him then, and there ain’t anything close now, and you’ll see that in the ring.”

Suffice it to say that, shameless shilling or not, neither Mason nor Greb himself would have anticipated how things played out as the series got underway . . .

"The Nonpareil" Jack Dempsey

vs. “The Nonpareil” Jack Dempsey (MW champion 1890-1891): The two men got off to a tactical start, with Greb trying to impose his will physically in the 1st but managing only to get warned for holding and hitting. Dempsey seemed to be wary and content to counter, landing very few punches while focused on measuring his opponent. The pace picked up in the 3rd, with Greb’s volume increasing and Dempsey landing his first big counterpunch of the fight, a theme that continued through the 4th. The first sixty seconds of the 5th were all Greb as he pressed forward sensing that Dempsey was content to sit back and have the fight come to him. As the Pittsburgh man continued to press forward, though, he ran into two stiff power shots in the middle of the round that set him back on his heels, and it was Dempsey who took over for the final minute, landing the last ten or so clean punches of the round and sending Greb back to his stool with a bit of newfound respect. Again in the 6th it was Greb wading straight in, landing all of the clean blows in the first minute, but again Dempsey was awaiting his moment, and this time he landed a lightning right cross that put Greb down on his back - he would not be able to regain his feet in time to beat the count and the series had gotten off to an inauspicious beginning. Punches landed: Greb 65, Dempsey 60.

Dempsey KO6 (1:02) Greb (0-1-0)  [scorecard]

Bob Fitzsimmons

vs. Bob Fitzsimmons (1891-1897): There would be no tactical interlude this time, as the chagrined Greb and the big hitter from Down Under wasted no time before mixing it up in earnest. In the middle of the 1st, Greb was cut over the left eye by a Fitzsimmons jab and, as the blood began to show, Greb reciprocated with a hook that stunned Ruby Robert in the final minute of the round and then followed up with a barrage of punches prior to the bell. Fitzsimmons seized the offensive as the 2nd round began, scoring nearly as he pleased early in the round and forcing Greb to hold on for a breather one minute in. Midway through the round there was a big exchange that seemed to awaken Greb and led to 90 seconds of brutal back-and-forth; Greb landed a combination, but took a power shot to the chin in exchange, and the two fighters then rained a torrent of blows upon each other as the round waned. With about twenty seconds to go Fitzsimmons landed another big shot that sent Greb reeling into the ropes and, as Robert went in after him, the referee jumped in somewhat controversially and waved the fight to an end. Punches landed: Fitzsimmons 38, Greb 35.

Fitzsimmons TKO2 (2:50) Greb (0-2-0)  [scorecard]

Two fights, and two defeats by knockout. Was Greb really up to this challenge?

Tommy Ryan

vs. Tommy Ryan (1898-1907): It was very quiet in the Greb camp in the lead-up to this fight against the two-division titlist Ryan, and very quiet in his corner as the fight began. That eerie, unsettling, murderous kind of quiet. But, as the bell rang, the same sorts of shortcomings that had (literally) hurt Greb in the first two fights - primarily the willingness to take punishment in order to give it - surfaced again; Ryan came right off the stool and pummeled the Pittsburgher with a barrage to open the action, and gave as well as he got in the subsequent exchange. But Greb had pulled the upstate New Yorker into his trap, and he snapped it shut with a straight right hand that found Ryan flat-footed (and perhaps caught off guard by middleweight power after fighting regularly as a welter) and put him flat on his back for the ten count and, suddenly, a bit of the swagger had returned to the Greb camp. Punches landed: Greb 10, Ryan 8.

Greb (1-2-0, 1) KO1 (1:17) Ryan  [scorecard]

Stanley Ketchel

vs. Stanley Ketchel (1907-1908): This was one of the matchups that excited boxing fans the most when the series was announced: “The Windmill” versus “The Assassin", the irresistible force versus the immovable object. Two of the greatest action fighters of all time, not just in the middleweight division, finally meeting in the ring. Who would impose their will? The fans at ringside were not disappointed as the bell rang and the two men launched into a full-on assault, with blows landing from beginning to end; Greb had the edge in volume, but the stiffest punch came from Ketchel just before the bell ended the opening three minutes. Two close rounds followed before Greb seemed to turn things in his favor in the 4th, as Ketchel had trouble landing cleanly and Greb (no doubt honoring his opponent’s one-punch power) was a bit more circumspect than usual in picking his spots. In the 5th, it was all Greb - he seemed to land at will, including three power shots in the second half of the round as the referee leaned in on his toes, while Ketchel had only one brief moment with the upper hand early in the round. This pattern continued for the next two rounds, and Greb stunned the Michigan man with a blow in the 6th. Ketchel seemed to right the ship in the 8th, and sent Greb backwards with a big blow in the 9th, but the 10th was all Harry again and a quickly tiring Ketchel could not only not mount much of a comeback in the later rounds, but found himself again on the verge of a stoppage in the 13th. It went to the final bell, but there was no suspense as the scorecards were read aloud. Punches landed: Greb 233, Ketchel 157.

Greb (2-2-0, 1) UD15 Ketchel (146-142, 149-137, 148-138)  [scorecard]

Billy Papke

vs. Billy Papke (1908): Coming off his virtuosic performance in the last fight, Greb was a heavy betting favorite against the Illinois Thunderbolt, and he took command from the opening bell. An avalanche of scoring punches from start to finish had the referee poised to stop the fight and rescue Papke as the 1st round came to an end, but he chose to stand clear and let the fight continue. Perhaps, in retrospect, the Papke camp would have chosen otherwise, because this was an early sign of a dominant performance - Greb won every single round on one scorecard, and in four different rounds he had Papke reeling and perhaps one solid blow away from a stoppage. Greb stunned him in the 4th and, despite what appeared to be a sudden surge of energy from Papke in the 8th, dropped him to the mat for a five count in the 9th. Papke would survive until the end but he left the ring only with assistance, and with his face a battered and bruised mess. Punches landed: Greb 255, Papke 159.

Greb (3-2-0, 1) UD15 Papke (148-136, 146-136, 150-133)  [scorecard]

After the initial shock (and perhaps, complacency?), Greb seems to have fought himself into prime condition - this is the Harry Greb that fans are paying to see, and he has delivered them three masterclass performances in a row against Hall of Fame opponents.