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

This is always my issue in rating the older HWs. Dempsey today would comfortably fight at LHW.

 

Heading into the Dempsey fight, Fulton had beaten Langford and had a draw with Miske. He wasn’t very accomplished.

After he lost to Fulton in 1917, Langford beat Jennette, lost to Wills but followed it with a draw (no judges), and beat Norfolk. I think that would qualify him for a fight with Dempsey around the same period.

I could say that Dempsey liked to knock over big stiffs like Willard and Fulton, and hated to fight small, skilled guys like Meehan and Langford. It would be disingenuous if I said it were the reason that he avoided Langford though. It was because of racism.

 

Tyson is a convicted sex offender. I’d never call him a hero of mine. Just stating the facts.

 

Semantics. He didn’t fight blacks for his whole career and a big chunk of his resume is pretitle.

 

As if Demspey didn’t have ample free time to fight everyone. Guess he was busy doing Broadway shows or whatever.

 

What facts? You suggested that Ruddock was as good a challenger to Tyson as Holy efter Ruddock defeated Dokes, but that happened after Tyson had lost his championship. So you were simply wrong.

 

Meaning he fought Ruddockx2 but not Holyfield before getting sent away (and had signed for Holyfield but got hurt).

 

That had nothing to do with what you responded to, though. I wrote that Holy was the best challenge out there for Tyson during the part of his reign past Spinks and you responded that Ruddock was as good a challenge after beating Dokes. But that happened after Tyson's reign.

 

I did. Tyson basically kept fighting the best guys available even after losing the title, unlike Dempsey, who retired and didn’t even fight the best during his title reign.

BTW Spinks was the best available overall during Tyson’s title reign.

 

Dempsey, or at least his management, may well have drawn the colour line to protect him.

Dec 18-Dec 19 Langford went 6-5-2, including 0-3 Wills. Langford would have been a terrible choice for challenger. Beating a 38 year old Jeanette (in an era when 38 was like 45 now) and a LHW 2 years before Dempsey won the title doesn't change that.

 

Neither of those things were what you responded to, though. You should try out the simple "I was wrong". God knows you need it often enough.

But that's enough time wasted on you for now.

 

Why should Dempsey take a hit when no black heavyweight aside from Johnson received a title shot from the sports beginnings to 1937? Blacks were in fact barred from fighting for the heavyweight title. Dempsey in actuality should be given huge credit by actually pursuing a fight with Wills and signing to fight him only to see the bout fall through.

 

Mid teens Langford=pointless
Wille Meehan=perfectly reasonable x however many matches they had

Got it

 

Because he didnt defend his title against the clear no. 1 challenger.