IN THIS CORNER, in Black & White, Undefeated in 46 silent films: Buster KeatonAND IN THE OPPOSITE CORNER, also in Black & White, Undefeated in 74 Silent Films: Charlie Chaplin

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Make that 76 for Chaplin if you include City Lights and Modern Times.

I already did a lengthy post, The Great Debate: Chaplin vs. Keaton, where I asked a lot of clowns and clown-adjacent folks to state and justify their preference, if they had any, for Buster Keaton vs. Charlie Chaplin. Most respondents did have a preference, with one clear winner, but of course you don't have to choose. This montage of boxing shots, uploaded to YouTube by one Vincenzo Occhionero (thank you very much!), shows the marvelous (physical) comedy talents of both as they tackle the classic scenario of an apparent weakling fighting a powerful brute.

 

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Of course the underdog overcoming the brawny, arrogant, and often evil adversary was a common theme in silent film comedy. Harold Lloyd mined this comic vein for all it was worth, and in his reasonably successful 1936 sound comedy, The Milky Way, Lloyd's milquetoast character even knocks out the middleweight boxing champion. You can see this (considerably less athletic) sequence here.