Boxing Light Heavyweight Historical Fantasy Matchup: Harry Greb vs Saad Muhammad
By Robert Brizel Head RCM Boxing Correspondent
Now that Philadelphia’s former World Light Heavyweight champion Matthew Saad Muhammad belongs to the ages, a first thought in a dream matchup between departed legends would be a dream matchup between Saad Muhammad and ‘The Pittsburgh Windmill’, Harry Greb.
It should be noted both combatants were legitimate 15 round championship caliber fighters in their prime, and would probably steamroll everybody from Bob Foster to Archie Moore. How would Greb and Saad Muhammad fare against each other? What a great question.
Greb began fighting professionally in May 1913 in Pittsburgh at the age of 18. Of fourteen 15 round title bouts, Greb, the World Middleweight champion, lost four decisions and drew one. One of those fifteen rounders was for the Light Heavyweight world championship, which Greb lost in a 15 round split decision to Gene Tunney (who later won the world heavyweight championship). Greb not only beat Mickey Walker, he also went the 20 round distance three times, recording two wins and one draw.
Greb won 107 bouts, lost eight and drew three. Of newspaper decisions, Greb won 155, lost nine and drew 15. Although the newspaper era was a different era, Greb was primarily fighting at middleweight. Based on his showing against Tunney, Greb could hold his own at light heavyweight and middleweight.
Saad Muhammad fought in 11 consecutive World Boxing Council World Light Heavyweight championship bouts. His career record was 49 wins, 16 losses and three draws, with 35 knockouts. The last decade of his career was undistinguished after he lost a WBC rematch to Dwight Muhammad Qawi. This contrasts with Greb, who was still at the top of his game when died on the operating table for cataract surgery, a broken nose and damaged respiratory tract. Greb had been thumbed in the right eye, leading to a retinal tear and fighting with one one eye. Eventual blindness caused the right eye to be removed. Part of the causes of his injuries were car crashes. At the time he passed away, Greb had planned to open up a boxing gym in Pittsburgh.
The key to victory for Greb would have been determined by what point time wise he fought Saad Muhammad. In his prime, Saad went the distanced in a world title bout only once, inhis first meeting with John Conteh. Proportionally, Saad Muhammad had superior height and reach advantage over all his opponents. Greb, like Qawi, would have gotten inside in Saad and created Havoc.
Prediction? Greb would have won a technical bout with Saad Muhammad, but it might have gone life and death in the later rounds if the exchanges got heated, and Saad found his second wind as he usually did. If Greb caught an older Saad Muhammad, Greb would have knocked him out. Greb always had ‘it’. Saad Muhammad simply did not as he aged but fought on from 1981 to 1992, losing bout to mediocre opponents onfrequent occasion. From 1913 to 1926, Greb was stopped only twice in 292 contests, a better track record than Saad. Both, in all fairness, had a high quality of opponents, though Greb was a busier boxer in his time back in the day.
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