Ray Mercer vs. Jack Dempsey

Mercer beats the ducking dempsey

 

Is that Dempsey ducking under his jab, and tearing his heart out?

 

Dempsey had speed and power and was sizable enough to land multiple shots. I saw most of Mercer's fights even the Jesse Ferguson fights.Mercer could be out boxed and out classed and IMO this would be the case here more than likely by a wide UD over 12

 

Dempsey was also poorly paced, squared up, wide open half the time and just plain sloppy when the moment became too much.

A motivated Mercer makes him pay and either stops him late or wins a decision over a very busted up Dempsey.

Different era, different game.

 

Dempsey vs. Ray Mercer?...you're joking...right? Let's not get carried away!!!

 

I cannot refrain from this post. Some posters base their opinion on one scene they
see of Dempsey such as the Firpo fight where at the opening bell in the first round
Dempsey RUSHED across the ring caught up to Firpo and missed a punch, but was
NAILED by a clubbing right hand dazing him. He certainly learned his lesson and
became more cautious with his bobbing and weaving style. In the second round
Dempsey disposed of the Wild Bull with a ONE-TWO combination so blurringly
fast ,we can hardly see it on slow motion. There was never a HWt hitter with so much
power, with the fast body movement of the pre Hollywood Jack Dempsey. Not for
nothing was he voted by a great majority as the greatest heavyweight they had seen til the 1950s and a Mickey Walker, Gene Tunney, Jack Sharkey, Max Schmeling, a Ray Arcel
considered the young Dempsey the greatest heavyweight ever...He had it all in his prime
and was the roughest, toughest in fighter and body puncher ever with heavy hands that
Jack Sharkey attested to could break bones wherever he landed. At his pinnacle he was
a bigger and earlier edition of Roberto Duran, snarl and all. His legacy deserves better
than todays doubters, for damn sure...

 

Burt, I agree on the mean, nasty and rough, the body puncher, heavy hands and the snarl .. however I see nothing on film that shows the Duran like ability to use hands and feet and move like a heavyweight Duran , which is what he would need to defeat much bigger , stronger guys .. the Firpo bout proved just how dangerous bigger guys would be for Jack and Firpo was only a semi-conditioned , 6' 3", 212 pound slugger with a big right hand and nothing else .. if he fought that way against a Mercer he'd get flattened .. I have always felt Dempsey had the skills to develop into heavyweight version of a Duran or a Paq but never did as he basically stopped being a fighter by 1920 and sent on a slow but steady decline from that point .. I always say what fight of the eight we have of Jack does he show these additional skills .. I have wated them all time and again and the closest I see is in the Carpentier fight where after being stung in the second round he does a terrific move to step back, regroup , pivot and immediately spring back into action .. I would like to see far more of that but against Brennan, Gibbons, Tunney and Sharkey simply see a guy who never jabs, does not know how to slip one or have a clue about how to cut off a ring ..

Here's the section I like ... go to 42:27 or so after Carpentier clips him in the second ..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4lIclazPYw

 

he, hya. Dempsey wasn't the
perfect fighter for sure, but he had certain attributes that no other
heavyweight had, such as the quick litheness of a MW, coupled with
great hitting abilities and a toughness and MEANESS to break down his opponents...He when at his best beat everyone he fought especially the
big boys. He almost annihilated Fred Fulton in less than a minute, Carl Morris, Gunboat Smith, big Jess Willard in the FIRST rd.[ yes I know it was the the 3rd rd], but no other referee would have allowed Willard to
endure 7 knockdowns in the first rd. Yes Willard was not a great fighter, BUT HE WAS NEVER DROPPED BEFORE IN HIS CAREER, and Dempsey
bounced him around like a yo yo, knowing full well that his manager Jack Kearns bet a bundle on a first rd ko for Dempsey, thus putting on undue
pressure on Dempsey in the 110% Toledo afternoon sun.
In the very first round Dempsey had to reach UP with a left-hook and
dropped big Jess from such a tough upward angle. What power from such
an awkward position. Especially to drop a 260 pound giant never on the canvas before. Yes he went Hollywood too soon thus hurting his legacy.
But who could blame a onetime poor hobo,who lived from day to day in
saloons and mining camps, becoming champ and sowing his wild oats in
Hollywood, bedding the actresses who he became catnip to ? I would have done the same for sure. When he fought Tunney AFTER not fighting for
THREE long years, and at age 32, without ONE tune-up bout was but a
shell of himself. So for me he will always be in his prime the great
Manassa Mauler, as tough, strong and mean a heavyweight that ever graced the ring, and one hell of a gate attraction too. Cheers...

 

:good

 

One thing to note is how incredibly susceptible Dempsey is to right hands, especially a lead rights. If Carpentier were more than a blown up middleweight… and certainly even the calibre puncher of a 225 pound Mercer, there would be some major damage assessed here.

 

You know, they have the exact same height and reach. Both are good punchers, not terribly impressive skill-wise. The difference between them seems to be Mercer put on an extra thirty pounds with weight training and steroids.

Based on their records, I'd give the edge to Dempsey. Demspey has some slightly more impressive victories. Just considering guys over 200 pounds, to make the playing field even for Mercer, who fought larger and stiffer competition, Dempsey's got Firpo, Willard, Fulton, Flynn, and Morris compared to Mercer's Morrison, Witherspoon, Cooper, Damiani...

You know, it's looking more even than I thought. I don't see Dempsey getting by Holmes, Lewis, Holyfield, or Klitschko either. The Briggs loss came when Mercer was 45. Except for the Jesse Ferguson loss this is a really tight record. Comparably, Dempsey has losses to Gene Tunney, Willie Meehan, Fireman Jim Flynn, and Jack Downey.

It's a toss up.

 

Wouldn't any top fighter including a Jack Dempsey along with the shrewd
Jack Kearns take into account Dempsey fighting a powerful but much slower Ray Mercer than a smaller, faster less potent puncher than Georges Carpentier ? And one other thing. Before the Dempsey/ Carpentier bout
Tex Rickard in Dempsey's dressing room, pleaded for Dempsey to give the
80,000 fans a few rounds before Dempsey went all out. Which he did.
But when Carpentier nailed Jack and stunned him with Carpentier's deadly right hand Dempsey went to work and flattened the Orchid Man pronto.
My point is that a fighter as Dempsey was, has to know who is opposite him in the ring and plan accordingly...

 

Dempsey via UD. Mercer can upset hall of fame fights if they lack a chin or have some stamina issues. Reflexes was never Mercer's thing. Dempsey would be too quick for him, and often get there first.

 

When did he take these steroids? Where is the proof, the positive tests? Are not some 6-1 guys naturally 215-225 when in shape? Or are all guys 6-1 naturally 190 pounders?

 

Mercer won the Olympics at 200 pounds.