Dempsey vs Marciano

I always wonder about these classic match ups... where do they take place?, are we taking Marciano back to the 20's? are we bringing Dempsey to the 50's? Or are we transporting them both to the present? Are they both coming up together in the same era? Which era would that be? the 20's or the 50's? I think this would be a huge factor affecting the outcome.

 

Ah prime for prime...
Still,
I always wonder about these classic match ups... where do they take place?, are we taking Marciano back to the 20's or are we bringing Dempsey to the 50's? Or are we transporting them to the present? Or better still are they both coming up together in the same era? but which era would that be? the 20's or the 50's? I think this would be a huge factor affecting the outcome.

 

Two big punchers of comparable size with good hand speed and styles that while different, had some similarities. Both had heart and were tough. I'm not sold on one over the other. If forced to choose, I might lean towards Marciano, but I say that with no real conviction.

 

Nah only kiddin, its a tough one to call id go with Dempsey he's the more skillful and faster fighter and is as rough as Marciano if not rougher.

 

Marciano was more clever and would take less of a beating than Dempsey as the fight went on.
Jack gets stopped late.

 

Dempsey appears more skilled offensively, but not by much. Dempsey has a reach and height advantage, still not by much.

Marciano appears to have the superior stamina and marginally better punch resistance.


I think the longer the fight went on, the better Marciano's chances would be. The long count would be a particular weakness for which Jack might fall foul and give Marciano too many breathers.

 

Re the mouth watering Match-Up of Dempsey and Marciano, Dempsey was at his rampaging best against those big "Lummox" types such as Big Fred Fulton, Willard an Firpo, all the aforementioned had the speed and boxing ability of Fred Gwynne during his day job, Minus the Neck Bolts of course. Jack could get inside those long arms and run riot, that is simply not possible against the very compact slab of concrete that was Marciano. apart from the Slow Lummox types Jack's other opponents usually were minded to keep it at a rather respectful long range. How is Jack going to fare coming up against someone who matches him for low size density and strength and has the temerity to actually seek trench warfare, pounding Jacks Body (how many times has he faced this ?) as well as his arms, head, anything he can hit in fact. Jack was a tornado of a fighter, very dangerous early, but they do tend to settle down after the early damage, Marciano was by comparison something of a Hurricane, gathering force and power over the longer haul.

I think its rather shaky ground putting too much credence on Rocky's floorings by Walcott and Moore, These guys were expert "Ambush Merchants" Jack didnt have that "Sneaky Sublety" - his intent was always fully obvious. It must be acknowledged that whenever Jack himself was Shaken or Floored it was usually by a right hand. if he indeed has a "Gap in his Fence" for this punch then it does not bode well for him. as concerned as Rocky may be about Jacks Left Hook, Jack must hope that he does not make the Full blooded acquaintance of "Suzie Q" during business hours. As for any Mention of Roland LaStarza i am sure the Marciano Fans have a three word response to that Being - Fat Willie Meehan ! But in truth neither are fully relevant in considering the merits of Jack and Rocky in their primes.

I would not be entirely shocked to see Rocky on the Floor early against Dempsey, due to Jacks Speed of Start, But once Rocky has dusted himself off, and got into his malevolent groove Jack would be forced back with increasing regularity, i doubt if anyone previously would have worked Jack to the Body as Rocky would, i Think Jack's early Firestorm would Give way to more Sporadic flare-ups, i see a late stoppage for Rocky,

They both come from a similar very exclusive mold, albeit slower starting, but i think Rocky's mold is a slightly deluxe upgrade on the Ex-Hobo Original.

 

The Manassa Mauler or the Brockton Blockbuster, PRIME for PRIME ? No one
outroughs or outmauls the young Dempsey in the trenches. NO ONE. Who wins that fight ?
Well when Marciano was champion in his peak, about 1954 they gathered together a slew of veteran boxing writers who saw the Dempsey of Toledo, and had watched Marciano
in his whole career [as I had}, and posed this question to them. "Who would have won
between Jack Dempsey and Rocky Marciano, both at their peaks ".? By virtually
unanimous consent these boxing writers picked Jack Dempsey ....Why?. Because Dempsey
hit with equal power with much greater speed and accuracy than Rocky did ,who truly
missed HALF his punches and won by attrition...And Dempsey would get there first, and
no one survives a prime Dempsey's onslaught for long...Today when young boxing fans think of Jack Dempsey, they conjure the 32 year old shot Dempsey, of the Tunney fight
OUT of the ring for THREE long years ,without ONE tune-up fight, against a razor sharp
prime Gene Tunney. A recipe for disaster ...So the boxing writers who saw them both fight
and chose the much faster punching Jack Dempsey over Marciano, wreren't just whistling
Dixie...They saw them BOTH...

