The 'Gatekeepers': Guys You Needed To Fight To Prove Your Credentials

[mikebflorida]

I don't think Langdon ever got the credit he was due.

He wasn't a destroyer but he was arguably one of the best technical fighters of all time. Incredible stamina, strength, and balance, was very fast with either hand and played to his opponents weaknesses possibly better than anyone.

People love a free swinger more than a technical fighter so there will be a lot of guys ranked ahead of Langdon but I can tell you that he never got his butt kicked and he won most of his fights on points. It aint sexy but it's got teeth.

Ken Baumgartner has no business being on a list like this. I'd call this a 2nd rate list, even 3rd rate and Bomber was first rate!


@ BBBB- the stuff is getting old. You're completely off topic and out of line posting Probert-Simon or Brown-Simon video here. Get over it.

[Johnny Pie]

Agree about Langdon, thought he was more than 2nd tier. Saw him fight Domi at the Garden. Great Bout. He doesn't get the credit he deserves.

[bigjack]

Originally Posted by mikebflorida

I don't think Langdon ever got the credit he was due.

He wasn't a destroyer but he was arguably one of the best technical fighters of all time. Incredible stamina, strength, and balance, was very fast with either hand and played to his opponents weaknesses possibly better than anyone.

People love a free swinger more than a technical fighter so there will be a lot of guys ranked ahead of Langdon but I can tell you that he never got his butt kicked and he won most of his fights on points. It aint sexy but it's got teeth.

Ken Baumgartner has no business being on a list like this. I'd call this a 2nd rate list, even 3rd rate and Bomber was first rate!


@ BBBB- the stuff is getting old. You're completely off topic and out of line posting Probert-Simon or Brown-Simon video here. Get over it.

Remember also that Langer was only 6'1" and 200 to 205 pounds but his stamina was great! He was similar to Knuckles Nilan except that Nilan used the crouch style many times to avoid punches!
I loved both those guys as Rangers!
The Rangers signed Langdon thanks to Nick Fotiu who coached against him when Langer played in Dayton and Nick coached in Nashville! Nick told Neil Smith about Langdon and he was with Binghamton after that!
Nick coached Link Gaetz in Nashville that year and the next year and tried to save his career! Unfortunately Gaetz was not able to help himself!

[BaddaBing Badda Boom]

Originally Posted by bigjack

Remember also that Langer was only 6'1" and 200 to 205 pounds but his stamina was great! He was similar to Knuckles Nilan except that Nilan used the crouch style many times to avoid punches!
I loved both those guys as Rangers!
The Rangers signed Langdon thanks to Nick Fotiu who coached against him when Langer played in Dayton and Nick coached in Nashville! Nick told Neil Smith about Langdon and he was with Binghamton after that!
Nick coached Link Gaetz in Nashville that year and the next year and tried to save his career! Unfortunately Gaetz was not able to help himself!

Anything further on Nicky trying to rescue the belligerent drunken missing link when they got into it?

[bigjack]

Originally Posted by BaddaBing Badda Boom

Anything further on Nicky trying to rescue the belligerent drunken missing link when they got into it?

I figured if I told that story again that it would be the crime of the century so I passed on it!

[Plateworker]

Originally Posted by Maggie3and Me

Ken Baumgartner.

He had some good tilts with big boys and held his own for the most part. He had well over 200 fights and fought a lot of the big names of his day.

"The Bomber knows his role very well. He’ll stick up for his teammates and do anything for his team – and a very astute man also." - Tony Twist

Umm no..Bomber was a first tier fighter Ranked in the top ten from maybe 89-96. Bomber is probably ranked anywhere from 20-40 on most peoples lists...

[Maggie3and Me]

Originally Posted by Plateworker

Umm no..Bomber was a first tier fighter Ranked in the top ten from maybe 89-96. Bomber is probably ranked anywhere from 20-40 on most peoples lists...

That's what I was referring to.

No matter where he was ranked then, I was looking more at where people had him all time.

[bruiser11]

Beating Probert was the ultimate goal for plenty of others.

[BENNETTWOLF]

I hate doing this, getting into a thread late and possibly naming guys that someone already has

Mike Peluso, Alan May, Brian Curran.

Extremely active but not the very best (although i do think well of ex cap may).

Loved the citation of Basil Mcrae.

[glovesdroppa]

Originally Posted by Johnny Pie

Agree about Langdon, thought he was more than 2nd tier. Saw him fight Domi at the Garden. Great Bout. He doesn't get the credit he deserves.

He's definitely a good fighter technically sound, and his fight card is great, but
his career win % is only 52.

He strikes me as one of the best "he held his own against _____, he must be pretty tough"

[Johnny Pie]

Originally Posted by glovesdroppa

He's definitely a good fighter technically sound, and his fight card is great, but
his career win % is only 52.

He strikes me as one of the best "he held his own against _____, he must be pretty tough"

would disagree with that winning percentage. He went toe to toe with the best in some incredible fights and held his own. Lot of his fights were close give and take type fights but in my opinion from what I saw he won a lot more then 50%. I guess it depends who is calling the fight. I still thing he was more than a 2nd tier fighter.

[Leaf2717]

Originally Posted by glovesdroppa

He strikes me as one of the best "he held his own against _____, he must be pretty tough"

^This sums up my memories of Langdon - not real exciting not real memorable with one exception...

Darren Langdon vs Stu Grimson - YouTube

I think Brashear also did a "front jersey" job on him while a Canuck.

After Rudy, JK and Domi, Langdon was just not that exciting or intimidating.

All the best.

[BENNETTWOLF]

I think we could make a case for a lot of the all time guys becoming gatekeepers as they aged. Obviously the established veterans with big names and reputations were the guys targeted by young players looking to establish themselves.

I specifically thought of Craig Berube (and guys like him) who stayed in the league forever as gritty, character vets and frequent fighters while their peak might have passed them by. Berube, for example, probably dropped out of the top 10 about halfway through his stay in DC but still fought 18-25 times a year for many years afterwards.

Probie, after his best early in chicago, was, probably, the guy all the tough guys wanted a shot at. I still recall just how casual he looked about fighting as a blackhawk. Like; "been there, done this, who's going to show me something i haven't seen yet?"

[Shoryuken]

Originally Posted by BENNETTWOLF

I think we could make a case for a lot of the all time guys becoming gatekeepers as they aged. Obviously the established veterans with big names and reputations were the guys targeted by young players looking to establish themselves.

I specifically thought of Craig Berube (and guys like him) who stayed in the league forever as gritty, character vets and frequent fighters while their peak might have passed them by. Berube, for example, probably dropped out of the top 10 about halfway through his stay in DC but still fought 18-25 times a year for many years afterwards.

Probie, after his best early in chicago, was, probably, the guy all the tough guys wanted a shot at. I still recall just how casual he looked about fighting as a blackhawk. Like; "been there, done this, who's going to show me something i haven't seen yet?"

A slightly different kind of player I feel - the guys who were ex-champs, or at least legit top-10 fighters for a good portion of thier career were still targeted by the young guns, but maybe with a little more respect then the aforementioned guys - as an example, when Ken Belanger gave an ageing Probert a real beating, it still raised a few eyebrows despite Belanger already being touted as a future champ by that point. Scott Parker got his ass beat good by Probert, Parker himself said he was slightly off his usual game due to his idolising of Probert.

[DrCrush]

Dennis Vial anyone?