David Tua vs Jack Dempsey

No, I am merely speaking the Gospel of The Tuaminator as delivered to me by the Apostles of Carnera

 

Let’s discuss David Tua’s traits

- 225lb of rock solid muscle
- incredible stamina and work rate
- iron chin
- immense devastating power in his left hook, ability to carry power late into the fight
- elite fast twitch anatomy and deceptive quickness in his hands

so let’s face it…a guy like that did not exist in Dempsey’s era. The only one from that era even comparable to Tua in strength weight and power was harry wills, who Dempsey egregiously avoided for 7 years. Bottom line, if Tua existed in the 20s he would have been avoided like the plague.

Tua’s power held up in devastation against 4 heavyweight champions who weighed 230-250lb. I can only imagine what his power would have done against a 185lb man

Dempsey either has to take PEDs and bulk up to 215 or get on his bicycle and box him and pray Tua doesn’t land

 

I absolutely guarantee on my child’s life if Tua had the exact same attributes & career but fought in black & white this thread doesn’t get made.

 

So I always try to put these kinds of fantasy match ups in perspective. What I mean by that is if Tua were around in the 20's he'd be much smaller. If Dempsey were around in the modern era he'd be much bigger. So.....I think you throw size out of the equation and just thunk about ability, accomplishments, etc. Having said that, on paper is easily Jack. But.....I also think JD fought in an era where aggression was unusual. Remember, many of these fights would go for 20-30 + rounds & I think many guys were trained to "drag it out" and strike when opponents got tired. I think Tua was never gonna be that guy & would bring the ferocity similar to JD. I also think his style would be a problem for JD b/c he did leave himself very wide open at times. Hence, & it kills me to say it b/c I love me some JD, but I think in any era on an even playing field, Tua takes it. JMO.

 

I wonder why you focused on his traits & not his results.

 

Tua would do about as well as Tony Galento

 

No necessarily.

Dempsey was little more than a local level fighter at the time, and his wife testified under oath that he took a dive.

Much depends on what you choose to make of that.

 

A danger fight for Dempsey but he can hit hard enough to keep Tua honest.

 

And Tua laughs!

 

What would you base that extraordinary statement upon?

 

Before or after Dempsey caves in his orbital bone?

 

There's conflicting evidence on whether that fight was fixed or not. There isn't any conflicting evidence on The Tuaminator being the Baddest Man of all time. The diminutive Dempsey would be petrified with fear at the sight of 220 lbs of pure Kiwi-Samoan muscle and power.

 

What? That Dempsey can hit hard, or it's a dangerous fight for him?

 

That he is not going to have enough power to keep Tua honest.

 

I agree, so that means that you have to have that at the back of your mind, when drawing any inferences.