Best Fighter Ever

[greatgazoo]

Size is a relatively smaller factor than most people think.

Some of the smaller guys are very tough. A few years ago, P.J Stock was a fighter for Boston/New York, and he is only 5'10, winning many tilts against guys over half a foot taller and 40 pounds heavier than he was.

Show me a clip where he actually beats someone good, and you might have something to back up your theory.

Steve Peat? 6'3" 230 and a total of 234 PM's in 130 games doesn't mean much.

 

[Dark Shadows]

Show me a clip where he actually beats someone good, and you might have something to back up your theory.

Steve Peat? 6'3" 230 and a total of 234 PM's in 130 games doesn't mean much.

uh, 6'3 230 pounds is still a big man by todays standards, and Peat was there for nothing short of fighting, so he was good and beat most people he fought. There are a ton of excellent Hockey fighters who just lack the normal playing skill enough to make them liabilities on the ice. Peat was a very good fighter, but not a good hockey player, thus, his low survival time in the NHL. That was ultimately what happened to Stock. Great fighter who won a lot of the time, but poorer Hockey Skills.

Off the top of my head, Stock fought Scott Stevens at one point, Wade Belak multiple times(6'5, 220), Matthew Barnaby, Kris King, Chris Neil, Rob Ray multiple times, Eric Godard(6'4 214), Stephane Quintal multiple times(6'3 230), Gino Odjick(6'3 224), Reed Low(6'4 220)
I know you are not going to question Gino Odjick's fight card. Stock went toe to toe with him and probably gets the decision.

Reed Low had a huge size advantage and all he was in the league for was fighting.


Vs Scott Stevens

vs Wade Belak #1


vs Jody Shelley(6'4 230)


Its really hard for me to just think up who the great smaller fighters were, especially with Dropyourgloves.com being down.

Rob Ray was a great fighter for many years, and he is just under 6'0. Tie Domi as well was only 5'10 210, etc

Why Don't you just go check youtube rather than make me look up all these fights. The fact of the matter is, P.J Stock was a very small man and was a very successful enforcer in the modern era.

 

[David Bruce Banner]

Its really hard for me to just think up who the great smaller fighters were, especially with Dropyourgloves.com being down.

Rob Ray was a great fighter for many years, and he is just under 6'0. Tie Domi as well was only 5'10 210, etc

Why Don't you just go check youtube rather than make me look up all these fights. The fact of the matter is, P.J Stock was a very small man and was a very successful enforcer in the modern era.

Stan Jonathan (5'8' 175 lbs.) could throw 'em, and would take on anyone...

Scott Walker and Mike Keane are/were more middleweights and had less success outside their weightclass. Sure were entertaining, though...

I really like Rick Rypien these days. Too bad he can't stay heathy.

Best ever, though? Probably Laraque, Probert or Kurtenbach.

 

[Wetcoaster]

I always hear stories about Howe and Fontinato, so I have to ask... what was the big deal about Fontinato? The guy listed at 185 pounds and barely has seasons over 100 or so PIM in his career. I saw him at the Howell/Bathgate ceremony, and he looked like Phil Rizzuto, he's a tiny looking little guy, as opposed to Howe, who looks like he could still take you out now if you had it coming to you. Gordie was this huge strong guy in 1951, it just seems like he should have beaten the crap out of a 185 pound guy, but everyone made such a big deal of it. Is there anyone out there that can tell me anything about Fontinato? If Lucic beat the hell out of Sean Avery, I'd kinda say that was the way it was supposed to go... am I wrong?

Fontinato was one of the bigger guys in the NHL at the time at 6'1" and 200 pounds.

He was heavily promoted as the toughest guy in the NHL, pictures of him with his shirt off and flexing his muscles, etc. He led the NHL in PIM's in both 1955-56 and 1957-58. He was the first player ever to receive more than 200 penalty minutes in a season.

He usual tactic was to get in a sneaky quick shot and follow up with a flurry of punches.

The February 1, 1959 fearsome beating that Gordie Howe laid on Rangers Leapin' Lou Fontinato, so-called because he left his feet.
When delivering body checks (some claim the "Leapin'" referred to his antics when called for a penalty when he would jump up and down while berating the referee).

Howe had just decked Eddie (The Entertainer) Shack, then with the Rangers, with a thunderous check and was about to be sucker punched by NYR enforcer Lou Fontinato. Big mistake on the part of Leapin' Louie as Red Kelly yelled a warning to Howe who slipped the punch, took a couple of glancing blows and then set to work.

I have read accounts of people who were at the game and of the game officials. The referee, linesmen and other players were in virtual shock as Howe demolished one of the most feared NHL heavyweights in short order. One of Howe's teammates noted in awe that it was so vicious any one nearby could hear "whomp, whomp, whomp" as Fontinato took punches to the face. Another witness described the sound like the beating of a drum. One of the linesman in awe said Gordie's punches hitting Lou's face sounded like an axe chopping a piece of wood.

