Harry Greb "runs the gauntlet" - part two

With Greb rounding into form, he moves on to face some legendary middleweight champions from the first half of the twentieth century . . .

To recap the results of the series, Greb has thus far fought to a (3-2-0, 1) record:

   Jack Dempsey KO6 Greb

   Bob Fitzsimmons TKO2 Greb

   Greb KO1 Tommy Ryan

   Greb UD15 Stanley Ketchel

   Greb UD15 Billy Papke

Frank Klaus

vs. Frank Klaus (MW champion 1913): It was billed as "The Battle for Pittsburgh", with the two locals facing off at the Motor Square Garden. But a battle it was not - Greb controlled the opening round, stunned Klaus with a cross two minutes into the 2nd, and then followed that up with an uppercut that put the Bearcat down and out barely five minutes into the contest. Punches landed: Greb 29, Klaus 18. Greb (4-2-0, 1) KO2 (2:20) Klaus  [scorecard]

[Note: lineal Middleweight champions George Chip (1913-1914) and Al McCoy (1914-1917) are not yet carded in Glory Days Boxing.]

Mike O'Dowd

vs. Mike O'Dowd (1917-1920): A furious first couple of rounds presaged a donnybrook but, starting in the 3rd, O'Dowd began to have success at evading Greb and clinching when he seemed to find his range. The Minnesotan gradually seemed to take control of the fight with a string of low-scoring rounds from the 6th to the 9th, and the fight entered the 10th with Greb clearly frustrated and behind on points. He won a couple of big exchanges in the 10th to gain some momentum, and responded to a couple of heavy O'Dowd counters in the 11th with a sharp elbow that earned him a stern lecture from the referee. When that momentum carried through the 11th and 12th the crowd felt Harry pulling himself back into the fight, but O'Dowd won the 14th convincingly, opening a gash over Greb's right eye in the process. A desultory final round sent the bout to the judges, and two of the three chose O'Dowd while a third saw the fight as even, and Greb had lost a chess match that saw only five total power punches find their mark. Punches landed: O'Dowd 189, Greb 180. O'Dowd UD15 Greb (4-3-0, 1) (143-143, 145-140, 144-142)  [scorecard]

Tiger Flowers

vs. Tiger Flowers (1926): Another counter-puncher and a defensive specialist - had Greb learned any lessons from his difficulties with Dempsey and O'Dowd? It appeared that perhaps he had not when, while trying to reap benefit from a handful of power shots landed in the previous round, he was stunned by a straight punch from Flowers late in the 3rd. The 4th was even worse - although Greb did land the big shot of the round, pushing Tiger back onto his heels, he began to swell over both eyes and this led to a 5th round where Greg fought with desperation and Flowers with the scent of blood in his nose. Greb took a huge barrage of blows in the final minute of the round that looked as if it might end the fight, but the referee found Harry's eyes to be clear and let the fight continue. But Flowers had the momentum, and was the busier fighter in three of the next four rounds so that, again, Greb found himself starting at the bad end of a possible decision heading into the 10th round. A sudden resurgence in the 11th forced Flowers to resort to fouling to defend himself, getting warned twice, and in the 12th Greb finally landed the big blow when he dropped Tiger to the floor with a hook for a count of five with one minute to go in the round. This altered the balance of the bout, and Greb won the final three rounds to earn a fairly clear decision (at least in the eyes of two of the judges). Punches landed: Flowers 192, Greb 190. Greb (5-3-0, 1) MD15 Flowers (145-140, 145-139, 143-143)  [scorecard]

Mickey Walker

vs. Mickey Walker (1926-1931): No chess match expected this time, as Greb steps into the ring with another brawler, and no chess was played. An opening round controlled by Greb was punctuated by a big hook that dropped Walker for a count of five in the final twenty seconds, and Walker began to swell over the left eye in the 3rd. But the traffic was not all moving in Greb's direction; Walker began to surge in the 5th and, in the 8th he put Greb down for a quick count of two early in the round and he followed that up with a string of power blows in a huge round for the Toy Bulldog. But once again, as the rounds ticked into double figures, The Windmill stepped up the activity - he began closing Walker's other eye in the 10th and stunned him with a straight shot in the 13th. The 14th was Walker's last chance and, after he opened a cut over Greb's left eye sixty seconds into the round, an enraged Greb got in a low blow that stopped Walker in his tracks and then he jumped on him with a series of big punches that stunned him twice in the span of a minute. When Harry followed the second of these up with a flurry of unanswered blows, the referee had no choice but to jump between the combatants and call and end to the proceedings. Punches landed: Greb 202, Walker 168. Greb (6-3-0, 2) TKO14 (2:30) Walker  [scorecard]

Tony Zale

vs. Tony Zale (1941-1947): Another percussive affair was expected, with both men quite happy to take a punch to deliver one, but the fight never had a chance to develop along those lines. Greb was clearly the better man in the 1st, although he did begin to show sone signs of swelling over his right eye, and he closed the round with two huge attacks. He sized Zale up with a power shot early in the 2nd, and a second at the midpoint of the round caught Tony unprepared and left him unable to get up off the floor. Punches landed: Greb 27, Zale 18. Greb (7-3-0, 3) KO2 (1:25) Zale  [scorecard]

Greb seems to be hitting his stride with three straight wins and two straight stoppages . . .