Dempsey taller and quicker just as tough aggressive and pretty much as in shape. Marciano wouldn’t have to look hard to find him Jack would be all over him. This would be fireworks from the opening bell. If Jack couldn’t take him out early this could turn into a battle of attrition where Marcianos stock rises considerably. Marciano would be in trouble early but if he survives he might win. This is very close but if I had to pick slightest advantage to Dempsey.
Dempsey. Faster feet, better jab, better left hook (though Rocky could hook too), better combination punching. Rocky had a better right hand but in terms of overall skill, i give Dempsey the edge.
This is one of the very rare occasions where the skill level between the two is actually quite big, considering how similar their skillset actually is, despite the vastly different implementations of their styles relative to their physical attributes. Dempsey's superior in terms of execution of many skills, both offensively and defensively, however, Marciano is arguably more effective at more skills than one would think as a casual observer. Dempsey has superior slip rates - Rocco is arguably harder to tag cleanly, at his best due to his lean back, low crouching style. Of the great come forward HWs, Dempsey's skill is really underrated, however, his consistency and competition faced relative to others - hmmm, Jack is a fighter that's much better than what he actually showed IMO.
Rock was shifting between stances on his way in with his head off centre, punching between the shifts or countering off the parries. Smart and effective
Emanuel Stewert once said of Marciano, he was slow, clumsy and off balance. No one even hinted anything like that of the Manassa Mauler Jack Dempsey
It appeared that way but if it’s effective it’s skilful! He was hard to nail when he didn’t want to be, other times he was happy to walk on through to land his own heavier. Steve Collins another who looked sh*t, but look at his record and how close he ran Kalambay in Italy. Reggie Johnson arguably had just beaten Toney and many scored that bout for the vacant belt to Steve. Look how sliiiick Johnson was at that point. Look past that and you see Collins frequently pulling an awkward angled overarm right down that Johnson couldn’t see, that’s crafty skill.
Marciano easily. Jack beat mostly gandy dancers , hobos and drunks. Rocks skills were tested against a much higher level of opposition. If they fought Rock leathers Jack unmerciful
They had different fighting styles and their skills lent themselves to doing that at an elite level. I don’t believe one was drastically more skilled than the other. Splitting hairs IMO
Marciano had some skills and certain moves his opponents never caught on to. He ŵasn't a smooth fighter to watch. His opponents were a little sharper than Dempsey's IMO.
I think Marciano was better drilled for what he was trying to do. Dempsey had a wider variety of weapons but also in my opinion better footwork when he bothered to use it, like against Willard. So Dempsey is probably better skilled in terms of all-round ability whereas Marciano is superior as a specialist in his narrow focus.
Dempsey without question. There is a compilation video on youtube of Dempsey's defensive skills. Watch it closely and compare it to a similar video fo Pernell Whitaker's defensive skills. You'll see nearly identical head and body movement, footwork, counters, etc.