Howe seldom spoke of his fights but of this Howe later said, "that honker of his was right there and I drilled it."

Fontinato was nose was mangled from the beating he took and he was never the same player again. Fontinato destroyed face (broken nose, broken cheekbone and dislocated jaw) was featured in Life Magazine when he had his picture taken in hospital where they were putting his face back together. Howe dislocated a finger.

As as result Howe rarely had to fight again as players avoided dropping the gloves with him from then.

 

[SML]

Thanks for the info, guys. I know hockeydb is sometimes off in it's physical stats. Now the next question, I guess, is that isn't breaking a guys entire face in a hockey fight a violation of the "code" that everyone screams about? Or did that not exist then? Ive seen old footage of hockey fights and it seems like the guys then had no qualms about continuing to punch a guy after he was down or if they clearly had him in a bad spot. It seems like if you'd broken any part of a guys face, you'd know it. Just so you know, I'm not trying to be a smart ass. I've been watching games since 1986, I'm not one of these 12 year olds who thinks anybody not on my NHL09 game stinks. I just love talking history with people who were there and can tell me first hand.

 

[vivianmb]

uh, 6'3 230 pounds is still a big man by todays standards, and Peat was there for nothing short of fighting, so he was good and beat most people he fought. There are a ton of excellent Hockey fighters who just lack the normal playing skill enough to make them liabilities on the ice. Peat was a very good fighter, but not a good hockey player, thus, his low survival time in the NHL. That was ultimately what happened to Stock. Great fighter who won a lot of the time, but poorer Hockey Skills.

Off the top of my head, Stock fought Scott Stevens at one point, Wade Belak multiple times(6'5, 220), Matthew Barnaby, Kris King, Chris Neil, Rob Ray multiple times, Eric Godard(6'4 214), Stephane Quintal multiple times(6'3 230), Gino Odjick(6'3 224), Reed Low(6'4 220)
I know you are not going to question Gino Odjick's fight card. Stock went toe to toe with him and probably gets the decision.

Reed Low had a huge size advantage and all he was in the league for was fighting.


Vs Scott Stevens

vs Wade Belak #1


vs Jody Shelley(6'4 230)


Its really hard for me to just think up who the great smaller fighters were, especially with Dropyourgloves.com being down.

Rob Ray was a great fighter for many years, and he is just under 6'0. Tie Domi as well was only 5'10 210, etc

Why Don't you just go check youtube rather than make me look up all these fights. The fact of the matter is, P.J Stock was a very small man and was a very successful enforcer in the modern era.

gary howatt was known as the TOY TIGER due to his size.he was a shrimp.(5'9"...170lbs.)he fought Shultz,williams,jonathan,etc.

 

[RabbinsDuck]

Probably not the best fighter of all time, but I've never seen Souray lose a fight.

Andreas Lilja beat him this year in a clunker:
http://hockeyfights.com/fights/49872

 

[David Bruce Banner]

Thanks for the info, guys. I know hockeydb is sometimes off in it's physical stats. Now the next question, I guess, is that isn't breaking a guys entire face in a hockey fight a violation of the "code" that everyone screams about? Or did that not exist then? Ive seen old footage of hockey fights and it seems like the guys then had no qualms about continuing to punch a guy after he was down or if they clearly had him in a bad spot. It seems like if you'd broken any part of a guys face, you'd know it. Just so you know, I'm not trying to be a smart ass. I've been watching games since 1986, I'm not one of these 12 year olds who thinks anybody not on my NHL09 game stinks. I just love talking history with people who were there and can tell me first hand.

I think that, back in the day, guys really *hated* each other. There wasn't such a Millionaires' Club atmosphere, and also players didn't move from team to team as much so there was a much more ingrained us vs. them attitude. Ted Lindsay said that if you saw opponents walking down the street in real life, you'd cross the street to avoid them (or, more likely, they'd cross the street to avoid Ted Lindsay). Hell, some of those old guys still hold grudges.

 

[Mad Habber]

Hey, what is your problem? Blah, blah is a pretty sad response. Respond with some facts if you disagree.

You didn't respond with any facts, you responded with opinion. Big difference. What's a matter, did Ferguson once beat up on one of your favorite players.

 

[ORR2Sanderson2ORR]

Danny Gare was noted more for his goalscoring but for a player not knowed for his fistacuffs,he sure could throw them when called upon.

 

[roadtoglory]

IMO, Dave Brown who was just mean and wanted to hurt someone. He did, alot too. Or Dave Semenko, I can't believe no one brought him up.


Post Lockout Im gonna go with Laraque, just because of his sheer dominance throughout the league. I don't like his attitude though.

