Jack Sharkey vs. Primo Carnera 'II' ~ 'Fraud or Lucky Punch'

[Bill Paxtom]

June 29, 1933

Madison Square Garden Bowl ~ Long Island City, New York

World Heavyweight Championship

Jack Sharkey - 35-8-2 {12 KO's} ~ 6' 0" ~ Reach; 76" ~ 201 lbs. ~ {Age; 30 years, 8 months}
vs.
Primo Carnera - 74-6-0 {62 KO's} ~ 6' 5 1/2" ~ Reach; 85" ~ 260 lbs. ~ {Age; 26 years, 8 months}
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

~ The Skinny ~

World Heavyweight Champion - Jack Sharkey was making the '1st-Defense' of his World Heavyweight Championship.

Jack had won the Championship by defeating {W Dec 15} Max Schmeling on June 21, 1932.

Schmeling had not fought in {1 year, 8 days}. And in the bout with Schmeling, Jack had weighed
in at a trim-and-fit {188 lbs.}.

Now {+13 lbs.} heavier, there were rumblings that the Champion was 'not' taking the Italian Giant
too seriously.

Back on October 12, 1931 {20-months earlier} Jack had fought Primo Carnera in a bout for the
American Heavyweight Championship. In that bout, Sharkey gave the Italian a boxing-lesson over
15-Rounds, including flooring him and nearly knocking Carnera out in Round 4.

Despite the 1-Year inactivity, the Champion was an 'early' {7-5} Betting-Favorite over the Italian Challenger.

Jack Sharkey >
"I want to come in at 200 lbs. If I'm too light, this Italian Giant will toss me around like a
'Tinker Toy'. The extra weight will help me over the later Rounds, just like last time we fought."

[Bill Paxtom]

Heavyweight Champion - Jack Sharkey

Jack Sharkey had set up his Training Camp in Orangeburg, New York , at 'Gus Wilson's Camp'.

Manager - John Buckley wanted a steady, but relaxed atmosphere for his fighter.

There was already 'talk' of looking ahead to defending against Max Baer, who had just
defeated {KO 9} Max Schmeling.

But, many of the Boxing Pundits stated that Sharkey had looked slow-of-foot in sparring, despite
looking fit.

'The Word' by the Boxing Pundits >

If Sharkey is not to careful, he's going to get caught by one of the Challengers swooping
'Ham-Fist' punches.

Sharkey is 75% of what he was 20-Months ago. That makes the Challenger a 'live' Underdog.

Sharkey's legs do not look like they can carry him 15-Rounds. He better get Carnera out
of there by the 5th-Round, or he's going to be in for a long Italian Train Ride.

[Primo Carnera]

Best man won on the night!:confused

[Bill Paxtom]

Primo Carnera

They set up his training camp in Pompton lakes, New Jersey.

When Primo 'first' fought Jack Sharkey {October 12, 1933} 20-Months earlier,
Primo {Age; 25} was truly inexperienced.

He was strong, but was 'far' from a good fighter.

Since that time, Primo had gone 27-2-0 with {21 KO's} over the past 20-Months.

'The Word' by the Boxing Pundits >

Primo Carnera is a much better fighter now. His handlers have made him 50% better,
and now he has a left-hand.

While he's really not a heavy-puncher, he can do damage with his mauling, and clubbing.
He still pushes out his punches like a 'pawing' Bear, but he's more of a boxer now, unlike
before where he looked like a ponderous Circus Strongman with boxing gloves on.

The odds had opened up at {7-5} for the Champion, But by fight time, they had swung in favor
of Primo by {6-5}.

[Bill Paxtom]

Harry McLemore of 'UPI'

Primo Carnera is still a long way from a good fighter. But now, he's much better than he
was 2-Years ago, when Jack Sharkey wiped the floor with him.

In that 15-Round bout {October 12, 1931} Sharkey won 12 of the 15 Round's and had Carnera
'knocked out' in Round 4, but an inept Referee saved Carnera from an embarrassing Knockout.

But don't discount the big Italian now, as his handlers have improved Carnera's left-hand,
and he now has a 'secret punch'. He also 'leans back' to avoid punches now, when previously he
just walked win with his big 'warehouse sized' chin hanging there to be hit.

What the 6' 5" and 260 lb. bulk does now, is use his left-hand as a sweeping left-hook to push
his opponent to the left, and then Carnera comes in with a right uppercut.

While I still think the Champion {Jack Sharkey} is a much better boxer, in this fight I'm picking
the Challenger to win by a Knockout.

The Reason >
Jack Sharkey has lost {something} in his skills, and he is vulnerable now. Carnera has 20-Months
of added-experience since their last bout, and with '29-Bouts' over that span he has stayed active.

I look for a 'Ham-Sized' fist to take the Champion out by the 9th Round.

[Bill Paxtom]

Harry McLemore of 'UPI'

Primo Carnera is still a long way from a good fighter. But now, he's much better than he
was 2-Years ago, when Jack Sharkey wiped the floor with him.

In that 15-Round bout {October 12, 1931} Sharkey won 12 of the 15 Round's and had Carnera
'knocked out' in Round 4, but an inept Referee saved Carnera from an embarrassing Knockout.

But don't discount the big Italian now, as his handlers have improved Carnera's left-hand,
and he now has a 'secret punch'. He also 'leans back' to avoid punches now, when previously he
just walked win with his big 'warehouse sized' chin hanging there to be hit.

What the 6' 5" and 260 lb. bulk does now, is use his left-hand as a sweeping left-hook to push
his opponent to the left, and then Carnera comes in with a right uppercut.

While I still think the Champion {Jack Sharkey} is a much better boxer, in this fight I'm picking
the Challenger to win by a Knockout.

The Reason >
Jack Sharkey has lost {something} in his skills, and he is vulnerable now. Carnera has 20-Months
of added-experience since their last bout, and with '29-Bouts' over that span he has stayed active.

I look for a 'Ham-Sized' fist to take the Champion out by the 9th Round.

Primo Carnera sparring at Pompton Lakes, New Jersey >