How does Dempsey do vs heavyweights post 1970-present

That is a awful brutal opposition for almost anybody. Among the first bunch, he might hurt Frazier und finish him. Among the second bunch, I see him losing more than he would win.
This is no job for a 18x fighter of yesterday. But with adapting and putting on 15-20lb of functional mass, I see him doing better.

 

Dempsey's peak was pretty short. He was 31 for the first Tunney match, and close to his ideal fighting weight. Tunney had Dempsey tired by round 9, and groggy by round ten to the point that Dempsey's corner had to lead their man to it at the end of the fight. Had this been a 12 or 15 round fight, Tunney gets the TKO.

It should be noted that mobile fighters such as Miske, Meehan, and Sharkey gave Dempsey problems. Tunney even more so.

 

4 years later

Not by KO

Not by KO, and the decision was controversial
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85066387/1913-05-22/ed-1/seq-8/

Not by KO, and all officially in no decision bouts (which you really have to look into as the ones listed on boxrec aren't always right, and sometimes they are closer to exhibitions, it depends)

Having previously been KOed by him, and only a month after his fight with Wills (hard not to imagine that taking something out of him).

Zelenooff challenged Mayweather Jr, and Maywather declined to fight him.
That's not actually beating him
(Not that I'm saying Greb is at all like Zelenoff)

His boxrec legacy maybe.

Yes, considering they all won matches with people around that size. You really think Dmitrijs Avsejenkovs could beat them all?
Just stupid hyperbole.

 

In none of which fights was he prime.It should be noted Meehan beat Langford over 4 rds too.

 

They do not compare to the big men that you have named, but they are still indicative of how Dempsey performed against this size/style of fighter.

It is not like they were losing against him in competitive efforts, or causing him a lot of trouble with their height/reach/weight advantage.

They were just getting annihilated.

Even if they were as bad as you say, they ought to have been able to manage some sort of effective resistance

You don't need to name somebody who you think could have done it, the acid test is to find somebody who did it, or the equivalent.

What other 185lb fighter in history, beat a man of that size who was the current champion or outstanding contender, let alone demolished them like they were nothing?

If nobody else did it in the real physical universe, then it is a big leap of faith to assume that many could have done it!

 

That's not exactly a stellar list. I think Holy, Marciano... even Byrd, Roy Jones and Usyk clown each one of those, at least in the form which Dempsey met them.

 

No, I think there's a few others who would, but he's the one who did. But you made the preposterous claim any other would, when to even be in the conversation they'd have to be amoung the best of the day.

But it was that he blew them out that was so impressive. Imagine boiling Mike Tyson (his spiritual successor) down to just who he beat. Hell it goes for anyone, even just boiling Ali to purely his wins, with nothing of the context or manner totally misses the point.

No it's perfectly good to show that someone not accepting a challenge is not the same as them losing, and especially not the same to them getting blasted out of there.

I never claimed it did, I don't think anyone did, but it supports the argument for him being able to compete with larger foes. It's the same as how you'd analyse an up and coming fight, often one or both hasn't faced what they are coming up against, but how they have done against the foes they had faced, and how their attributes match up with their opponent, can be a good indication.

What had Tyson Fury done to show he could beat a super hard punching, skilled, ATG in Wlad?

 

If you go out to do it, you can nitpick anyone's record.

Lest we forget
"JOE LOUIS
WHERE DOES HE BELONG IN THE PANTHEON OF GREAT HEAVYWEIGHTS?
NOT AMONG THE BEST IF ONE IS OBJECTIVE ABOUT IT"

In the end it's meaningless. Why not spend this thread talking about Ali's fights with Henry Couper, and losing to Frazier who was blasted out by Foreman? Why not talk about Lewis losing to McCall and Rahmen? Why not talk about Holyfield losing to Moorer? Tyson losing to Douglas and never avenging any of his losses? Why not talk about Old Foreman being able to compete in his 40's after an absurd lay off? Why not talk about an obese James Toney holding his own, or little Chris Byrd, how bad does that make the people loosing to them? Why not talk about Bowe getting beaten up by Golota, and ducking Lewis? Why not ramble about the poor competition of Larry Holmes and Mike Tyson?

 

If you include men who were legitimate top five contenders at the time, then the answer is a lot.

But, lets work with current lineal champions.

How many 230lb+ champions go demolished like that against anybody of any weight?

Come to think of it, how many lineal champions got demolished like that, who were not little more than light heavyweights?

You can't really diminish what Dempsey did, because nobody has ever been able to repeat it!