How good was Jack Dempsey's win resume?

Yeah, the question is how good was the resume ?
I thought it was pretty good, but apparently not.

 

I remember in the old days they had a boxing panel show on after the Friday night fights,

and Wills was often brought up as the contender Dempsey didn't fight, along with Jackson for Sullivan.

Greb was certainly discussed a lot as a great fighter, but I don't recall any mention of him back then as a possible opponent for Dempsey.

 

Under the terms of Dempsey's critics' reasoning, I wonder about Wills' credentials more so than Greb's.

I don't actually doubt Wills' record, but I do wonder how people who think Fulton and Firpo were pathetic, can square the fact that Wills was "feasting on Dempsey left overs" when he faced them.
I dunno, maybe for them, it's his win over Kid Norfolk.

 

And Firpo went the distance with Wills ..

... I suppose Wills was carrying him, and obviously Wills was an old man then.
It was a good pay day too.

I'd like to think that Wills, Dempsey and Greb were three great fighters ... and Tunney ! ... and some of the men they were beating routinely were pretty good too. :good

 

I personally put both Fulton and Firpo in the top ten of the heavyweights of the Dempsey era.

The only two Dempsey opponents that amounted to much that didn't lose to Wills or Greb or Tunney were Willard and Sharkey.

Willard was from an earlier era. The only two top fighters he fought in the Dempsey era--Dempsey and Firpo--knocked him out.

Sharkey is the one Dempsey opponent who really adds luster to his resume.

 

As aforesaid, Jack dealt with slicksters and big hitters. Using three key victories over a nine year period:

-Fred Fulton was considered championship material and had Willard shook when Dempsey iced him. It's no less impressive than Lennox Lewis' destruction of Andrew Golota.

-Tommy Gibbons, despite his poundage, could more than hold his own against the big boys. Dempsey did splendidly to outpoint him so thoroughly. Tommy would have given Louis and Marciano plenty to chew over.

-Jack Sharkey was in the shape of his career and nailed Dempsey in the first with a vicious combination. Dempsey absorbed it, persevered and capitalised on a silly mistake in a rough fight.

Once you digest the gristle that is no Wills or Greb, stop grunting at the Hollywood hiatus, there's a good body of work there. And like Jack Johnson, a good chunk of Dempsey's work came pre-title.

 

okay on comments on Fulton and Sharkey,

"there's a good body of work there"

I agree.

"Tommy Gibbons, despite his poundage, could more than hold his own against the big boys."

Other than Miske, and of course Dempsey, which big boys? He didn't fight that many good big fellows.

 

Excellent post Ted. The Dempsey that pulverized Fred Futon, Carl Morris, Gunboat Smith, Carl Morris, Battling Levinsky , Jess Willard, Luis Angel Firpo, was considered by hard nosed boxing
veterans a force of nature those long ago days. Fred Fulton was a top HW prospect those days good enough to compete with and tko Sam Langford in 1917. Dempsey impressed the ringsiders when he flattened Fulton in less than a minute with a devastating combination that rendered Fulton unconscious. Dempsey weighed about 183 those days ,but his lithe body and savage punching was a revelation to the many boxing writers at the fight
in 1918. Dempsey also kod the wily Battling Levinsky who was never stopped before in over 200 bouts...True, Dempsey stopped fighting in 1923, went Hollywood, and his legacy suffered as a result of his 3 year layoff and his fights with Tunney without one tune-up fight. But when he was at his savage best Dempsey H2H
was one tough S.O.B. to beat. cheers T.:good

 

Morris had lost 7 of his previous 10 and was something of a joke on the circuit by that point.

Smith had won only 1 of his previous 10 fights when he met Dempsey.

Levinsky had lost 2 of his past 3...

Willard had gone 10 lackluster rounds over the previous four years and was 38.

Firpo was a non-entity whose claim to fame was beating a dismal 42 year old Willard who had lucky punched his way into an elimination bout.

 

Yes, he should be. I'm amazed that no one ever mentions it.

 

How in tarnation S, are you so sure that if Rocky Marciano was born in 1895, as Dempsey was, lived the days as a hungry hobo,
fought a black veteran like John Lester Johnson in a tough fight, dumped his lousy mgr. John the Barber, finally struck gold under a martinet named Jack Kearns, and a wily old fashioned promoter named Tex Rickard, both who ran the show for Dempsey, be so CERTAIN that Marciano would have NOT BEEN A CREATURE OF HIS TIMES, and abided by the wishes of HIS BRAINTRUST ?????. I still insist that all of us me and yes YOU S are products of our times, no less, no more.
After the terrible race riots in 1910 following the Johnson/Jeffries bout in which many were killed in violent riots, most top boxing
promoters were reluctant to promote heavyweight championship bouts between a black and white fighter, fearing for good reason another riot would take place. Who can blame them those days ?
So my question to you S, how in your infinite wisdom KNOW that
Rocky Marciano with the same background as Dempsey would have abandoned Kearns and Rickard, both who made him wealthy and struck out on his own, to pursue on his own an agenda different than Jack Dempsey did ?
So darn easy for today to take potshots on a decent man as Jack Dempsey was and portray him as a villain 90 years later with a totally different society, than when Jack Dempsey lived in.
P.S. Dempsey always employed the best black sparring partners like Big Bill Tate, George Godfrey etc. When John Lester Johnson who broke young Dempsey's ribs in 1916 was ill in a nursing home decades later, it was Dempsey who paid his bills.
When George Godfrey was destitute before he died Jack Dempsey took care of his many bills without fanfare. Dempsey lived a long life BELOVED by millions, who somehow knew a tad more of his true character than today's character assassins who
get their rocks off by belittling a decent man who was also a helluva tough fighter at his best....And while I'm still kicking I will defend the truth...cheers...

 

So Dempsey should also be tarnished because some opponents did not have stellar records just prior to fighting Dempsey ?
Is that also his fault? There was no fighter in his prime that Dempsey would have not been a big favorite H2H. Including a Harry Wills or my very favorite little man Harry Greb. Ole Sam Langford was pushing 40 those and way past his best...
How come S, the great Joe Louis never get's flack on ESB for not giving a deserving money shot for some tough punching black heavyweights, many superior to the "bum of the month club "?
Hmmmmm ?

 

Agreed .. also,

he had a ton of heart

he could take a lot of punishment

he kept late round power