 

[raleh]

Thanks for the info, guys. I know hockeydb is sometimes off in it's physical stats. Now the next question, I guess, is that isn't breaking a guys entire face in a hockey fight a violation of the "code" that everyone screams about? Or did that not exist then? Ive seen old footage of hockey fights and it seems like the guys then had no qualms about continuing to punch a guy after he was down or if they clearly had him in a bad spot. It seems like if you'd broken any part of a guys face, you'd know it. Just so you know, I'm not trying to be a smart ass. I've been watching games since 1986, I'm not one of these 12 year olds who thinks anybody not on my NHL09 game stinks. I just love talking history with people who were there and can tell me first hand.

I think that for the most part fighting was real back then and isn't today. I'm not sure that there was a code as far as fighting was concerned. I don't think there were as many fights to get the crowd into the game. I don't think there were any fights where they would ask politely before dropping the gloves in order to keep each other in the league. I think when they fought, they meant it, they were really really mad at each other and they were TRYING to break each other's faces. I think to most casual hockey fans today, this idea is mortifying, but really if you think about it, so is bare knuckle fighting while standing on ice. You'd have to be pretty pissed off to go toe-to-toe with someone back then.

 

[trevchar1971]

I would have to say Probert was the toughest, and the likes of Dave Brown, Behn Wilson, Dave Schultz, Stan Jonathan, Wendel Clark, Tie Domi, Dave Semenko, Tim Hunter, Chris Nilan, ..... the list could go on, there were so many who distinguished themselves through the years.

 

[RoseTintedVisor]

No Respect for VUKOTA!!!!!!?

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

I think that for the most part fighting was real back then and isn't today. I'm not sure that there was a code as far as fighting was concerned. I don't think there were as many fights to get the crowd into the game. I don't think there were any fights where they would ask politely before dropping the gloves in order to keep each other in the league. I think when they fought, they meant it, they were really really mad at each other and they were TRYING to break each other's faces. I think to most casual hockey fans today, this idea is mortifying, but really if you think about it, so is bare knuckle fighting while standing on ice. You'd have to be pretty pissed off to go toe-to-toe with someone back then.

I think you are right. Players fought back then because they got pissed, not because it was their job to do so. The code must have come in with the modern day goons.

 

[Gunnar Stahl 30]

dennis bonvie

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

dennis bonvie

Excellent response!

 

[Gunnar Stahl 30]

Excellent response!

number 27 in your programs, number one in your heart

all that guy did was fight

 

[ekcut]

Best fighter=Georges...He can beat anyone, but he only scares the 6 or 7 guys in the league who are legitimate superheavyweights. He wont fight anyone else.

Best Enforcer= Probert and Dave Brown. FEARED...They kept other teams in check for fear of them snapping. They will pummell anyone who crosses the line against a teammate.

 

[Big Phil]

In both Chara fights Laraque didn't have a real chance to fight Chara. I have seen Chara destroy players (McCabe) but in this case Big Z was clearly looking to land the lucky punch then pull Georges to the ice. Chara is obviously scared to go toe to toe with Laraque as evidenced by the tactics that he employed. You can't penalize Laraque for that!!! Laraque is the Undisputed Heavyweight Champ of the NHL as any player will tell you and he has held this distinction for a long time now. Do we really have to wait 15 years before his legend grows before we can annoint him the greatest fighter of all time.

There is no doubt that Laraque would lay a beat down on guys like Probert who simply weren't nearly big or strong enough to deal with players the size of Laraque. The fact is players are much bigger and stronger today than ever before and the fact that Laraque is the universally acknowledged champ of this era pretty much declares that he is more than likely the games all time champ!

Probert and Lindros weren't strong? Since when?

 

[Big Phil]

I think you are right. Players fought back then because they got pissed, not because it was their job to do so. The code must have come in with the modern day goons.

That logic gets thrown around a lot. Look, not like there isnt some pre meditated fights nowadays, but it isnt as if there arent a ton of fights where a player snaps either. Look at Lucic last week, that wasnt planned, I could go on and on with that. Fights still happen because tempers flare, always have, always will

 

[raleh]

That logic gets thrown around a lot. Look, not like there isnt some pre meditated fights nowadays, but it isnt as if there arent a ton of fights where a player snaps either. Look at Lucic last week, that wasnt planned, I could go on and on with that. Fights still happen because tempers flare, always have, always will

Yeah, and look what happened. He kept pounding the guy after he went down. The point that was being made was that the "code" came in with the modern day goon/enforcer. Rules like don't hit a guy when he's down, don't fight a guy at the end of his shift, ask before you start throwing, say good luck before and are you okay afterwards... When a player snaps, the BS code is out the window. That's passion, not goonery. And that's how it should be. Loved the Lucic fight the other day, but that fight proved Dennis' point. Only when it's a premeditated fight is there such a strict code and that's why it seemed as though Howe had broken the code when he rearranged Fontinato's face.

 

[No Quarter*]

Joey Kocur
Rick Tocchet was a very underrated fighter.

 

[Bohemian93]

bob probert or chris nilan

 

[justsomeguy]

Sprague Cleghorn.