How hard did Dempsey hit?

Once a fighter has enough power to smash bones, it becomes pretty academic.

You just have to not get hit by him!

 

The theory doesn't pan out when you consider featherweights can 'break bones'.

 

It panned out pretty well for Dempsey, in an era of big heavyweights!

He has no peers not named Louis, Barrows, or Tyson!

 

He couldn't 1 punch any of them, it was more relentless aggression that got the job done.

 

If this was the case, he would have typically need lots of rounds, to break his opponents down.

This is not what we are seeing here.

 

The ability to hit very hard is a skill few hwts have at their command. Being around many fighters over the years I believe it's an inborn ability. Many big men can't punch. Guys like Dempsey have a combination of speed, strength and an ability to put their body weight behind their punches that makes them so explosive. No one denies that Louis was an all time puncher but the only man who fought them both said Dempsey hit harder.

 

Louis proved his power against much much better opposition over a longer period of time.

 

That is ridiculous.

Dempsey was allowed to stand over opponents and hit them as they attempted to rise. Of course he was going to get the job done quicker than a guy who has to go to a neutral corner, and wait until the referee decides when the action can resume.

 

I think your question is about the heavyweight Dempsey.
I don't know. Ask Willard !

 

Poor Dempsey he has to pay the price now without good sitting position.

 

This proves the Dempsey era was tougher.

 

No it doesn't. It merely proves fights could be finished quicker.

 

Is it a joke ? "Tyson before Tyson" Tyson never was a skinny fighter.
Same body dimensions ? How ? When Dempsey was 6'1" and basically a 185-195 lbs not too ripped fighter.
I think the 5'10" Tyson's lightest pro weight was significantly heavier than Dempsey's heaviest weight (And not by fat mass) .
Basically Dempsey was a lanky and skinny heavyweight.

 

In the hwt division size does not mean the fighter punches hard. Size is actually the last thing to look at. Power punching is a skill and a very hard to come by skill. Suggest you read Dempseys book regarding power punching. It's a very technical discussion of what it takes to hit very hard. Being big is NOT one of the criteria. No one denies Joe Louis power punching yet people want to intimate Dempsey was not a power puncher? Ridiculous. Very very few fighters in boxing history hit as hard as Dempsey. Again....the only man who fought both Louis and Dempsey said Dempsey hit harder. "If Dempsey hit you in the shoulder he broke your shoulder, if he hit you in the body it felt as if the punch went through to your back, if he hit you in the hip he dislocated your hip".

 

Yes but those were the rules of the day, so everybody else was allowed to do it as well.

If his finishing prowess were merely a result of this rule, then everybody in that era would have been a knockout artist, and everybody would have been getting knocked out left right and center.

the reality seems to be that although this rule helped, people found strategies to cope with it.