 

Dempsey KO's Marciano, probably before 5 rounds. He was taller, quicker, at least as strong. a much better reach and had enough power in each hand to hurt and KO the smaller man.

Folks think Rocky had a granite chin and couldn't be hurt. Not true. He was knocked down and hurt many times in his career. The problem is that none of the fighters who hurt him was young enough, big enough or punched hard enough to finish him off.

A prime Dempsey wouldn't have that problem. Rocky did have stamina but all the stamina in the world won't help if you're being repeatedly pounded by wrecking ball fists.

 

Marciano's best opponents are natural light heavies - 39 year old Archie who still knocked him down, 38 year old Jersey Joe was easily outboxing him, ezzard charles well past his prime who also gave Marciano hell

Dempsey crushes the farce that is Rocky the bum Marciano

Let's look at Marciano's so-called "impressive" wins.

1) Joe Louis - in his prime, Joe Louis was one of the baddest dudes in boxing. But he had to take this fight because of IRS problems, and was a shell of his former self. The Joe Louis that KO Schmeling in one round would have beaten Rocky easy. This is not a win that makes someone into an all time great boxer.

2) Jersey Joe Walcott (x2) - Jersey Joe's two fights vs Rocky were the last two of his career - he was a washed up fighter at this point at 38 yrs old. He had already been in crazy fights with Louis and Charles, so beating up an old man past his prime is not impressive - especially considering the whooping that Rocky took in the first fight before the blind squirrel found an acorn and knocked out Jersey Joe

3) Roland LaStarza - had a padded record just like Rocky. Not impressive

4) Ezzard Charles - already been in tough fights with Louis and Walcott, way past his best and had over 100 fights. Rocky was too concerned with keeping his "0" so he only fought 49 times in an era where the best were good enough to keep going. And Rocky still struggled to beat this old man twice.

5) Archie Moore - was an old geezer at 39 yrs old by the time he got to Rocky. Is it impressive for a supposedly "all time great" to beat an old man with 19 losses at the time, who had already been through countless beatings? No. And Rocky still got knocked down by a natural light heavyweight old geezer.
I know certain people have prepared foolish arguments to defend Rocky's farce of a career, and I will dismantle them right now.

1) Rocky is 49-0 can't argue with that - Actually, yes you can. Fighting 49 bums/old people and winning is not impressive. Nielsen was 49-0 at one point. Joe Calzaghe was 46-0 (actually 45-1 cuz he got a terrible gift vs Hopkins). Padded records are meaningless. There is no undefeated fighter that is worthy of a top 45 p4p ranking (Mayweather is the best undefeated fighter - and he definitely does not deserve a spot in the top 45). Rocky is no different, and he is not a top 15 HW all time and not a top 50 p4p boxer all time. If Pinklon Thomas retired after beating Mike Weaver, he would have been undefeated - would you consider that to be the mark of an all time great? No

2) Rocky was so tough/had a great chin - Saying someone is tough is just another way of saying they are good at taking a beating. Just like he took a beating vs Walcott before becoming a blind squirrel that stumbled upon an acorn in the form of a KO. David Tua and Oliver McCall had great chins, but they were not all time greats.

3) Well there is no other HW champ that was undefeated - well Rocky fought bums and the great HW champs of all time didn't. Thats the difference. Rocky never fought someone on the level of Dempsey, Jack Johnson, prime Joe Louis, Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Norton, or even guys like Jimmy Young or Earnie Shavers. weak competition does not = greatness. And so what if he was champ? He only had 6 title defenses.

All these HWs in NO PARTICULAR ORDER are better than Rocky the Bum Marciano

1. Ali
2. Frazier
3. Foreman
4. Holmes
5. Jack Johnson
6. Bowe
7. Holyfield
8. Lennox
9. Joe Louis
10. Tyson
11. Dempsey
12. Tunney
13. Sonny Liston
14. Harry Wills
15. Sam Langford
16. Ken Norton
17. Sam Mcvey
18. Max Schmeling
19. Jimmy Young - because he fought actual competition

What has been written is IRREFUTABLE, UNDENIABLE, INCONTESTABLE, INDISPUTABLE, NONSUBJECTIVE, flawless FACT. Not opinion. I challenge any human being on earth to try and disprove the magnanimous insights of wisdom that I have been presented. Unfortunately for Rocky fans, it is impossible to disagree with these statements without demonstrating one's own incompetence and ignorance, much like Rocky demonstrated his incompetence in barely beating old people like Moore and Walcott.

 

I don't think this match-up has ever been done here.

 

burt as usual is right- no one out brawls dempsey for burts reasons given and ,of course, all those experts who saw them both perform and picked dempsey by a landslide