Yes it was an even playing field to begin with, but Lewis messed that up by not acclimatizing properly and not seeing Rahman as a threat. Hasim arrived the required 6 weeks before, Lewis one week. It made a big difference! As you know mcvey it's common knowledge, so dismissing it as 'he just got nailed' (which he did) is a bit poor from an experienced poster. Lewis was shite that night, looked far from his best and gave Rahman that opportunity. If he was in against a feared fighter like Dempsey in this fantasy matchup, then you have to accept that it wouldn't be the lazy, unmotivated Lewis that was plodding around in South Africa. Was Lewis really prime against Rahman? In a fantasy match-up your gonna put the '97-'00 version of Lewis in there. Which would mean he wasn't prime for the McCall defeat either.
PP,pray tell me what fighter has NEVER been tagged or hurt ? There is no such creature. Yes Brennan did hit Dempsey some hard shots. Brennan could HIT. How do you know how much of a fighter Bill Brennan was at his best ? You don't know ! Brennan in his best days would be a top contender in Ali's days. Was a lot like Jerry Quarry as a puncher. So Dempsey,who did absorb those blows never was badly hurt and NEVER floored. Dempsey had a great chin in his prime,as every writer of his day always cited. So why the angst against Dempsey? Of course he was not perfect. Which one of your idols were ? Name him, and I will spot flaws. Some Posters,and especially you might think I am too Gung HO in my defense of Jack Dempsey, AND his place in history. That is there perogative. But I truly believe that the overwhelming amount of great boxing figures who saw the prime Jack Dempsey, and raved about him know a helluva lot more than the naysayers, 85 YEARS later, today. That opinion I hold dearly !!! Have a good day...
You're lost. Acclimatized refers to the fact the fight took place in South Africa at high elevation. Rahman came in 6-8 weeks earlier to deal with this and Lewis, shooting a movie showed up far to late to adjust to the high altitude. You're not coming across as someone who really knows what he's talking about. One should also note that Dempsey was already retired at the age Lewis fought Rahman, yet Dempsey gets a pass for being over the hill but apparently Lewis was in his prime. Can the standards be anymore unfair? And as for the Flynn fight, there's no way Dempsey ws green in that fight as he had dozens of fights that weren't even documented.
V,you conveniently overlook the fact that Dempsey DID NOT HAVE A FIGHT IN OVER 3 YEARS,when he foolishly fought a prime Gene Tunney ! THREE YEARS, without a tune-up fight, without his mgr Jack Kearns, and with the recent suicide of his close brother Bernie...And at 32 ,Dempsey had already 77 recorded bouts and was fighting as a youngster in the West,since he was 14. Dempsey was an old, slow replica of his halycon days ,with a 3 year layoff, against one of the greatest heavyweight ever... P.S. The ko by Flynn was suspicious to say the least,and at any event Dempsey,1 year later obliterated Flynn in one round. Redemption....
Funny enough Lewis did the same thing!!. Look I'm a huge Dempsey fan I think he was probably the best H2H heavyweight up until Liston, although I sometime go back and forth between him and Louis. I'm also a Lewis fan, and I see posters using double standards. When Dempsey losses it's because he was rusty, or because he fought a four round specialist, or because a KO was suspicious. And yet when a 35 year old Lewis gets knocked out who clearly didn't climatize himself for the fight he seems to have a glass jaw. And against McCall he was up but counted out. How different is that from Dempsey going down a couple of times against Tunney, at least once against Flynn obviously, and numerous times against Firpo?
Any yet some posters claim he was "green" when he fought Flynn dispite having fought since he was 14. The amount of spin people try putting on his losses while disallowing any excusses whatsoever for Lewis is quite something to behold. Let's see we have: Fynn - fight was fixed, or he was green, take your pick, why not both? Meeham - 4 round specialist, doesn't really count x 2 Tunney - over the hill and rusty x2 (the first one I can buy, the second fight?)
Im sorry but this huy does not give Lewis a competitive fight. All the respect in the world for the guy and what he did in his era,but times change. Sports evolve.... [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJkiwu_04dw[/ame]
Dempsey had been out of the ring for 3 years when he lost to Tunney. Dempsey was 22 years old when he lost to Flynn are you suggesting he was prime? The first Lewis Rahman fight lasted less than 5 rds, are you seriously suggesting Lewis was kod because he ran out of oxygen at high altitude? If you are ,you are not coming a cross as someone who has the remotest idea what they are talking about. Lewis himself blamed his defeat on taking his opponent too lightly. He came in at 253.5lbs for this fight ,a then career high weight for him ,only surpassed by his last fight against Vitali. I know what the word acclimatized means. Do you know what the expression, "clutching at straws ," does?
Look others have acknowledged that Demspsey first started fighting when he was 14 so yes at 22 he would be a seasoned pro in my eyes, especially since numerous fights were undocumented. Of course he was in his prime. It was his 35th documented fight, and who knows how many fights he really had up to that point. I'm not cluching at anything, I'm only suggesting you level the playing field. Dempsey's KO by Flynn is at least as bad as anything Lewis incurred, and the Rahman KO happened when lewis was 35 years old. Dempsey had long since retired by then. Yet in your eyes Lewis was prime. Where's the balance in this?
Some posters are actually classing the Rahman loss as "prime" Lewis? I thought classic posters were supposed to be more knowledgable about such things. In his prime years, possibly, prime condition? Hell no, not by a mile.
There's only one way to settle this... time machine. (Then I can watch Lewis destroy Dempsey and laugh whilst eating popcorn in the warmth of my own home)
Honestly how nostalgic are some of you ****ers on here, you can ignore the massive strength and size difference in this matchup if you want, but it doesnt change the fact that Lewis destroys dempsey.
