Harry Greb

In 1921, during a fight with tough light heavyweight Kid Norfolk (real name William Ward), he was thumbed in the right eye and is believed to have suffered a retinal tear, which would eventually lead to permanent blindness. Greb fought on admirably, winning via ten-round newspaper decision and finally getting a shot at the middleweight title. It is commonly believed that Greb completely lost sight in the eye after his fifth bout with Bob Roper, taking almost two months to recover and being seen in a hospital with patches over both eyes.[10] Incredibly, he kept the injury a secret from all but his wife and closest friends, fooling physicians during pre-fight physicals by memorizing the order of the letters on the eye chart (Greb would later lose some vision in his good eye and his gradual loss of sight led him to always go to bed with the light on).[2]

On May 23, 1922, Harry Greb was matched with Gene Tunney, the undefeated American light heavyweight champion (the world title was then in the hands of Frenchman Georges Carpentier) in what would arguably end up being the defining bout of his career. In the first round Greb immediately fractured Tunney's nose in two places and then proceeded to open a deep gash over the reigning champ's left eye. According to eye-witness reports, Greb was subsequently forced to commission the referee to intermittently wipe off his bloodstained gloves with a towel. Throughout the bout, Greb would repeatedly petition the referee to stop the fight while a determined Tunney concurrently implored him to allow the contest to continue. Round after round, the beating continued with Tunney refusing to submit and even smiling during the bloodshed to keep the referee from halting the match. At the end of fifteen brutal rounds, Tunney was a bloody mess and Greb was crowned champion via unanimous decision. This was the first and only professional loss in Tunney's career, with the bout being hailed as the Fight of the Year for 1922 by the Ring Magazine.[11]

After defending his title against Tommy Loughran, Greb granted Tunney a rematch. In a hotly disputed battle, fought at Madison Square Garden in February 1923, Tunney regained his title by a highly controversial split decision. Multiple eye witness reports state that Greb controlled the fight and battered Tunney, cutting him and rocking him from punches on more than one occasion. But Tunney was able to fight back unlike in the first encounter and at some points was competitive with Greb. The crowd booed heavily when Tunney was announced as the winner.[12]

The two men would meet three more times, with Tunney successfully defending his regained title in another fifteen round bout and then splitting a pair of no decision battles. The fifth battle was reminiscent of the first fight in their series, except this time it was Tunney bludgeoning Greb for the duration of the bout. According to Tunney, near the end of the match while the two fighters were locked in a clinch, Greb straightforwardly asked Tunney not to knock him out. Tunney reputedly acquiesced to this request and later acknowledged the incident as the highest tribute he received in his career, stating "Here was one of the greatest fighters of all time laying down his shield, admitting defeat and knowing I would not expose him".[11] Tunney would go on to beat Jack Dempsey for the heavyweight title. Greb remained the only man ever to have beaten Tunney, and the latter would be among the pall-bearers at Greb's funeral.[13]

One month after losing his light heavyweight title to Tunney, Greb set his sights on middleweight champion Johnny Wilson; however, when Wilson's manager Marty Killelea refused to offer him the bout Greb reportedly devised an ingenious solution. He apparently paid a few speakeasy waiters in Pittsburgh and New York to serve him water in colored tumblers, and then proceeded to feign intoxication in a highly theatrical spectacle. When Killelea witnessed one of these performances, he assumed Greb was ripe for the taking and hurriedly arranged for the bout to take place.[14] On August 31, 1923, Greb faced Wilson for the world middleweight title, winning a workmanlike 15-round decision in what would be nothing short of a roughhouser battle. When referee Jack O'Sullivan stepped in to separate the fighters during a particular rough clinch, he incredulously asked Greb what he thought he was doing, to which Greb responded, "Gouging Johnny in the eye, can't you see?"[11] Greb would grant Wilson a rematch on January 18, 1924, in Madison Square Garden, winning another 15-round decision.[1]

Greb's most notable defense of the title was against reigning world welterweight champion, Mickey Walker in July 1925, at the Polo Grounds in New York. Most pundits and even Walker himself believed that Greb would have trouble making the 160 lb weight limit, but when it was reported that Greb weighed in at 157 1/2 lbs he was inserted as the 9–5 odds favorite.[15] During the first few rounds of the battle, Walker came out attacking Greb to the body as the defending champion apparently tried to stave off cramps in both his legs. The middle rounds saw Greb starting to relax and control the pace of the bout while Walker was still able to land some eye-catching combinations. The championship rounds were all Greb, who during the 14th round, attempted to knock out a tiring Walker by overwhelming him with a torrid onslaught of punches. Walker was able to withstand the assault, and Greb was awarded a unanimous decision by the judges and retained the championship.[15] Walker, a great fighter who would win the middleweight title the following year, stumbled upon Greb at a nightclub after their fight, and, according to the legend, the two fought an impromptu rematch there. According to some reports, Greb easily won the spontaneous rematch while the general consensus maintains that Walker landed a sucker punch on Greb that knocked him out cold. According to Walker himself, the two were sat discussing their fight over a drink when Walker made a comment stating that he felt had it not been for Greb thumbing him in the eye, he would have won the fight. The heavily intoxicated Greb took great offence to this and jumped to his feet to fight. As he was struggling to take off his jacket, Walker seized the moment and landed a vicious uppercut that put him down for the proverbial count.[16]

At 32, a shopworn Greb was years past his best when he was matched with tricky southpaw Tiger Flowers (who was a one-year junior of Greb) in Madison Square Garden on February 1926. Flowers, a defensive specialist, countered the Smoke City Wildcat's attacks well and won a disputed decision after fifteen rounds to annex Greb's middleweight title.[2] Flowers beat Greb again in their rematch six months later, on an even more controversial decision, with the fans storming the ring in protest of the outcome.[2] Greb later stated, "Well that was one fight I won if I ever won any.", in reference to what would end up being the last battle in a legendary career.[10]