Baer (BAER, goddamnit) is a transitional heavyweight... More sophisticated than Dempsey's generation of heavies (with the exception of Jack Sharkey) and less sophisticated than Louis's onward... There's too many holes defensively and not enough nuance to his offensive game to deal with a later fighter like Holyfield. He definitely hit like a bastard and when he was in the mood, he was very dangerous. Still, He's not sophisticated enough. He might rattle Commander Vander in the first round or two but I have to imagine Holyfield figures him out and starts to hammer him before knocking him out in about 5 rounds. This is a time-warp fight... Boxing went through a RADICAL transformation when Dempsey and Leonard burst on the scene and for the next 15-20 years the repurcussions were felt and created new wrinkles. Baer's prime years were right in the middle of that crucial point in the sport's history... The game was improving rapidly (the 30s) and taking the shape we are familiar with (which can be seen from basically the 1940s onward) ... Baer was modern enough that he would have decapitated the Jim Jeffries and Jack Johnsons of the world, but he wasn't modern enough to beat a guy like Holyfield (or Marciano or Ezzard Charles or Ali or Liston, etc. ... You get the idea)
