It is probably easier to get a title today than at any time in history. The myriad of belts and weight classes, combined with the fact that you don't have to beat anybody elite to get a title shot, would assure even those fighters that you describe as "pushovers" some success.
Was he the best of his own era? A question than can never be answered but is a legitimate question mark. Esp since some of the best fighters of his own era were not given a shot because of the racial climate in the country of the times and his own (alleged ) comments. He was exciting, and looked fast and powerful but judging by old grainy film, was often off balance and open to counters. He wasn't a giant of a man even for his own era. The only heavyweight champs I can think of him defeating since his times are fighters like Patterson, Johansen, Spinks, Ruiz, Ali of the Berbick fight, Louis of the Marciano fight, Schmeling, Sharkey,Braddock, and a few other nondescript champs over the yrs. In my opinion he like J.Johnson and most of the fighters of the 1st 20yrs of the 20th century are very overrated.
I suppose that it would be fair to say that Jack Sharkey was better than any of the top black heavyweight contenders, at the time Dempsey beat him.
Not in my opinion. But most fighters improve a little after they win a championship, but even with that improvement I still see a prime Dempsey beating him.
Yeah, unlike those guys there's only half of Eastern Europe and South America ready to pretend to be tests, while only testing the canvas, the multiple "champions" per division rarely unifying, and new hype jobs every Tuesday.
Jack Dempsey in my opinion is very overrated and overhyped. Some people say that he walks through guys like Riddick Bowe, Holyfield, Foreman, Lewis, Klitschko etc JUST because he overwhelmed a slow, obese, unskilled & uncoordinated tomato can Jess Willard. Plain and simple ridiculous. Yeah so what if he was brutal, hungry, savage this that blah blah blah ? That hunger would have gotten you killed if you bullcharged towards a tremendously powerful and skilled boxer puncher like Lennox Lewis, or an extremely powerful swarmer with a cast iron chin like Mike Tyson, who's so frequently compared to Dempsey. Dempsey can't even come close to Lewis or W. Klitschko let alone crack open their so called "weak chins". Even if he does come close he'll get overwhelmed by devastating uppercuts. Historically, his contribution towards boxing cannot be overstated but H2H people should stop thinking he was a human fireball who could incinerate any boxer on this universe.
That's interesting, I've never heard anyone say any fighter at any time could walk through George Foreman. as for the others. I'd favor Dempsey in a brawl with Evander, but I'd take Lewis to beat Jack provided he didn't get clipped. Bowe is I think overrated and Wlad? He gets tagged it'll be a Willard type beating just not nearly as long. Of those 5 opponents I'd say Dempsey could go 3-2 . He's not beating Foreman and Lewis but he sure could beat the others.
Fast and powerful with a good jaw, he could very obviously be re-trained for modern ring work and would be incredibly successful and make an absolute ****ton of money and wedge himself right into the p4p rankings. It is absolutely obvious that he would never, ever be a heavyweight. Yes, he could be a heavyweight if he was born in 1999 and benefited from "modern nutrition", steroids and etc. There is also a tiny chance he would be born with gills.
