Jack Dempsey vs Prime Frank Bruno

Heavies during the 80`s and 90`s weren`t that good apart from Tyson. Fighters like Holmes and Lewis would have beat the smaller men because there reach and power, Holmes hit more than hard enough to knock Dempsey out, but Holmes was beat by a crafty Spinks and even though he was 34-35 he was the champ at that point during the 80`s and nobody else could beat him at that point proving the depth wasn`t tere during the 80`s, I feel Jack Johnson would have beaten most fighters in the 80`s and 90`s, he would have beat Holmes in the mid 80`s and even Bowe and Evander Holyfield, Lewis may have been too good at exploiting his reach for Johnson though.

 

Bruno wassn`t good at keeping a fighter at range as was proven in his second fight against Tyson, his feet were too slow, AJ is far better at skipping backwards away from shots with his guard up. Dempsey would have KO`d Lewis the night he lost to McCall because he was really sloppy with his right hand before Steward started training him.

 

Dempsey had the ability to be floored and get up and win Bruno didn't.It's possible Jack walks into a big shot ,but he would get up and resume trading.Bruno was never a natural fighter,I dont think his chin was so bad ,it's just that when he got tagged he froze. The only time he came back from the brink to win was against Cummings and Jumbo caught him at the end of the round,had it been inside the 1st minute Cummings probably would have finished him off. Dempsey had the ingrained instinct to survive and fight back.Frank was managed carefully and steered very astutely, Lawless was a known Mother Hen with his fighters, and Duff knew just when to match guys.

 

I don`t think Bruno would have been dangerous for the big heavies of today, Fury would outbox him easily, Bruno never fought anyone with Wilder and Fury`s rach or Fury`s ability to slip punches, but then again neither did Dempsey aside from Tunney who didn`t slip punches but used brilliant footwork instead, Tunney would have outboxed Bruno the same way that he outfoxed Dempsey.

 

Bruno wouldn't handle the pressure and gets knocked out.

 

There is so much wrong in this post that it’s hard to know where to begin.

 

Dempsey hits him everywhere bar the soles of his feet. Referee shows mercy by R3 or R4 cos there no way Duff or Lawless will show it

 

Bruno was my first boxing hero as a kid, and in relative terms I'm not as sold on Dempsey as many others. But I think it's fanciful to imagine Bruno winning this one. Much as I feel he's overrated, Dempsey was a great Heavyweight, whereas Bruno was a solid contender who generally fell short when he stepped up.

The only troubling factor for Dempsey here is the size disadvantage. Bruno scaled as much as 247 lb at the tail-end of his career, and while I think he was probably at his best between 225 and 230 lb, he'd still be around 35 lb heavier than Jack even then. Of course, part of Dempsey's allure is that he tore down men much taller and heavier than himself, but I do think that Bruno is better-drilled and with more solid fundamentals than the Firpos, Willards and Fultons of this world.

Bruno was so robotic and one-paced that it cost him against certain fighters, but here it might be an advantage as I think he'll stay disciplined against Dempsey and use that jab to keep him at bay and off balance for a while. But Dempsey is the far more proven fighter in terms of endurance and stamina, and eventually he's going to land some wide shots on Bruno, and it'd be the familiar old tale; no survival instincts from Frank, stumbles to the corner, a series of unanswered shots rain down on his unprotected head, the referee has to step in.

Dempsey's just too quick and fit to lose to a one-paced fella like Frank, size advantage or no. And while Bruno's knockout percentage is mightily impressive on paper, who was the best man he beat inside-schedule? A decrepit Bugner? A portly Coetzee? The lumbering Eklund? Tillis and Coetzer were reasonable stoppage scalps, but hardly enough to make me think he could nail someone like Dempsey to the canvas. While Jack could be hurt, he had excellent powers of recovery and Bruno lacked the killer instinct to finish him off, I reckon.

Dempsey by TKO rounds 6-7, perhaps after some initial frustration and discomfort.

 

If I was a betting man, I'd hesitantly bet it on Dempsey. Bruno is being a little undersold here imo

 

Lawless was a very compassionate manager.

 

Just i think Bruno never was down by a 41 years old shot figher like Joshua. To me Bruno's McCall win is better than Joshua's best win (Parker). Plus Joshua never fought so fast fighter like the young Lennox but Bruno could outland this quick Lewis.Considering these your Joshua example doesn't work at all.

 

Bruno's best win was McCall against Oliver Bruno was 247.75 pounds. I hope you don't wanna suggest the 245+ pounds version
Bruno was a bad fighter because this was a world champion and Dempsey never beat better fighter than the prime McCall.

 

im not so sure he was mate. He woulda threw Bruno in against tyson everyday of the week and twice on sundays. I was told a story from a former fighter , world champion no less, that lawless (and duff too, in fairness) forced him to take a fight. When he complained that he needed a rest and had fought and trained constant for the past 18 months or so, they threatened him with court action for breach of contract if he didnt take the fight. A world title fight, and he said neither was talking to him during the camp

 

He could certainly do some damage. But why another person lists him at 6' 4"? Even with sizes often overstated, show me where he was listed as such. Foreman & Holmes were sometimes listed as such, not Bruno I believe.

Also while someone once wrote Dempsey was 180 vs. Willard, I see 187 listed all the time.
Heavier in many future fights.
You can make a good case for Bruno hurting anyone he lands on-though Dempsey did well with bigger guys & had a very good-great chin....
But you are overstating the numbers a bit.

 

I'm sure, I was ringside for nearly all his fights and the fights of most of Lawless's stable.Duff used to have to badger Terry to take certain fights he was very ,very cautious. Bruno must have signed for the fight for them to be able to sue him,just being under contract would not give them the power to insist on when he fought ,just who he fought for. Bruno lobbied for both the Tyson fights,Lawless wanted him to retire after the 1st one.