Where do you rate Dempsey in total in your best HWs? What do you think of his Power? And what do you think of his Résumé?
I think he's 10-15 guy Not much of an ATG résumé but good wins over Willard, Levinsky, Gunboat Smith and bill Brennen Decent power but a bit overrated
He had a lot of power for his size and was an innovator as a punch-stylist, but there's been a lot of water under the bridge since then, i. e., a lot of good fighters since then. He was a great personality and public relations person, but he stood right behind Willard and Firpo and attacked them from the rear when they started to get up after a knockdown. He refused to go to his corner in the Tunney fight as the rules required. He was rough on his sparring partners. He seemed to derive a lot of enjoyment knocking out less-skilled hometown boys on his exhibition tours from 1930-32. There weren't a lot of good heavyweights around before and during the time he was champion. His resume suffers even more when you consider he avoided Harry Wills and had long periods of ring inactivity while he was champion. Had he been an aggressive titleholder, he would have sought out Greb as well. You can look at these things from two viewpoints--either he had a great killer instinct or he had bully-like tendencies. I guess that's what it takes to be a fighter, but when you combine his overly aggressive tendencies with his avoidance of his two most formidable challengers, it adds up to a bully-like mentality. I've read his three autobiographies and many other biographies, I've shaken his hand at his restaurant in New York, and I've idolized him for years, but this is where I have finally ended up when summarizing his career. Still I admire him, warts and all. He definitely was an icon.
Louis Ali Holmes Lewis Foreman Wlad Frazier Tyson Holyfield Marciano Johnson Liston Dempsey 10-15 seems about right I have him 12-13 on mine I don’t get into power or who hit harder. But I will say he was effective skilled and strong enough to drop anyone he could hit cleanly
