Does anyone still have Dempsey as a top ten heavy? Top 15?

Dempsey would have destroyed Wills IMO... Knocked him out

 

Fantasy fights don’t build legacies

 

I don't need to hear from u anymore. You already showed me you have no character whatsoever

 

Excellent idea. Thanku

 

Dempsey gets a lot of criticism for not fighting Wills, and I am not unsympathetic to most of it, however a bit of perspective might be appropriate.

It is actually a comparatively rare thing for the two best heavyweights in the world to meet.

Let's look at the four most recent dates that it happened.

22/02/2020 Fury Wilder II

15/11/2014 Klitschko Pulev

05/10/2013 Klitschko Povetkin

21/06/2003 Lewis Klitschko

I think that I am am right about those, but please speak up if I have missed something, or got something wrong.

My point is that while Wills is a serious omission on Dempsey's resume, it is not impossible for him to build a legacy without him.

The above dates should only increase your admiration for men like Louis, Marciano, and Ali, who regularly fought the current Ring #1.

 

Deeply insecure

 

He’s in my top 15 for sure…although I used to really judge him harshly for not meeting Wills many HWs today and the last 40 years avoid the best because boxing has become a mess. The man beat over 20 ranked men I believe…only a handful of HWs ever accomplished that feat.

 

Johnson did it. Louis did it. Patterson did it. Marciano basically did it.

Dempsey stands out for not having done it.

 

Agree except wilder was never the second best hw. AJ or Usyk was always ahead of him. Just my opinion.

 

TysoN

 

Thanks. You seem to favor long tenured champions in general but Wills over Dempsey and Holyfield are bound to stick out here.

Ali doesn't really doesn't line with your most important criteria as he beat Foreman, Liston and Frazier, ( 5-1 ) quality opponents who rank very highly according to you. Yet Louis takes the top spot. Interesting choices none the less.

 

Not even remotely.

How many times did Larry Holmes defend his title against the current #1 contender for example?

The reality is that most all time greats, build their resumes against a fluid column of the top ten.

 

I am taking the rankings at face value, because if you do anything else, the exercise simply becomes too complex.